Do you hide your GC views under a bushel?

[lurchermummy]

I have a lot of liberal, left leaning friends. They are all about inclusivity. I know I am GC but tend to keep quiet about it because I feel I will be shouted down or seen as a right wing reactionary. It seems that Mumsnet is the only safe space to air such views. Anyone else have this experience? Am I a coward??

When my podiatrist of all people mentioned she stepped on a whole bunch of landmines with her in-laws, and even her DH, well, I could hardly believe it. Called a Nazi, fascist and transphobe, all in the same evening.

I thought, this must be an outlier or her exaggerating. How wrong I was, if testimony on this thread is anything to go by.

Early on in this debate I tried to talk to a few friends about this issue, having assumed they would definitely be GC. They were kind, intelligent feminists and very sensible. I was very taken aback when one completely dropped me (as she just wanted to be kind to vulnerable TW) and I caught the other bad mouthing me on someone else's Facebook post (she hadn't known I knew that person). I got a lot more cautious and private after that. I still very much am, it's too difficult to bring this conversation up really.

But have hope. I had another friend who was full on TWAW and I just caught up with her having not seen her for a few years. She has completely changed her mind. I'm stunned and so relieved as I'd honestly found it hard not to be disappointed in her 5 years ago and drift away from that relationship. She fully gets it now and I have been sharing all sorts of resources to get her even more up to speed. It will be lovely to have an ally to discuss things with. We haven't touched on the fact she used to be so TWAW. I don't think that's helpful. Many vulnerable to getting sucked into an ideology at the end of the day. She was genuinely just trying to be kind.

I suspect that if you talk about it is you might get a different reaction from people. I bet 90% of women think TWAW is a crock of shit. And talking of that , what has happened to graffiti in toilets? You just don’t see it anymore,

I’ve been raising the issue by joking “I’m a terf now, you know!”, but only to friends and family who know how political I’ve always been, so they can write it off as “just another bee in Mavis’s bonnet” if they want, but so far only my leftie niece (28) has been at all sniffy about it, and I reckon I can talk her round in time, she does call herself a feminist.

If it comes up I’m pretty forthright, I don’t think anyone wonders where I stand. I try not to bring it up myself as I can get genuinely angry and might end up shouting about women in prison.

it just seems a horror too hideous to believe, being locked in with a rapist with nowhere to go.

I'm open if it comes up that an individual's sex is fixed and relevant from the moment of conception to the moment of death.
I'm pro-womens rights, openly. If that gets me tarred with the same brush as JKR then I'm in good company.

I tested this out this evening, spoke to someone who I thought might be GC , turns out they have a trans friend, had a friendly exchange of views I spoke about need for single sex provision and sex and gender being different. She agrees re sport being single sex. There were points of agreement and disagreement. All amicable, the conversation then moved on to holidays and films.
so I think we’ll worth talking about it. I’m going to do it more.
I would have liked to have some facts about percentage of the population with DSDs though

I'll wager a bet that the yoof of today don't carry pens around with them these days.

My family and friends know and all are open to discussion. My DP is just has involved as I am in writing letters to MP, contributing to court cases etc. My brothers instinctively are against men competing in women's sports, but lagging behind with everything else.

I was out as GC at work when the topic was brought up, but I never initiated the conversations. Although there were quite a few kind colleagues, there was never any issues in giving my opinion. I'm starting a new job soon so I'll be keeping my head down to begin with.

I always have a sharpie in my bag…