3 Friends- News is getting out

[Flatmeringues]

I’m a long time lurker. I found this board a couple of years ago when I had started to become a bit worried, Firstly, I want to thank you I have learned so much and I’m in awe at the sheer intelligence on display here, when I feel something isn’t quite right but I can’t articulate why I feel like that, I come on here and someone is able to explain/has already explained, in a much more coherent way than me,what was worrying me. This board has allowed me to have the words to express my worries and fears. Thank you.

Im posting today because after a couple of disheartening experiences last year I’ve learned to be more circumspect about bringing up my gc views, I now always leave it to others to bring up and try not to dump everything I know/believe in one sitting.

However, something strange has happened in the last 2 weeks I have met 3 different friends that I haven’t seen since before COVID. We’ve never discussed this topic before. All 3 of them brought up the topic in a “have you heard about this” “can you believe it”.
One was most concerned about teenagers and puberty blockers and the topic had been brought to her attention by the Keira Bell case. Another works in Education and was worried about the susceptibility of Autistic girls. The third is a textile teacher and became aware through Jess de Wahl and the Royal Academy.

All three were worried, are reading around the topic and now aware of all the issues, I don’t think 18 months ago any of these women were aware at all.

I thought I’d share because It gave me hope.

These women are all mothers of teenage girls.

It's not just a matter of affection. It's one of trust, and as a result it affects not just the one issue, but all.

If you discover the Guardian or the BBC are being dishonest on one issue, you start looking to see if they are dishonest on others. And in my experience it is rarely just one thing. All of a sudden you can't trust them on any issue where you yourself don't know enough to spot bad reporting, lies, and dissimulation.

Lying by omission is what the BBC does best. It does sadden me because this gives the impression they think we are daft enough not to notice. They all seem to be a bit anti-Brit. I watched Al Jazeera because of the world coverage but unfortunately their representation of the UK is very biased. I also think Sky News has a tendency to be anti, so along with the BBC we really don't stand a chance

I had The Conversation with two female friends of the same age at the weekend. It arose because one mentioned breastfeeding, and the other (mum of two boys) said derisively "oh no it's chestfeeding now don't you know?" Males in women's prisons, Hubbard at the Olympics and the difficulty of being a lesbian, and mastectomies for unhappy young girls were all news to them.

@SmokedDuck

It's not just a matter of affection. It's one of trust, and as a result it affects not just the one issue, but all.

If you discover the Guardian or the BBC are being dishonest on one issue, you start looking to see if they are dishonest on others. And in my experience it is rarely just one thing. All of a sudden you can't trust them on any issue where you yourself don't know enough to spot bad reporting, lies, and dissimulation.

Posting here as it's about talking with friends, and I don;t think it deserves a new thread.

I make the "biological sex is real" argument.

Friend seemed to think that "physiology" is immutable, but "biological sex" (which includes the brain) is more flexible. Has anyone come across this idea before? What is the simplest and clearest way to debunk it?

Biological sex is all about physiology surely?

Ask them what they mean by biological sex.

This seems a good place to post this oft shared piece:

fondofbeetles.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/from-humans-to-asparagus-females-are-females/

The writer is Dr Emma Hilton, a Developmental Biologist and co-founder of:

sex-matters.org/

Bottleneck, what did your friend mean? It sounds a bit like they mean the brain can change (presumably true?) but how does that relate to sex? Do they mean some ppl end up with a male brain and female physiology?

@Manderleyagain

Bottleneck, what did your friend mean? It sounds a bit like they mean the brain can change (presumably true?) but how does that relate to sex? Do they mean some ppl end up with a male brain and female physiology?

To be clear - the context is me saying "biological sex is real, you cannot change sex. And I don't understand what a gender identity is beyond gender expression based on sex-based stereotypes"

I think that they meant that physiology is about the body only, and obviously you can't change the underlying reality of your body (eg chromosomes), but that is irrelevant because biology includes the mind as well as body. Therefore the term "biological sex" is about the inner feelings of the mind as much as it's about the body.

Obviously if one accepts this then in 3 weeks time we'll be asked to make it clear that trans people can also change physiological sex.

@ScreamingBeans

Just thinking some more about this, the way the liberal media have responded to the trans issue has really changed my outlook. I've become so angry with the BBC about their refusal to cover the trans issue honestly that I no longer give a shit about keeping the licence fee. 20 years ago I'd have written letters, gone on demos, done everything I could to preserve it if it was under threat. Now? Meh, if the Tories want to get rid of it I don't give a shit. If I want to hear interesting programmes, there's plenty of stuff on Netflix and Youtube now. I no longer feel any loyalty at all to the BBC. Or the Guardian. And I think a lot of people feel that way.

The Guardian is interesting, when you see stories come up on FB, you can tell they're trying to capture the young American market and I wonder how much of that is because they've lost so much of their home market. I used to buy it every day. I wouldn't pay money for it now.

But the problem for them, is that if they are pandering to an American readership, they lose credibility as a media source here. It's a dilemma.

Sorry just meandering around.

Me too. Not just the trans issue, but the whole woke agenda across the board. I no longer watch any mainstream news at all - so often there appears to be no attempt whatsoever to present a balanced perspective. Plus too many news outlets have been held to ransom by younger activists.