I've written in if anyone wants any ideas for a letter.
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the above article 'Why have rightwingers made even parkrun a battleground for trans people?' by Jonathan Liew, published 14/2/24.
Like the right-wing think tank Jonathan Liew decries, he too could be accused of commandeering women’s rights activism in a reactionary response to the political Right. In the UK (we are not in the USA and imported culture war rhetoric has no place here) women protesting the right to fair sport are across the political spectrum. If the “problem”, as Liew writes, is that “malign actors” capitalise on women’s concerns that “trans rights are an extension of the patriarchy they have long been fighting”, it suggests that women's fears in themselves are legitimate. Perhaps the Left could address these concerns? Many women remain unconvinced by the Labour leader who, whether through ignorance or cowardice, is unable to state basic biology. Maybe the Left should get their own house in order before blaming the Right of rank opportunism.
I believe that Liew ascribes such little value personally to women’s right to fair sport (https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/caster-semenya-news-gender-martina-navratilova-trans-cas-jonathan-liew-column-a8792861.html), that he is unable to understand this as the sole cause of women’s protest. Instead he concludes supporters are, in fact, motivated by malign intent to “legislate trans people out of existence”. Perceiving a cruel political agenda is a useful deployment against listening to women.
He’s got one thing right. This isn’t just about Parkrun, or sport, but about women’s fundamental rights to equality. It’s apparent where the Left stands.
Yours faithfully.