MP comes out as transgender

[poshme]

A male Tory MP has released a statement on Twitter that they are transgender, and also that a couple of years ago they were raped.
It's a brave statement.

So there's a trans widow? Who'd have thunk it?

lifeturnsonadime

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Politely pointing out that even Postulant of Twitter screen shots are allowed post on any thread.

What I don’t understand is why the whole media shebang, also covered on Channel 4 news this evening. If he is vulnerable/ having a breakdown or trying to cover something up why give him such exposure? It’s a weird world we are in.

He knew he was thinking about being a woman since he was a child, but he was married and had a child...I think that's the latest update?

@FacebookPhotos

I’m again shocked at rape apologists on the feminism board. For avoidance of doubt, I think the following:

• when any person says they were raped, I believe them. I’m not a juror, and I know the stats regarding malicious accusation of rape, so I believe the people who tell me they’ve been raped. That might mean I’m taken in by a vanishingly small percentage of people who lie about it, but I’d rather take that risk than wrongly disbelieve someone telling the truth. Especially when there is no named assailant (and so no individual is actually harmed by me believing the victim).
• conditional consent is an actual thing. If a person refuses sex for any reason and the man doesn’t accept the refusal, then he’s a rapist and the person a rape victim. It doesn’t matter why the person refuses (lack of condom, discovery of too much chest hair, whatever), it was still rape.
• you don’t have to physically fight someone off to prove you were raped. Many people go into a “freeze” mode under extreme stress, where they don’t fight back and don’t run away.
• being alone with a man is not consent. It doesn’t matter if you are male, female, gay, straight, married to the man or if he’s a stranger. Being alone with a man, even naked in a bed at 1am, is not consent.
• I don’t think that saying “but you didn’t believe her when she said she was assaulted” is a justification for not believing someone else. I don’t care whether any person (TRA, Wallis, a random on the street) didn’t believe JKR. I believe rape and domestic violence victims.

I would have thought feminists would agree with these things. I accept that it is very hard indeed when the person telling the public about their rape or mental health problems does so alongside a litany of worrying behaviour. But I think it is important to separate them. It is perfectly possible to believe all of the following:

• Wallis suffers from gender dysphoria
• Wallis was raped
• Wallis showed himself to be an unfit person to be an MP when he owned/ran a sugar daddy website
• Wallis fled the scene of a car crash
• people who flee the scene of a car crash should face stiffer penalties

I think what I find very hard is that a person whose been supposedly vetted to be an MP has such a murky background that is fundamentally exploitative towards women.

I don't dismiss or not believe his experiences of rape. I hope he gets support.

However, there is much conflation happening here - not least by the person in question with regard to their "trans" status (are they/aren't they) and wider issues that frankly should bar them from being an MP imho regardless of any aspects of them questioning their gender identity.

Frankly, I can feel sympathy and compassion for a victim of rape whist also believing that person - because of issues entirely unrelated to their gender identity is - unfit to be an MP.

Furthermore I don't think it's inappropriate to feel somewhat skeptical (in light of that person's history) in how they are trying to manage a narrative that saves their political skin by utilising terminology without commitment.

I am quite surprised how quickly down the news pages this story has dropped tbh. Expected this to hang around as a main story for a couple of days.

It was one of the news headlines on the Today Programme on Radio 4 just now. That usually indicates they will have an item on it at some point.

In this crazy world he could have been paid crazy money, by big pharma, to get Johnson to stop his once in a lifetime truth-telling that men can't be women. Now they have a trans member, Boris can't make 'insensitive' jokes about being assigned a sex at birth. Attempt to shut down debate again.

I can't get my head round how he actually got elected with his background tbh.

The Mail follow up story with some of his controversial background

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10670471/amp/A-PHD-astrobiology-links-sugar-daddy-website-Tory-transgender-MPs-career-controversies.html

CON
Conservative Gain
Majority 1,157

Electorate
63,303

Turnout
66.7%

He got a small majority over labour. Will be interesting to see if he holds teh seat or not at next election.

I had thought that he was single, and I was relieved that there wasn't a poor trans widow somewhere having to deal wiht this.

But there is. And child.

Mrs Wallis, we support you. I'm sorry you've had to go through this and I hope you have people IRL who you can turn to.

Radio 4 Today. Apparently the debate is about trans rights, extremely brave. But another MP mentioned the complications in law and policy need to be looked at. He has doubts about young people. Law should be fair and equitable.

I heard a snippet of that on Radio 4. Was it Alan Duncan? The question was something like ‘do you think the Tory party will shift [towards self-ID etc] I was pleased he didn’t jump to the glib ‘yes’ but replied with a nuanced -‘ there are some very serious issues re young people and also around fairness’

How is it so unclear wether he is married and has children? Is that usual for MPs for there to be nothing mentioning spouses and kids.

Even Boris was sketchy about how many he had and the details. But people knew there was a wife (now ex).

It seems the only proof is said he had a wife and child and another on the way. In his statement he only mentioned his father and 'other family'.

Is there any chance he lied about the wife and kids?

In this article from 2019, when he was elected as an MP, it says that he's married with two daughters.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2019-result-bridgend-17395159

An elected female in London council (???) did that if circlegendered (??) Circungender (??); a woman who feels like a man, who feels like a woman qualifies.

Circumgender. The photo of her announcing it to the other members is priceless, due to their expressions.

I don't believe this guy is trans

Well even Peter Tatchell is disputing his trans status.

Which is very interesting. It doesn't seem he is the right kind of trans. Not to do with the sugar daddy business but his stance on refugees and tax avoidance. Oh and reading the comments on the twitter feed some people don't think Tories should be trans.

twitter.com/PeterTatchell/status/1509224306110308365

[quote OldCrone]In this article from 2019, when he was elected as an MP, it says that he's married with two daughters.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2019-result-bridgend-17395159[/quote]
Jesus Christ his poor family.

Not a mention of them in his statement.

Racheal Reeve - Labour Shadow Chancellor (at long last) gave a very thorough answer to what a women is and the need to protect women only spaces.
Called the decision by NHS to ask everyone if they are pregnant "Very odd"

About bloody time too!

Wallis showed himself to be an unfit person to be an MP when he owned/ran a sugar daddy website

Call it what it is..... He ran an escort agency - prostitution.

Totally unfit to be an MP.

Oh and reading the comments on the twitter feed some people don't think Tories should be trans.

That will be news to Sue Pascoe and Tara Hewitt.

Was it Alan Duncan?

It was. The first serving Tory MP to openly declare he was gay. Very #bekind but also talking about there being a need for discussion, which I inferred to be from both sides. Where Wallis's intervention will lead is far from clear.

@SolasAnla

lifeturnsonadime

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Politely pointing out that even Postulant of Twitter screen shots are allowed post on any thread.

Sorry I don't understand this comment?

[quote lifeturnsonadime]Well even Peter Tatchell is disputing his trans status.

Which is very interesting. It doesn't seem he is the right kind of trans. Not to do with the sugar daddy business but his stance on refugees and tax avoidance. Oh and reading the comments on the twitter feed some people don't think Tories should be trans.

twitter.com/PeterTatchell/status/1509224306110308365[/quote]
So, there are exceptions to Acceptance Without Exception?