Boris Johnson just stated that biology dictates what is a man / woman

[NoWordForFluffy]

Just now on PMQs.

Has he ever come out and said that before?

@tabbycatstripy

And I will vote for the Tories for this reason. I put rationality above nearly everything else because it affects everything else.

Yes I agree Labour has gone all 1984: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” ― George Orwell, 1984

To me it looks like people (mainly on the centre left) are so open-minded, their brains have fallen out.

There have been hints of 'biology matters' from No 10 before and it will make it even easier for me to continue to vote Conservative if they put a clear difference on the protection of women's sex-based rights between them and Labour/LibDem/SNP, despite the handful of their MPs who state that TWAW.
I also trust the Tories more than Labour not to cave to SNP on 'Indyref 2' and that is also very important to me.

The older I get, the more I value free speech and hate cancel culture, the right have always been more reliable on this.

@Georgeskitchen

So you're all decrying the Labour MPs for saying TWAW, men have cervixes, etc, BoJo gives the answer you are looking for and your STILL not happy What exactly the f**k is it that you all actually want?

Personally I'm happy that Boris said it and wish that everyone else who's trying to pretend that there are not basic, fundamental, important differences between biological men and women would stop twisting language and coming up with labyrinthine thought processes to try to justify how TWAW and TMAM.

I'm unhappy because I hate 99.9% of what Boris says and do not want to vote Conservative in the next election, but currently he and his party are the only ones with a viewpoint on this are that I can agree with.

I loathe the man with a passion & I know full well he’s only commenting like this because he knows Labour are making themselves look like tits on this issue
It’s purely electoral politics

Totally agree with this, but it doesn't alter the fact that he's right for once

Even a stopped clock and all that ...

I think trans issues are really important, but they affect such a small minority of people of any gender. Isn’t it more important to deal with, say, the shitshow of a cost of living crisis that affects everybody, than a trans issue that affects a few thousand people? This is ‘common-sense’ washing. Making the Tory’s look like they understand everyday people so they can carry on lining their privileged pockets with public cash at the expense of the rest of us. Johnson is very good at this. He lost his way a bit with the pandemic, because he was forced to address a real issue and couldn't find an alternative non-issue big enough in anyone’s mind to hide behind. But now he’s going to gain support for being behind female-at-birth women? He doesn’t even know how many kids he has, he’s created a string of single parent families behind him and is pretty close to the definition of patriarchal misogynist. And he’s going for the vote of ‘biological women’? Bloody hypocrite. This is purely about dividing the left. He doesn’t care about women, assigned a birth or not, as his relationship history more than shows (to be fair he doesn’t much care about anyone. Which is equality of a sort, I suppose). I’m sorry to say, it will probably work.

'I think trans issues are really important, but they affect such a small minority of people of any gender.'

This is a complete misunderstanding. They affect all of us. Any law or social 'norm' that prevents us talking about a political issue on pain of losing our jobs affects everyone. And they affect women even more than men, because it is on the battleground of 'what is a woman' that women are losing their entitlements to separate themselves at times of potential indignity and vulnerability from males.

Thank you, ferretface, for posting the text of the question and answer so that we can all see what he said and the context. It's important. Also to Thingybob for posting the youtube link.

Considering how many marriages and children he has he probably knows.

Redefining the word women to include men affects 50% of the population so no it’s not a small issue

@Abitofalark

Thank you, ferretface, for posting the text of the question and answer so that we can all see what he said and the context. It's important. Also to Thingybob for posting the youtube link.

Yeah, sorry, I posted seconds after he said it, so they weren't available.

Boris gets my vote, if you care about safeguarding women and children it's the only sensible choice.

Still left himself a lot of wiggle room there though.

I'm too cynical to read more into it.

Isn't Carrie full on TWAW?
Aren't the Tories planning a big announcement to ban conversion therapy which includes doctors, therapists and teachers being forced to affirm gender identities, and not actually stopping the conversation therapy of gay kids who are coerced into believing they have the wrong body?

It does appear that they are better at reading the fucking room than Labour.

Keir - woman are female adults.
Women - at fucking last!
Keir - but but but men are women too coz it says in the law...
Women - WTAF knobhead. Do you just identify as a lawyer.
Keir - we will also protect women only spaces
Women - which 'women' are those then?

@tabbycatstripy

'BoJo gives the answer you are looking for and your STILL not happy What exactly the f**k is it that you all actually want?'

Policies that match this correct statement that biology is 'overwhelmingly important'.

...And for a viable opposition to also say it so that we can vote for someone other than the Tories

'...And for a viable opposition to also say it so that we can vote for someone other than the Tories'

Starmer is never going to say it. Nobody on his front bench is ever going to say it. They are completely, irreversibly captured.

It would be so helpful if we could have just the one thread on this subject.

Well said Boris.

I don't want to vote for him and I've never voted Tory, BUT I don't think he's stupid. If anyone understands bullshit and how it functions, it's BJ, and he could join the bullshitters easily if he was so inclined. So I do think this matters symbolically in that as country leader and party leader, it's a big signifier of which way the wind is blowing. He may be disingenuous but he wouldn't say it if he didn't know it reflected reality and how people feel. In other words (although of course it will be represented that way) this isn't him being right-wing, it's him riding the zeitgeist and offering a clear-eyed view of reality to those who want to vote for it. And when Starmer realises that, he'l be next.

Starmer is never going to say it. Nobody on his front bench is ever going to say it. They are completely, irreversibly captured.

I don't agree, you can tell Starmer is like a rabbit in the headlights on this issue. He's not captured by trans ideology, but by the daft idea that you have to say what a load of advisors and focus groups tell you to instead of having actual principles and standing up for them. He tries to bumble out the right things to say to avoid upsetting Young People. When he realises that the bullshit is finally going down the toilet, and he's been upsetting Women and People with Logical Reasoning Skills, a larger demographic, he will switch.

When he realises that the bullshit is finally going down the toilet, and he's been upsetting Women and People with Logical Reasoning Skills, a larger demographic, he will switch

And women will still know that he was willing to throw us under the bus, our rights and safety, along with our children, because he read the focus groups wrong.

Switch at this point will just underline the dishonesty of his current position, cynically posturing against women because believes there are votes in it.

I have just as much contempt for him as a Liar as I do for Johnson.

Agree fluffy, it won't make me warm to him! But I do think it's important that party leaders and parties wake up, because they do have the power when it comes to changing the law.

But what really grinds my gears is that I don't believe the Labour Party actually believe the nonsense they're spreading - they're just too cowardly (or too scared of being attacked on twitter) to state the truth!!!

Then they have absolutely no business being anywhere near the levers of power.

Anyone who votes Tory on the grounds of this 'statement' alone doesn't actually give a fuck about women's rights - apart from those of rich, white ones with a UK passport.

It simply isn't possible to hold your nose hard or long enough. Sorry. There is still no viable option.

I wouldn't vote Tory anyway, but I certainly wouldn't just because Boris has said something. How anyone can trust a single word that comes out of that mans mouth I really do not know! Even when I agree him, I cannot trust him to follow through. He is not a good man

Loathe Johnson.

However: if he's identified this as a potential way to put distance between the Tories and Labour, we've made massive progress and the issue must really be starting to push through.

@tabbycatstripy

'I think trans issues are really important, but they affect such a small minority of people of any gender.'

This is a complete misunderstanding. They affect all of us. Any law or social 'norm' that prevents us talking about a political issue on pain of losing our jobs affects everyone. And they affect women even more than men, because it is on the battleground of 'what is a woman' that women are losing their entitlements to separate themselves at times of potential indignity and vulnerability from males.

True. Perhaps I should say, directly affects. It’s still intended as nothing more than a distraction from the fact the the government is failing most of it’s people. A shitload of ‘Boris’s ‘biological women’ will be facing real poverty with the cost of living crisis, and what is he actually doing about it? Fuck all!. His party have cut widowed parents benefits to the bone, for example. And one woman lost out on first place in a swimming competition. Who should Boris be worrying more about? (I have every sympathy with the woman who came second. It wasn’t fair. But it isn’t more important than a LOT of other stuff. And anyway, there is no fair solution. There is only a solution which is unfair to least amount of people, which is to limit transwomen’s participation in sports where a growing up with a male hormone profile gives them an unfair advantage. As that’s more or a less all of them, it sucks for transwomen, but it’s the least worst option, and that’s the best that can be done here)

I would have a lot more time for this if I thought he GAF about any women at all. But he doesn’t - just look at his personal values! Does anyone really think he puts them aside when making policies, even if you excuse them in the first place? Is he doing wonderful things for all these “biological women’ while in government? Nope, not a thing. Parading support for women’s issue only when it distracts from your appalling governmental support for anyone who isn’t privileged (and coincidentally on the day same your chancellor fails to announce anything really helpful for most real people) is just the same as men who come along and comment ‘not all men’ in the me too movement. It’s raging hypocrisy. I am deeply angry on behalf of ALL women that he’s using us to try and look good in Westminster and gaslight women into voting Tory.

I find Tories as a whole loathsome and BJ is no exception.

But what he said is right, and he said it well. I wish other parties (Labour, LibDems, Greens) could get a clue and stop repeating the same old bullshit, which contributes to making them unelectable.
I like the other parties better, but their position on gender is untenable. Gender is bollocks. The GRA is an old homophobic and misogynistic piece of legislation that needs repelling.

So pleased to hear this