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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Mermaids being investigated by the Charity Commission - thread 2

1000 replies

ResisterRex · 06/10/2022 05:55

The first thread, towards the end of which there was a discussion about having a second thread but it wasn't added:

Mermaids being investigated by the charity commission
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4644323-mermaids-being-investigated-by-the-charity-commissionn_

There's been a new development so maybe a second thread would be useful:

Lottery pauses trans charity cash during investigation

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c959a286-44e4-11ed-8885-043c27446b97?shareToken=6d482edb1a386656502f33453da5c230

OP posts:
Thread gallery
117
ArabellaScott · 06/10/2022 09:29

The problem isn't any one person.

The problem isn't even just Mermaids.

The problem is a movement that suggests we have some mysterious indefinable 'gender identity'.

The problem is an unevidenced ideology that relies on undefined terms and arcane theory.

That suggests we must accept 'gender identity' as an article of faith.

That sets up the idea of 'trans' children.

That encourages the breaking down of boundaries.

That says 'queering' is unquestioningly a good thing.

That repeats hyperbolic statements about suicidal ideation.

That asks children to decide what 'gender' they are when even adults in academic gender studies courses are unable to clearly define it.

That then suggests that the child's 'gender' must be 'affirmed' and threatens any adult questioning or disagreement as 'conversion'.

That celebrates dysphoria as part of an invented 'trans identity'.

That creates a movement with flags, codes, in-groups and narratives such as the 'glitter family' or 'rainbow family'.

That casts outsiders as transphobic, bigoted, pearl-clutchers, 'haters', homophobes, etc.

That encourages a culture of secrecy, between schools and families, between children and families, between charity staff and the public.

To me personally, that whole movement looks like something that I'm not allowed to state clearly on here. I'll let you make up your own mind.

Grievedbutrelieved · 06/10/2022 09:39

@ArabellaScott
Excellent summary.

ReunitedThorns · 06/10/2022 09:49

The quick ditching of Mermaids by various individuals and companies shows that the support for the group wasn't about trans issues, it was about looking good, being seen on "the right side of history" etc. It was a marketing ploy.

As soon as the charity has negativity around it they're dropped immediately. If the issue of trans rights was so important, why are people so quick to dismiss it? No different to people putting a Ukraine flag or BLM on their Twitter, it was about looking good.

ArabellaScott · 06/10/2022 09:51

Yes, but if the underlying issues with genderism aren't recognised and addressed, then just as Mermaids falls, other organisations with similar aims will step in.

ArabellaScott · 06/10/2022 09:53

Jacob Breslow is a symptom, not the underlying cause.

The underlying cause is genderism and gender ideology.

We need to be asking questions about the movement itself, what its aims are, how it's developed over the past thirty odd years, what the consequences are of enshrining 'gender' in law and policy.

sashh · 06/10/2022 09:53

But you have to have a DBS for each organisation. At one point I had 5 as I worked with 5 separate organisations. It is up to each org to do a DBS. Mermaids obviously did nit do basic safeguarding and are desperately trying to blame someone else. An organisation cannot reveal the outcome of a DBS to anyone other than law enforcement so the LSE were under no obligation to tell Mermaids. The safeguarding lead should have known this.

Not for a few years now, as long as you have your DBS on the update service you can give people permission to view your DBS and it is updated each year.

I used to have multiple DBS certificates.

ResisterRex · 06/10/2022 09:54

Screenshot of a paper that Breslow said he would publish with/at/by(?) LSE but seems not to have done:

twitter.com/tlitb/status/1577944285932036098?s=46&t=wyuWGGU1Sa4RPpGFyu1SZg

OP posts:
longcovidquestions · 06/10/2022 09:56

Thank you women of Mumsnet to opening my eyes to these horrors.

longcovidquestions · 06/10/2022 09:57

@ResisterRex - it’s been deleted…

DameMaud · 06/10/2022 10:01

ResisterRex · 06/10/2022 09:54

Screenshot of a paper that Breslow said he would publish with/at/by(?) LSE but seems not to have done:

twitter.com/tlitb/status/1577944285932036098?s=46&t=wyuWGGU1Sa4RPpGFyu1SZg

It's gone!

Signalbox · 06/10/2022 10:02

I suspect the trouble is not that they didn't know that Breslow's work involved support for MAPs, but that they did and thought this was actually a positive.

I think this is right. It must be quite hard for the people at Mermaids to have a good sense of what is and what is not appropriate, what with their constant push to blur the boundaries and meaning of things; attempts to remove the "informed" part of informed consent so that any child can "consent" to sterilisation and loss of future adult sexual function; SG taking her child abroad aged 15 so that he could have (illegal in the UK) genital surgery on his 16th birthday; keeping secrets from parents etc. Their moral compass is all over the place so why would they suddenly execute sound judgment when it come to the concept of paedophile apologism?

Signalbox · 06/10/2022 10:09

Also using LSE an excuse for not doing background checks. LSE have form for this kind of thing haven't they? Anyone remember this (in relation to TERFs) from one of their students...

"We go unnoticed, right up until the moment they scream for mercy. Am I a threat to you? Do I send chills down your spine? Picture this, I hold a knife to your throat and spit my transness into your ear. Does that turn you on? Are you scared? I sure fucking hope so."

Mermaids must know that students / academics coming from LSE have some red-flag views.

thepostmillennial.com/trans-scholar-writes-essay-threatening-violence-against-women-gets-featured-by-prominent-university

MajorieEks · 06/10/2022 10:13

You have to do your own checks so you can be sure you've covered all the bases. Relying on anyone's efforts aren't enough because you don't know how rigorous their processes are.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/predatory-ex-minister-loses-job-at-university-6q5pqj0pp

SunshineReady · 06/10/2022 10:14

What is the BBC's relationship with Mermaids?

In this Newsnight clip from 2016, BBC presenter Evan Davis says to Stephanie Davis-Arai from Transgendertrend "I don't know what your point is" when she says that people can't change sex. He is constantly talking over her and doesn't seem unbiased. Susie Green comes across like a bully.

Stephanie Davis-Arai spoke so much sense.

ArabellaScott · 06/10/2022 10:18

Signalbox · 06/10/2022 10:09

Also using LSE an excuse for not doing background checks. LSE have form for this kind of thing haven't they? Anyone remember this (in relation to TERFs) from one of their students...

"We go unnoticed, right up until the moment they scream for mercy. Am I a threat to you? Do I send chills down your spine? Picture this, I hold a knife to your throat and spit my transness into your ear. Does that turn you on? Are you scared? I sure fucking hope so."

Mermaids must know that students / academics coming from LSE have some red-flag views.

thepostmillennial.com/trans-scholar-writes-essay-threatening-violence-against-women-gets-featured-by-prominent-university

Well, another feature of this movement is the lauding of threats and abuse aimed at women, particularly older, non-compliant women.

So this is all at least tacitly endorsed by genderists.

So many of them think it's fine and justified to 'punch a terf' etc.

MajorieEks · 06/10/2022 10:20

I can't see the non-screenshot version as I'm blocked by Nicky Clark (don't think I've ever interacted with her on Twitter) so I can't see what she's responding to but I assume it's Mermaids

Mermaids being investigated by the Charity Commission - thread 2
Whatwouldscullydo · 06/10/2022 10:29

Well, another feature of this movement is the lauding of threats and abuse aimed at women, particularly older, non-compliant women

And the constant waiting for the perfect source for any information. They refuse to read or take note of women, any organisation that is woman based, every single paper apparently has an agenda , no Dr knows a thing etc amd while this perfect source is being sought they continue to dog themselves bigger and bigger holes.

InvisibleDragon · 06/10/2022 10:33

This whole debacle highlights the danger of subsuming LGB under the umbrella of queer.

A researcher studying queer identities and childhood could be looking at anything from the impact of homophobic bullying in secondary schools to normalizing paedophilia. That leaves a lot of space for people to handwave away concerns about the latter as narrow minded bigotry about the former. Particularly if they are also invested in assuming good intent and being kind.

RaininginDarling · 06/10/2022 10:34

Whatwouldscullydo · 06/10/2022 10:29

Well, another feature of this movement is the lauding of threats and abuse aimed at women, particularly older, non-compliant women

And the constant waiting for the perfect source for any information. They refuse to read or take note of women, any organisation that is woman based, every single paper apparently has an agenda , no Dr knows a thing etc amd while this perfect source is being sought they continue to dog themselves bigger and bigger holes.

They are also fearful of anyone actually attempting rigorous research. Look at how James Caspian has been treated.

Why wouldn't you want to know the long term effects of an experimental medical pathway?

FlibbertyGiblets · 06/10/2022 10:34

I understood the knife holding spitter was a student being supervised by Breslaw?

Anactor · 06/10/2022 10:35

ResisterRex · 06/10/2022 07:26

Not sure if the statement they did make about the trustee was on the last thread. It appears as though they would have done some kind of search (what is a social media "review"?). Assuming someone else has done a check of some description also appears to be part of their statement:

web.archive.org/web/20221006005844/mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/statement-regarding-trustee-appointment/

"All trustees and staff are subject to background checks including enhanced DBS searches, social media reviews and other due diligence. On this occasion we also placed weight on the fact his employer is a globally renowned institution that would have carried out its own checks."

Good Lord. Did it not occur to them that the world renowned institution is primarily working with over-18s - while their charity works primarily with under 18s? And that the safeguarding requirements would be completely different?

A clean bill of health for working with young adult students is not the same thing at all as a clean bill of health for working with vulnerable teens and pre-teens.

Whatwouldscullydo · 06/10/2022 10:43

Why wouldn't you want to know the long term effects of an experimental medical pathway?

I actually think they are as afraid of finding out the outcomes are good as they are of finding out they are bad.

If they are bad then how do you justify what you have done to your own child

And if they are good how can you continue to be a victim of poor health care when being a victim is all they have to weaponise.

Needmoresleep · 06/10/2022 10:49

I continue to think that the main problem is not Mermaids, but whoever pushed a group of fairly ordinary women based in Leeds to prominence. Presumably backed by a desire to normalise transgenderism amongst young people, thereby eroding societal boundaries.

More why Mermaids?

Mermaids will be thrown under the bus. They are disposable. All those virtue signalling corporations won't care about autistic or traumatised teens surfing the internet from their bedrooms. Its like Rotherham. Obvious harm is being done to children yet the authorities including the police, do not care.

As an aside I spotted this in the mermaids statement "As we stated on Monday, we take a harm reduction approach to our Binder Service, and we are thankful that the Met Police have confirmed what we already knew to be true – that supplying or wearing a binder is not a crime."

Binders need to be classified as a medical device.

ValancyRedfern · 06/10/2022 10:55

Whatwouldscullydo · 06/10/2022 10:29

Well, another feature of this movement is the lauding of threats and abuse aimed at women, particularly older, non-compliant women

And the constant waiting for the perfect source for any information. They refuse to read or take note of women, any organisation that is woman based, every single paper apparently has an agenda , no Dr knows a thing etc amd while this perfect source is being sought they continue to dog themselves bigger and bigger holes.

This really resonates with me. Every piece of evidence I raised with my deputy head was 'not neutral'and therefore to be ignored. I am now spending hours basically re-doing all the excellent work of sex matters and Transgender Trend in order to present the facts minus the 'transphobic'medium. Except most likely there will also be a reason why my facts are wrong too...

BernardBlacksWineIcelolly · 06/10/2022 10:57

[Mermaids] maintains that it does not promote any particular pathway over another for children who question their identity

from the DM article

what absolute bollocks. Their whole raison d’etre is to advocate FOR transing children.

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