#RepealTheGRA apparently 'hails from the right

[TheShadowyFeminist]

Tweet by Ruth Serwotka

Does this have any basis in fact? I know plenty who think the GRA should be repealed. None have been right wing, ring leaning, aligned with the right or even come close to what Ruth states here.

This tweet is a flavour of what I've seen. And I think the sentiment is fairly accurate IMO.

What do others think? Do you think the GRA should be repealed? Are you or have you ever been, right wing, right leaning, right adjacent or meet the description Ruth has for women who have said the GRA should be repealed?

[FloralBunting]

That's cool, Ruth. You don't need to spend time with me. I don't the only time I 'hail from the right' is if I'm lifting my hand to wave a black cab down.

You crack on appeasing the group trampling all over women by locking them up with rapists and using the GRA to make sure it's all legal.

Happy for you to do it without spending any time with me at all.

[FloralBunting]

Not sure where the 'I don't ' came from there. Maybe my subconscious was trying to add 'I don't care'.

[Floisme]

Former labour party member and voter for 45 years until I spoiled my vote in May.

I appreciate everything Ruth has done with WPUK and quite honestly I don't know yet where I stand on repealing the GRA, but I'll talk to and listen to whomever I choose, thank you.

[TheShadowyFeminist]

I think I've (almost) become immune to the bad faith smearing of women who have concerns with male inclusion in female spaces as 'right wing' by trans activists. It's no less a bad faith argument coming from a co-founder of WPUK.

[SirSamuelVimes]

I think the GRA should be repealed. I almost voted Tory in the last election, after a lifetime of voting labour or lib dem, but spoiled my ballot instead. That's about it for me, right-wing wise.

Am an atheist as well, if that helps, and voted remain in the EU referendum.... Just to preempt the accusations of evangelical Christianity and Brexiteering.

[somethinginoffensive]

I don't understand why anyone would describe previous Labour activists/voters as right wing because of the belief that sex is immutable and that a birth certificate shouldn't be re-written to lie about someone's sex.

Which bit of that makes me right wing?

[Keepemguessing]

I think it should be repealed and I'm as lefty as hell.

[somethinginoffensive]

Oh yes SirSam, atheist, remainer and vegetarian if it makes any difference.

I think rational logical thinker with the belief that our bodies are just fine as they are is where I am coming from.

[FlyPassed]

We've all seen where being #kind has gotten us, and many of us have had enough. If it makes Ruth feel better to dismiss those of us who support repeal as right wing that's up to her. It is somewhat disappointing to see her rehashing the tra line but wpuk events often centre non-females, so we shouldn't be surprised.

Many who are broadly on the same side as most of us here are still trying to placate the very people who are trying to erase our boundaries, spaces and words. It reads to me like I'm not like other girls radfems.

Best of luck to Ruth if she thinks appeasement will achieve anything beneficial for women and girls.

[ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn]

That tweet quite clearly demonstrates that she doesn't understand the problem the GRA presents for the safety and dignity of women and girls.

I wonder if she's even looked at some of the analysis and perspectives presented at repealthegra.org

It's odd that someone who identifies as on the left can't recognise a materialist analysis of women's oppression when it's presented.

[TinselAngel]

Not offering an opinion on whether it should be repealed or not, but does this imply that any woman who has a different opinion to Ruth S / WPUK must necessarily be right wing?

[Thelnebriati]

Looks like it. You'd think actual long term lefties and activists would be used to how these kinds of smears work by now, not repeat them.

[chickenyhead]

Nope, not even center. Definitely left. It should be repealed.

[TinselAngel]

@Thelnebriati

Looks like it. You'd think actual long term lefties and activists would be used to how these kinds of smears work by now, not repeat them.

Who put them in charge of deciding what's left wing and what's right wing?

[OffYouGoNow]

I am not Right Wing abs so want the GRA reformed.

I bet women in prison do to.

[PurgatoryOfPotholes]

I haven't reached a conclusion on this issue yet, but whichever side I ultimately come down on, I don't care about tweeters playing the 'right wing' card. They know perfectly well the people they're talking to and about aren't right-wing. That's why they say it! No-one bothers informing right-wing people that they're right-wing, because they would just say, "er I know. Your point?"

The aim is to smear left-wing people to other left-wing people.

[yourhairiswinterfire]

It's not coming from the right, it's coming from scared, anxious and thoroughly fucked off women.

I was kind of on the fence about completely repealing it, but after that judgement that puts the wants of even sex offenders ahead of women's safety, I'm well and truly off it.

When you have a law that permits rapists to be in prison with vulnerable women, and they can't even perform risk assessments on them because they have a fucking certificate...then you need to urgently review that law, and actually take the time to consider the impact it has on others this time.

[Thelnebriati]

Awful argument 8 -TERFs are right wing by Maria MacLachlan

''an argument stands or falls on its own merit, regardless of who makes it.''

[TheShadowyFeminist]

I can't stand these lazy accusations which bear little resemblance to reality. I'm sure there are some right wing women who support #RepealTheGRA, and frankly, they're as entitled to question legislation thats lawfully housing male rapists/sex offenders/murderers in the female prison estate as the rest of us. But I follow a lot of people in this 'debate' on social media & those who are losing patience on just defending rights that have already been nullified by this legislation are almost exclusively left wing. So this sort of baseless smearing of a group of women who happen to disagree with Ruth's opinion is quite typical of the lefty bearded misogynists who also throw that bad faith accusation around. I'd be embarrassed to be emulating that phenomenon.

Any pretence that leaving the GRA as it is, while 'shoring up' the single sex exceptions is the right strategy, (when the court has ruled that even extreme distress, a history of trauma & the heightened risk of further sexual/physical assaults isn't enough to outweigh a male persons 'right' to be seen as the gender they claim to identify as), is no longer credible. Repeal should be an option to be discussed in good faith for perfectly justified reasons.

[ZuttZeVootEeeVro]

'Right wing' is used here as a insult to disregard the idea of repealing the GRA without having to engage with the discussion.

She might as well have said terf, witches or trump supporters.

There seems to be a few very vocal male transpeople in the inner sanctum of the WPUK so I think she is talking witha political rather than a feminist focus, here.

[Redapplewreath]

Blah blah blah Regan funded nun. You wonder how long they're going to try pushing this forlorn hope before they realise everyone's just going..... that's batshit.

It's an American line guys. It's meaningless here.

[transdimensional]

Both Ruth and the person she was tweet-quoting have said that the GRA should be reformed, so it's not a position of supporting the Act in its present form. Some of those advocating scrapping it might be satisfied with radical reform of it, or might even be content to replace it, which might be equivalent to (certain) reform of it.

That said... it's wrong to try to silence the debate on whether it should be scrapped!

[Floisme]

I have no problem with Ruth's views on the GRA - I'm still listening to the arguments for and against. My problem is with attempting to play the left wing cool girl.

[OldCrone]

Both Ruth and the person she was tweet-quoting have said that the GRA should be reformed, so it's not a position of supporting the Act in its present form.

The person she quoted also said this:

But if GRA were to be repealed, it would need to be replaced, else trans people are left without protection for Article 8 rights, a right of privacy

twitter.com/Lachlan_Edi/status/1412182649079222272

Does Article 8 include the right to conceal your actual sex from people who might need to know? I don't think that was its intention.

Why should anyone need to conceal what sex they are?

[AfternoonToffee]

[In the UK] I wish they wouldn't use 'on the right' as a gotcha, the right aren't a homogenous lump of evil, and all nasty people. It adds nothing to their arguments.