Worrying Increase in Transphobia

[PorcelinaV]

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/09/transphobia-uk-press-media-negative-coverage/

An increase in transphobic sentiment among the British public has been fuelled by hostile coverage of trans people from the right-wing press, argues data journalist Ell Folan....

Unfortunately, newspapers still have a great deal of influence on the public and political agenda in Britain, and nowhere is this more obvious than in how perceptions of trans rights have changed.

As recently as Feburary 2021, an absolute majority of British voters (51 per cent) agreed with the statement “a transgender woman is a woman”, including 6 in 10 women. Just 34 per cent disagreed. But after years of negative coverage from the press, those numbers have changed.

In April this year, only 33 per cent of voters agreed that trans women are women, with 47 per cent disagreeing....

It is clear that the media plays an important role in shaping public perceptions, and unless their negative coverage is corrected and refuted, public opinion will continue to worsen.

You’ll likely be asked a lot of questions about your position anniessong which, if you haven’t given much thought to the issues and are encountering these questions for the first time, you might find quite challenging.

But the context is that you’ve joined the thread and claimed that “there’s a huge amount of transphobia on mumsnet”. So, naturally you’ll be expected to be able to substantiate that accusation.

edited to correct username spelling

“person born male who prefers the female stereotypes is therefore really female” is a paraphrase of the position you appeared to be taking in the post I quoted.

I’m aware I’ve had many replies but my children are now up so I’ll be off. No rudeness or disrespect intended and not an unwillingness to engage in the debate either as I replied to as many as I could in the time I had

@Anniessong please could you quote and identify an example of transphobia on this thread, and explain why it's transphobic? I can only see rational, sympathitic posts being fully supportive of trans people's rights and existence.

Due to the treatment of media personalities who don't wholly agree with the pushed mainstream agenda I think alot of the public would answer with the perceived 'correct' answer for fear or being vilified and cancelled.
I know in my workplace in a large multinational LBGTQ awarness and Pride week is heavily pushed. Personally I would respect someone's choice but I might not agree with it. I know if I voice this opinion at work my job would be in jepoardy.
I don't think you can change gender or sex. It is assigned at birth within your chromosomes, yes you can modify yourself to resemble the opposite sex you were born as but a person born male who becomes a transfemale will never menstruate or become pregnant and obversely a female who becomes a trans male will not ejaculate or become a father.
It is therfore in my mind impossible to change sex or gender.

Fair enough anniessong.

Right.

So how do we have female only spaces which allow the right kind of transwomen in but keep men pretending to be transgender to attack women and trans women who are also sexual predators out?

I completely agree with you.

The drop in percentage is good to see.

There have been some posts on what the general view is beyond on here, and if people are more able to say TWANW then women have more chance of getting single sex spaces back

Yes I know someone just like this. Suicide attempts, ASD and now attention and sympathy as they tell people they're a lesbian (heterosexual male with a girlfriend). I'm uncomfortable around this person not because they're trans but because in my experience they dislike women (especially ones who disagree with them) and because I find them narcissistic and inauthentic.

No one is denying the existence of trans people.

But a person with a penis is not the same as a person with a uterus. Biology is biology. The change in figure is because people have realised how insane it’s got.

The guardian isn’t refuting it because they know. They know it’s gone nuts.

A drop from 51% saying transwomen are women to 34% suggests that people are learning and understanding more. This has to be a good thing. Until recently I think most people thought a transwoman meant a woman who wanted to be a man.

I'm confused about the opening post as there's definitely been news back outs for individuals like Dara Rivers and Barbie Kardashian.

And the information Genevieve Gluck gathered and reported on relating to the eunuch files and those who run the site and their input into the lates WPATH guidelines is never reported on anywhere else but reduxx.

And the majority of the news reports on the it never happens thread are local news.

That stuff never hits the mainstream press presumably in order to make sure there ISNT a real transphobic back lash.

It's really strange to be honest. It's not catholic phobic to acknowledge there have been catastrophic issues with the Catholic church and honest analysis led to better safeguarding for all. Including catholic priests.

I know you’ve left the thread to get on with family stuff @Anniessong but you really need to read up on the data on the percentage of male prison inmates who declare a feminine gender identity who are convicted sex offenders. It’s around 50% (iirc) - significantly higher than the percentage of sex offenders amongst male prisoners who do not declare a feminine gender identity.

Your belief that males who declare a feminine gender identity are less likely to be dangerous than males who do not declare a feminine gender identity is not supported by the evidence.

There’s been a highly organised campaign over several years now portraying males who declare a feminine gender identity as harmless, vulnerable and under constant threat and to portray women who want to retain their right to privacy and dignity when in a state of undress as nasty, ignorant, bigoted and hateful. That campaign has lacked truthfulness. That campaign has been very successful, as your posts demonstrate.

@Anniessong “born the wrong body because they feel like they should have different bodies to suit their gender identity”

But can you explain what is a female gender identity is exactly?

I am sure the women stuck underneath the Burqas in Afghantan would love to identify out of their bodies too.

Just an example of some of the bullying - just search for any Sam Smith related posts and the body shaming on mumsnet is unreal.

I think asking such a simplistic poll like that is unhelpful. To me they are a transwoman. Very different to me as a woman. But I appreciate they are choosing not to "live as a man." Whatever that means. It usually means long hair and wears make up and dresses. I think if they asked is a transwoman a biological woman most people would say no not at all.

"Sex and gender are two separate things" is not a reason to eliminate all social divisions made on the basis of sex. This claim is often really "Sex and gender are two separate things, and sex is of no real importance", the latter part flying in the face of all evidence.

Claiming that population-level behavioural differences previously attributed to sex and really due to gender is a risky hypothesis, lacking any firm theoretical motivation, and not currently well-supported by the evidence - much of which (e.g. patterns of criminal behaviours by trans women) would actively seem to suggest it is false.

I used to think that a transwoman was 'a woman who was 'transitioning ', therefore definitely a woman, so the difference might be because of a misunderstanding in the past or the way the question was framed.

I think for a large percentage of the population the idea that people can change from male to female or vice versa was just beyond comprehension, its only when you see/read/experience something that shows you what is happening do you take note. I think this wakening up has happened and hence the realisation that this ideology has taken hold - hence the change in percentages. TBH I hope the percentages change so that 100% recognise biology only.

there’s a huge amount of transphobia among the mumsnet community as a lot of responses here show.

😂

Where? Get specific.

At the point of the thread you posted, you can only mean by transphobia non compliance and women not submitting to laying down their rights for male people with trans identities to have absolute freedom at their expense. To expect women to do this is neither moral, nor ethical, nor rational. The answer's no. If you feel you need to call me names for believing in women's rights and equality then you go right ahead, I'm fine with it.

It's really a rather daft deflection to try and brush all the issues women put forward as 'you're just afraid (of getting naked in front of random men, some of whom are serious sex offenders, carry swords, shout about rape and murder if you displease them)' rather than having the capacity to hear women's voices, listen to what they say, have any concept of inclusion as something other than a transgender male only thing, or any real belief that male people change sex as you definitely have very different, obvious standards of what female people must submit to, and what male people are entitled to take from them. What label the male person has chosen changes nothing in your belief about that.

Angry would be a better word. Outraged at the misogyny. Disbelieving that any twit would defend this appalling treatment of women and children and be able to somehow confuse 'wants equality for women' with 'afraid of men'. I think the rather patronising and grim phrase the political lobby use is 'educate yourself' but I wouldn't be so rude as they are. You might however want to try reading some of threads around here and actually listening to what women are saying, because you've not got it yet.

@PorcelinaV

i think has this posts shows there is a lot of vitriol on here.

there is wrong on all side in this debate but no one thinks about real trans people and the issues.

it's not about men pretending to be women. That's such a prevention of this issue by those people and an over simplification by others.

I always think it reminds me of the race debate. Horrid.

I wish someone could explain clearly what it means to be “born in the wrong body”.

I used to feel that transwomen might be a sort of subset of women up until about six years ago. The travel writings of Jan Morris always impressed me and I assumed they all had surgery like Jan.

Then came the attacks on JKR and Graham Linehan and I had to really read around the subject and think about it properly for the first time. I suspect this has happened for a lot of people.

One of the saddest parts was discovering what a misogynist Morris was in his private life.

And what do we do with all the women (who are tax payers and have equal rights under law) who cannot use female only spaces if any biologically male people are there, regardless of the sincerity, degree of transition, loveliness and beliefs of the male person in question?

Just chucking them out of society so male people can be happy isn't an option unless you're a male supremacist.