How many gender critical feminists are actually 'out'

[PurpleBugz]

I've been gender critical ever since I learned what is was. But I've not been able to come 'out' on my social media until the posts this weekend and in preceding weeks showed me I really must. I have a now or never feeling about it.

I have the privilege of knowing I can't loose my home or my job by speaking up. If either could be threatened I'd never be able to out myself. As it is I fear what will be said of me as a parent for holding these views. I'm sure I'm about to loose many friends and family.

How many of you strong women are out as gender critical? What's your experience of it?

I'm out to my friends and I guess I'm out on SM because I like and follow GC people and their GC posts under my own name. I'm not someone who posts much on any SM platform, so I'm not shouting it from the rooftops, but if anyone cares to look I think it's pretty clear what my views are.

Yes, over the past few years I've slowly had a few people sort of sidle up and re-raise the subject again, having brushed it aside previously. But most of them are scared to raise it, despite knowing that I'm a raging feminist.

I've been thinking and I know at least 4 closeted GC / biological realist people - most of whom are not out because of fear of the consequences in their workplace. That's just so sad.

It is tricky. I might not be fired, post-Forstater, but I would be sidelined. By keeping my GC views below the radar, I am able to have more influence on policy than if I were out as a T**f. For example, I managed to get references to gender changed back to sex in various policy documents and I have had influence over some initiatives to extend prescribing of cross-sex hormones. I would just not be allowed on the decision-making committees, if people knew my true views. There is a very prominent TW policy-maker who polices everybody.

I'm not claiming that this is why I am not out at work - it's because I don't want to foul my career, and I would be a hypocrite to pretend otherwise. But I'm just saying that those of us in the closet at work can have influence: it's not an all-or-nothing situation.

I'm greatly in awe of women like Maya and Kathleen Stock, who have the courage to be out, despite the damage to their careers.

I'm out. Luckily in my job, my team feel the same as me which is good, but we are careful when we speak about things like this. Tbh they rarely come up in the workplace. I'm out online on SM, I probably have lost some acquaintances but I really don't care. If they don't agree with protecting women and their rights, I don't want them as acquaintances anyway.

One of my relatives is trans. I have made it clear that while I will use their preferred pronoun and call them by their new name I do not accept that people can change sex and I wish they would not support Mermaids, I certainly will not. (havent actually said I contributed to LGB alliance fundraiser). Have raised this with our "be kind" MP. So I'm as out as I can be. Fortunately I am financially secure. Some of my friends agree, some are scared to say anything for fear of upsetting their children. My child is not happy about it, I'm ashamed of them.

Dont use twatter, have posted something that was gc on Facebook and was liked by a (closer than me) relative of transperson, much to my surprise.

If I was working in a large organisation I would probably not to be out.

I managed to get references to gender changed back to sex in various policy documents and I have had influence over some initiatives to extend prescribing of cross-sex hormones.

But I'm just saying that those of us in the closet at work can have influence.

👏👏👏

I am out to most family but not friends - such as remain! I am on Twitter anonymously. I don't do FB but DH does and GC posts go up from us. Have an intermittent blog on Wordpress which has been noticed but it is not linked to me on MN. So, shadows, not because I could lose job or home (might lose p/t job, I suppose, not thought about it) but because I am in a Labour stronghold with little GC contact except online - difficult to find groups of like-minded people and wary of bringing up the topic with acquaintances/colleagues as they may be on the 'be kind' pathway - m/c liberals. I got cheered in local pub once for stating TWANW in a discussion but everyone said they could not say it themselves because of jobs.

I follow an approach that is very similar to this, although I'm currently experiencing an interesting time on a different thread where the motivations behind my reasonable approach are being questioned by posters who I share a gender critical position with. For me this underlines how difficult it would be to be "out" more widely. I suspect I've been accidentally misunderstood rather than wilfully but it makes me realise how exhausting and time consuming I would find it if I was more widely out.

@PurpleBugz I've also been finding some of this weekend's threads (two in particular: "still genuinely.. good faith" and the steel-manning one that we've both been on) really helpful in understanding my thoughts. Aside from my questionable motivation (🤦‍♀️), I'm finding them great places to explore thoughts and exchange different viewpoints respectfully. Even with the uncomfortable bits, I feel the same. At the time of writing this, I have no idea if my explanation of my motivation in the thread where it's been questioned has made any difference to the opinions that I was gameplaying (I haven't actually looked yet) but I may never get any feedback on that, so it's not going to deter me.

I have very limited social media, so I'm going to continue my one on one conversations in person or in writing (e.g. writing to my MP, signing petitions) using my name. But otherwise, I'll remain anonymous for now so that I can focus on my primary goal of supporting other autistic gender-questioning girls like my daughter.

I am so angry that women are still fearful at work despite the law being clear. It is really good that you are doing things within your job to change language back etc. As older women who do not have to worry about work we are able to speak out more. Yes I am out on FB, don’t do the others, but prefer to be clear in person, have lost friends over this which feels bad but I am not prepared to shut up. Have now found a small group of likeminded women to talk things through with. Much harder is the anti lesbianism stuff which often happens as a result of being clear about not believing that you can change sex. This I really can’t forgive so I now know who I can rely on. In smaller communities this obviously is harder.

Me. I've just joined the inclusion group at work as openly GC
I made the point that it's not really inclusion if you don't include everyone

They didn't disagree

Also I work in HR and frequently quote forstater and I think they know I'd take action if I was discriminated against for GC. That helps

I'm out to my husband, and a couple of close friends but that's it. I would worry about repercussions in my job if I came out to a wider audience

That's brilliant.

I'm all out. The notion that you can change your gender is pure lunacy. I would sacrifice anything for the truth.

I am, but I'm male so don't think it's quite as risky for me as most women.

Don't do FB or Twitter anyway, but am quite GC on reddit and seem to have got away with it so far. (Although have been banned from both the trans and transgenderUK subreddits)

Out at work, it's only a tiny startup and I'm one of the directors but the CEO likes to pretend he's quite woke so have had to argue about the pronouns in emails bollocks etc.

Happily out with friends, down the pub etc. Have lost one friend over it but have found that most men who start an argument on the TWAW side are actually quite TERFY once you start pointing out how it's affecting their wives and daughters.

The only time I have to be a bit careful is with DD. Shes 15 and has a trans best friend. I keep my mouth shut around her friends as I don't want her to get grief based on my opinions, but I'll happily have a discussion about it with her. JKR was where we first discussed it, as she loves HP and was expressing her unhappiness with JKR. We had a long conversation about that, and is now listening to The Witch Trials of JKR. It's not going to be a quick win with her but I'm happy I can have a conversation about it without it descending into insults.

Was out in my old job when I needed to speak out because of decisions they were making in this area. They changed their practice as a result of the case I made.

Will be out in my new job if I need to.

Out to friends as well. Only one stopped being my friend. And I’ve made or strengthened many more friends due to being openly gender critical.

I'm out at work, wear terfy tshirts when I'm not at work and do WRN street stalls.

I'm autistic so have always spoken my mind and have always found lying difficult. Plus I've reached an age where I really don't give a shit about offending people if they don't like what I say.

The only sphere of life where I have to be more careful is politics. I can be open with my local party but this year, I am on the National Party's Women's committee. We're always under way more scrutiny than other special interest groups. I stood on a platform of supporting women's sex based rights but TRAs in the party regularly try (and sometimes succeed) to get GC members suspended or expelled so we have to be very careful how we phrase things.

I am out to a degree.

Most of my friends and family know how I feel and are in agreement. I know one friend who strangely has chosen the men in women's sports issue to support the TRA position. It's bizarre, she's a lesbian and I would've thought more likely to understand the issues but she's the only one I know who has taken that side.

At work I think they know how I feel and I think they agree but it's a bit of dancing around the subject situation there.

Other than the aforementioned be kind friend I don't know anyone full on TRA which is heartening.

That is really bizarre about the lesbian supporting men in women's sport. I'm guessing she's not an athlete that's going to lose out / does not have a daughter who will lose out? It's quite easy to give away women's sports (because that's what it is) if you're not risking anything, I suppose.

What about the women physically injured, sometimes severely in life changing ways, by men in women's sports?

@dimorphism she made an Instagram post supporting the inclusion of TW, I think it was about Lia Thomas IIRC. Tbh I think she's lacked critical thought on it and not looked into the biological reality rather than done her research and still think it.

She's very heavily into the pride scene and so I think has other friends who probably identify into the alphabet soup as something other than LGB. I don't think she's gone any further into it research wise.

But no, not an athlete and no DCs so you're probably right that the distance is allowing her to not see the truth.

I work in a well known university in Scotland. I sometimes worry that people can read my thoughts and I’ll be fired, never mind say them out loud!

This is really eye opening. I didn't even know GC was a thing. Can someone please explain what Gender Critical means?

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so stupid people don't get offended.

It’s a term that includes the broad section of women who believe in defending women’s sex based rights in law, policy, practice and the public sphere. That is the right to single sex sports, spaces ( such as prisons, refuges, homeless accommodation etc), to the right of women to organise politically and socially on the basis of their sex, and to retaining language which names women according to their reproductive sex class. This is important in all spheres , but particularly important to clear health communication ( for example to be able to address public health campaigns about cervical screening to women).

We believe all these things are basic human rights for women and are vital to the safety, dignity and privacy of women, and to women being seen as equal human beings.

We believe ( well, we know!) that saying woman is an identity that men can claim destroys all of these rights.

I am totally ‘out’ to everyone I know.
I live somwhere very rural and conservative, so it doesn’t require any bravery.

I am considered the goto person for all things trans related in work

I haven’t met ANYONE who disagrees with me. A few years ago lots of people didn’t take me seriously, and thought I must be exaggerating. Now they are better informed and as terfy as me.

One friend was initially very ‘be kind’ but she was peaked after we discussed the case of the rape survivor who couldn’t access female only support in Brighton.

And although I live somewhere very conservative, I’m a lifelong left-wing voter (I voted for Jeremy Corbyn twice for the Labour Party leadership), as are most of my family and friends.