Will Gender Ideology influence how you vote?

[Heylo]

Hi, new to Mumsnet. Full disclaimer I have no kids yet but will start trying March 24 (lesbian with some embryos in the freezer!). I decided to join after the hilarious responses to the Dawn Butler debacle over the weekend.

I’ve historically been a Labour voter but I’m voting Tory next year because I’m concerned about women’s and children’s rights in relation to Gender Ideology. The lesbian scene especially has been culturally bulldozed by the new additions to womanhood & a lot of us (in our 30s) now self - exclude based on some of the militant trans rights activists (TRAs) pressuring women into taking on trans women as partners and socialise more closely with them. (Only media reporting on this is Telegraph & The Daily Mail. There has been a media blackout on this at the BBC and The Guardian). Actually a couple of women have tried to run same - sex speed dating nights but TRAs have sent them threats, doxxed them to their employers and called the venues to get the nights / events shut down. You can read more about that here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12401009/amp/Lesbian-speed-dating-event-sparks-transphobia-row-organisers-insist-adult-human-females-attend-popular-weekly-event.html

Anyway sorry for the segue, my question is to anyone who is interested in answering- if you are historically a Labour voter would the Gender issue sway you to voting conservative?

its a big topic at the moment in Gender Critical lesbian and bi circles. Everyone is usually a Labour voter but we’re all worried about what craziness Keir Starmer is going to introduce re erasing women’s spaces. I was curious what Mumsnet users think as outside of lesbians you are the next group (parents) who are most affected by this.

There is no way I could vote for the party that put Isla Bryson in a woman's jail. I can discuss or debate most policies and see.the different motivations, reasoning and thinking.

But to suggest that a man can be put in a woman's jail is an outrage to reason and morality.

It is so heartening that terfs are still a terfing on Christmas day!
Happy Terfmas and a very wonderful terfytastic New Year to you all!

I will be a single issue voter.

If women are disappeared in law, and the equality of access and inclusion of women is subordinated to enforced performing of the chosen fiction of a small number of men, what else is there really to be politically interested in?

We can't worry about poverty impacting on women when that group is just a mixed sex lump of nothing relevant and the main focus of women is not upsetting a political lobby.

There's no point in pretending to care about 'inclusion' when women with disabilities, from different cultures and faiths and belief systems are excluded from resources and facilities including health care and public life, and we're not allowed to talk about it for fear of upsetting a political lobby.

Safeguarding children will be completely compromised with the priority not being the best interests of the child, but the demands of the political capture.

And there is no way that I plan to vote for any government that is not able to handle reality, My standards have got very, very low and that's the bottom one.

I'm not sure yet. I'm traditionally a leftie voter. I've voted for Labour, Greens and LDs in the past.
I can't vote Tory. They have screwed the economy and NHS too badly.
But I also can't vote for a party that would effectively nullify women's rights.
There's holding your nose and voting for the best of a bad bunch, but this is different. My conscience won't let me cross the line of voting against womens rights. I just can't.
I'm going to wait until I find out who my MP candidates are before I decide.
If I lived in Rosie Duffield's constituency, I'd have no qualms about voting Labour for example.
I'm currently in a mostly working class Tory constituency. I'm hoping I'll get a Labour candidate who understands that self ID is not going to go down well here and will be openly GC.
It'll all depend on the individual for me. Otherwise, I may have to spoil my vote for the first time in my life.
I can't vote for the Tories in good conscience and that same conscience means I also can't vote for removal of women's safe spaces, refuges, rape crisis centres, right to fair sport or for the medicalisation of gender non-conforming children.
I'm hanging all my hopes on getting a Labour candidate with a backbone.

Don’t forget that it’s a Labour politician who’s reported MN to the Met in the last couple of days for daring to allow GC views to be posted ffs. Nothing from Starmer on that.

I'm lucky. I live in a constituency (currently SNP but historically Labour) where Labour members have chosen a fabulous, feisty feminist candidate for the next Westminster election. So it's a no-brainer for me. I wouldn't ever have voted Tory: yes, they've come to realise what a woman is, but they won't do anything to improve the lives of the women in this country who really need it. And let's not forget that the capture of institutions has happened on their watch and is only just beginning to be turned around.

Labour are in with a chance in my constituency and I want the SNP out. From what I can see, Labour is beginning to turn the tanker around but by no means out of the woods. When the time comes I'll be at hustings, asking questions and keeping women's rights on the agenda, and supporting a candidate who, from everything I see, if elected will be joining Rosie Duffield and Tonia Antoniazzi in defending women's rights on the Labour benches.

There is no way I could vote for the party that put Isla Bryson in a woman's jail.

Theyve been putting men into womens jails for years. Its every political party. No leader stood up and said this was a disgrace and should never happen until they realised the public reaction. Very few politicians understand the issue.

I think whatever we say here, labour will get in, and god help womens rights then.

Starmer is arguably one of the least radical politicians within labour, and his natural reaction was to say women shouldnt talk about it. And thats whats going to happen. Labour will stop women talking about real feminism and safeguarding.

Yes I feel this too. This is just too important for women to roll over on.

The SNP/Green coalition have been far more vociferous and misogynist on this issue than any other government.

I'm also in Scotland. No way in hell would I vote SNP, Libs, Labour, Greens either. That's what it's come to, Tories are best of a rotten lot for one single reason.

Please don't spoil though, women fought as hard for the right to vote as we are fighting now to keep our rights, identities and to protect our children.

And a Conservative Home Secretary who's joked about keeping women sedated so they can be raped. No word from the Prime Minister on that.

Hello @Heylo me too, so enjoyed the hilarity on here after Dawn Butler's peculiar announcement, and likewise, yes, GI will influence how I vote, it is my number one concern. I'm politically homeless although I'll be (tactically) voting Tory as they are the somewhat lesser of evils and I truly dread a Labour government who don't even know what a woman is, let alone their safeguarding, and other, needs.

That is not what he said though is it? I am as pissed off with his stupid 'humour' as any other person but let's not mis-represent what he was saying.

Cleverly apparently said the ideal spouse was "someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realise there are better men out there".

I see that as an obviously a self-deprecating joke. I dont believe Yvette Cooper can be that lacking in humour she doesn't see that too. She does have a interest to be 'look over there' about misogyny, given how silent shes been about men invading womens spaces. Or perhaps she genuinely does think this is worse than men in changing rooms with girls.

Your right, there hasn’t been .

He has been clear about what a woman is though - unlike Starmer. If Starmer gets his act together then I will vote for Labour as normal, but he’s got a lot of work to do to sort out the mess in his party.

Whatever Sunak desperately latches onto to make himself remotely credible to certain factions of the electorate really isn't of much interest to me quite frankly. I don't think he gives a toss about people in general including women and I don't believe a word he says anyway.

In any case I don't think gender ideology will be much of a factor in the election when it happens, however much it's promoted on Mumsnet. I really don't believe the electorate is heaving with women who are going to vote Conservative because "they know what a woman is".

I don’t care if it’s heaving or not - how others vote is their business. The OP asked whether gender ideology would influence the way we’d vote and I replied.

Of course it's their business how they vote.

Yes the OP asked a question. You replied, and so did I.

I am in Scotland. I’m very left wing. In the past I have voted Labour, SNP (when they looked more left than Labour) and LibDem when they promised PR and reduction of tuition fees. Ha!

After all the things that have gone wrong under the SNP I expect there’ll be a big swing against them in the next election.

I will try to find a candidate who personally promises to stand up for women’s rights regardless of party loyalty and is not a Tory. Ideally one with a chance of getting elected. Failing that, I hope Alba will stand a candidate. Failing that I will spoil my ballot paper again.

Hi thanks all for your well thought out replies. I know the Tories aren't concerned about women and their policies hit women most of all eg public spending cuts/ zero hour contracts. I see the opening up as women's spaces & the terrorising of women giving their opinion on this - the social ostracising, the doxxing of employers as the priority. Somebody posted earlier an excellent point that if women no longer exist in name how can we fight everything else eg cuts / policies that impact us. I think this is a an urgent issue and I understand why a lot of people see it as a 'smaller issue'. I really want to emphasise that these groups of activists are shutting down social groups of lesbians trying to meet without transwomen. I think about what that will look like on a wider scale for women in general, not just lesbians. When there is no option to meet without transwomen present.

Are you familiar with reduxx? They report on a lot of these issues reduxx.info

My Mum would turn In her grave if she knew I was going to vote Tory, but I can't ignore this single issue.

I didn’t think I’d come to voting Tory but I’m prepared to, to keep Labour out. My local (Tory) MP is fairly GC and that’s enough for me.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you op, it's appalling.

I don't intend to vote Conservative myself but I don't criticise anyone who does and I would ignore anyone who tries to make you feel guilty about it. All any of us can do is make the best decision we can.

It's all hypothetical if you're living in either a deep dyed red or blue constituency. You can only play the field in front of you and in my case it's deep dyed red. I respect it matters in the marginals tho, big time.

I’ve been spoiling my vote after a run of Labour votes but this is a constituency that could turn Lib Dem from Con. so I’ll be voting Tory next time.

Labour and Lib Dem have been very clear they don't want women like me voting for them. Why would I have so little regard for my self worth by voting for a party that doesn’t want my vote?

I will more than likely be spoiling my ballot with a very clear message. In the past I've mostly voted labour, greens or Lib Dem for tactical reasons but I can't bring myself to vote for any of them and I won't vote Tory. I hoped it wouldn't come to this. I wonder if enough of us declare our intention to spoil our ballots, would they take notice?