BitossiBlues · Today 16:45
Miriam Cates as brilliant as always. I didn't think the burgundy clad lady behind was scoffing, I think she's trying not to react too much, but her body language is not dismissive. To me, she is making a disgust face and shaking her head slightly when MC describes the activities of the digital engagement fellow at Mermaids; she is then nodding along ever so slightly when MC says Mermaids have had unfettered access to children for too long.
Truss says that, " It is very important that under 18s are able to develop their own decision making capabilities, and not be forced into any kind of activity." You could interpret this as, let's enshrine Gillick style competence into statute to allow children under 18 to make life altering changes to their bodies, and legally assume they understand what permanent harm and losses they are incurring; or it could mean, let's rein in orgs like Mermaids who push a single, affirmative agenda on dysphoric teens, shut down parental concerns with cries of "transphobia!", shut down talking therapy with cries of "conversion therapy!" , shut down wait and see with "suicide if you don't act now!" and basically shut off all other avenues these children and parents that might take which would result in something other than irreversible transition. Liz "Women Do Have Vaginas, Nick" Truss was once considered as GC bad ass, but as PM, I suppose she needs to be more circumspect on declaring where she stands on this, and needs to let the Charities Commission process run its course without undue political influence from the top. Let's hope her past form is something we can rely on going forward.
You put the two possibilities for what L T may have meant so well. Let us hope it was the second option. Though using ‘activity’ to mean life altering hormones and operations is quite strange, maybe you are right that she had to be careful to get her meaning across invisibly as it were.
I wrote to Miriam Cates to thank her for bringing up the subject.
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