Do not adjust your set: SEX, GENDER and PUBLIC POLICY 23 January 2021 09:00 – 17:00 GMT

[NonnyMouse1337]

This one day conference will explore transgender ideology and its recent extensive impact upon public policy. (On zoom with online Q&A)

Tickets cost £27.54. Quite a line up!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/do-not-adjust-your-set-sexgender-and-public-policy-tickets-128465308195

James Kirkup a journalist wrote ’ During a Westminster career which began as a junior Commons researcher 25 years ago, I have never encountered a movement that has spread so swiftly and successfully, and has so fiercely rejected any challenge to its orthodoxy ..............The transgender movement has advanced through Britain’s institutions with extraordinary speed. The only thing more extraordinary than the rapid spread of this new orthodoxy is how little scrutiny it has faced and the aggressive intolerance directed towards those who question it.”

This one day conference will explore transgender ideology and its recent extensive impact upon public policy. Historical, clinical, sociological and political aspects of its emergence will be covered by the contributors.

9-00 Welcoming remarks and Introduction

1. 15 The Growth of Transgender as an Ideological Force.

This will examine the remarkable growth of the trans agenda from a number of perspectives.

a) A contextual approach to evidence and research
Heather Brunskell Evans

b) A socio- cultural perspective
Michael Biggs

c) Institutional and professional capture Julie Bindel

10-45 discussion

11-15 The Curate’s Egg of Identity Politics: A Critical Realist Examination David Pilgrim

11 -45 Discussion

12- 15 Break

12-45 Clinical Perspectives

a) Pathways to Gender Dysphoria

tba

b) Transgender in Children a Psychoanalytic Perspective
Lisa Marchiano

c) A Different Model of Clinical Engagement with Children suffering from Gender Dysphoria
Marcus Evans and Susan Evans

2-15 Discussion

3-00 Feminist perspectives

a) Ideology and academia
Professor Selina Todd

b) Transgender and the erosion of woman’s rights : a perspective from India
Vaishnavi Sundar

c) The personal and the political
Anne Melamed

4-30 -5 00 Closing plenary

Sure, I'll try to take brief notes and post it here.

Thank you - much appreciated

@stumbledin

Not because of the price (although that is a consideration) but because of the length of time, was wondering if those of you attending would post highlights?

Not verbatim or anything - but anything that particularly stands out.

I would also really like to attend, but I can't for the whole day. I wonder if the conference will be recorded / scribed for attendees?

I suspect that the Labour Party's damning and dishonest indictment of Womens Place in Jan last year means that whoever is organising this wishes to keep their heads below the parapet. I don't blame them.

This looks brilliant

This is tomorrow!!!

Sorry if I seem a bit cynical but wonder if this is the establishment moving into the ground cleared by grassroots feminism like WPUK, FairPlayForWomen and others.

That's quite possible, Stumbled, but does it matter? We want this issue being into the mainstream. The more sunlight the better, because our case stands up to scrutiny. Bring it on!

And I recognise some of those names, they've been speaking out for a long time.

I'll be there. It's a long day on screen and the breaks aren't very long so I might need to miss a couple of sessions, but even so I'm very much looking forward to it.

This looks really interesting but I can't commit to an entire day in front of a screen. It's a bit different when you can get out of the house for a conference.

Looking forward to the feedback though.

@NonnyMouse1337

Sure, I'll try to take brief notes and post it here.

I’m going to try to watch the whole lot. If it would help I can take notes for some sections if you’d like some breaks in note-taking!

Yes that would be amazing Veeta.

Apparently there are about 313 people on the webinar, although about 500 bought tickets.

First presentation was Heather Brunskill-Evans. Absolutely knockout as ever. They are going to record everything so hopefully it will be more widely available. Bindel on now. It's a great line-up.

My note taking is pretty crap as I struggle keeping up with live stuff but I will post what I can. Any confusion in what's posted is quite likely down to my poor recording. Anyone else feel free to share their notes and thoughts too at any time.

The Growth of Transgender as an Ideological Force

Chair Prof David Pilgrim

Dr Heather Brunskell Evans talks about recent Quality Care Commission report that has rated GIDS service as inadequate.
Public statement from Tavistock apologised for waiting times and didn't address the other serious issues and concerns from report. Demonstration of how so many institutional bodies are captured by ideology.

She explains that evidence from Kiera Bell case indicates that most children who are distressed by 'gender' would have resolved this once they have undergone puberty, but now with affirmation approach they are put onto puberty blockers which results in near 100% move to cross-sex hormones.
Children have no capacity to consent as they still express squeamishness about sex, sexual function etc so cannot understand the consequences in terms of orgasms and other long-term issues with sexual health, fertility and so on.

She briefly outlines the background of political activism involved in transgenderism, queer theory, expanded definition of trans by Stonewall which has influenced policy makers and gender services. Unquestioning affirmation approach is a very political position and not based on clinical science and evidence.

She mentioned two extreme positions - the affirmation style with no checks or limitations on one side and old school psychiatrists on the other side that view it exclusively as a mental health condition.
Tavistock GIDS, rather than taking a middle ground, has created or exacerbated the problem of gender distressed children by following the affirmation approach.

Blimey you’re much better and quicker than me!!! I get caught up in what they’re saying and forget to write. I thought Julie bindel spoke brilliantly about her personal experience.
They’re sending out the video recording afterwards apparently so I may upload some notes after the event if that’s okay. Not sure I can keep up in real time.

Sorry if I seem a bit cynical but wonder if this is the establishment moving into the ground cleared by grassroots feminism like WPUK, FairPlayForWomen and others

I don't think so. I recognise many of the speakers from previous events, including WPUK events.

Julie Bindel talking about her experiences of how things developed over the years in feminism and transgenderism.
Liberals initially defended feminists against men's rights activists. Over the years, shift in view that feminism is something that can benefit men, rather than a movement that centers women.
She reported on trans woman who expressed regret at transitioning - she had never come across this before.

Bindel's views on transgenderism increasingly led to her being labelled as hateful or against trans people. She won award by Stonewall which was a public vote and loads of protestors turned up, most of whom were trans lesbians. This seemed to be the start of the kind of trans activism we see today with no platforming and cancellations.

She thinks rather than a gradual creep of ideology into institutions, she views it as a phenomenon of social contagion. People see the targeted harassment and engage in similar tactics or stay silent to avoid being seen as disagreeing or painted as hateful.

Philosophical and sociological perspectives

Chair Dr David Bell

The Curate’s Egg of Identity Politics: A Critical Realist Examination by Professor David Pilgrim

Very interesting talk. Started on the history / origins / development of identity politics.

Critical Realism as a resource

Axioms:

• Ontological realism
• Epistemological relativism - postmodernism types get stuck or fixated on this part
• Judgement rationalism

Four planar social being framework:

1. Our relationship to the natural world
2. Our relationship to one another
3. Our relationship to social and economic structures
4. Our unique biographies

Identity politics or social justice movements today only focus on 2 and 4 which results in the sort of problems we see today.

Conditions for possibility of identity politics

1. Grievances in 19th century about race, class, sex
2. Heroic failures of Left in 20th century
3. Post-structuralist alternatives
4. American individualism
5. Expectations of citizenship under representative democracies
6. Culminates in new social movements

Focus on language and attitude of 'I can be anything I want to be'. Combination of postmodernism and American individualism.

Lessons about identity politics

1. Spectrum of legitimacy
2. Divisive across the political spectrum - crisis of the Left, although tensions within the Right as well
3. Mass psychology not psychological reductionism
4. Enlightenment project (science, reason, freedom of expression)
5. Aligned with, not threat to, neoliberalism
6. Need for deliberative democracy as compared to representative democracy or identity politics

I can say that the conference has been organised by a few individuals who have shared professional concerns within the psychoanalytic community. You may not be surprised to hear organisations and professional bodies decided they did not wish to be associated with the event - and it is difficult for an individual to put just their name on the publicity... not sure what a solution would be but it is a problem. Just glad it has been put on. Listening right now to Sue and Marcus Evans.

A silver lining of the pandemic is that it is possible to put on such an event for much less cost than a real life event with a large venue etc.

I am blown away by the care and clarity of Lisa Marchiano and Sue and Marcus Evans' presentations. Lisa Marchiano gave a really powerful account of the psychoanalytic approach, via Jung, and what I was particularly struck by was the way she proposed that transexualism/transgender beliefs/feelings may well be an important way into thinking about a person's spirit or soul. But that this is not a sufficient basis for legislation!

This is a very clumsy summary of Ms Marchiano's wonderful & so compassionate and care-full talk. Sue & Marcus Evans also clearly care deeply about children & adults who experience gender dysphoria. Their care for their patients is uncontestable.

How these people could be consider transphobic is just beyond me, and shows just how the gender ideology extremists have "captured" not just public discourse & institutions, but compassionate and caring therapeutic possibilities.

And the repeated question about the lack of follow ups, and outcomes for patients is a scandal - Marcus Evans is just calling this 'a failure of service' and a 'failure of medicine.'

And also, I loved David Pilgrim's paper. I'm an academic historian, and I'd label myself a 'cultural materialist.' But I now need to read up on Critical Realism - it seems to be such a useful theoretical framework for how we can analyse our current condition. His points about personal identity and legitimacy of rights, being only 2 of the 4 things we need to think about in the structure of society was so good.

And making clear some of the issues around safeguarding and consent which are central to all this. The difference between adults and children and the heart of the judicial review judgment.

I missed that Queen. I had to go out after Julie Bindel and Heather B-E. Came back for the rest of the afternoon.

Only just had time to check in to this thread.

Thanks to all who have posted notes - and NonnyMouse you must be the ultimate multi tasker.

Pleased to get that hint about the organisers. Sometimes we maybe dont think about those trapped in the middle of this attempt by an ideology to take over medical practice.

But on the other hand, how the hell was it possible for this to happen?

Thanks again.

Selina Todd speaking now - with Powerpoint presentation. Transactivism as an attack on second wave feminism. As impressive as you would expect!

I think if you've registered, there will be recordings made available.

Although I know there was some discussion just before the formal Welcome, about 'disruptors.' So I imagine recordings will be password protected.