Debate happening in House of Commons: Victoria Atkins on fire

[BonfireLady]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/04/15/rishi-sunak-david-cameron-downing-street-general-election/

I hadn’t either. But she’s been a member of the Women and Equalities Committee since July 2023.

Anyway, good for her.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25865/lia_nici/great_grimsby

(The classic example always given is "I didn't say you stole my wallet". Place emphasis on each word in turn, and see how the meaning changes. Words, in the mouths of the untrustworthy, are weasels*.)

That’s such a good example! Thanks.

hazandduck · Today 12:22

I posted on here a couple of years ago about a girl who tried to attack me when I said I wouldn’t affirm if my child claimed to be trapped in the wrong body, I’d support and seek counselling for them, she went ballistic this was in real life it was terrifying.

I had a similar real life experience, I was shouted and bawled at and called a homophobic bigot, I just stopped mentioning it to people, unless they brought it up. I was on another talk site and saw a thread about the issue and dipped in, expecting trans zealots, but it was mainly GC, with a few trans cheerleaders.

A group of us felt forced out by the owner and some TRA bods, so someone suggested Mumsnet and here I am.

I know that parents of children affected by this are very aware of the online “grooming”, as they describe it, of children on social media.

Glinner is probably the highest profile person who uses the word "groomer" as a short form way to describe this known problem. I really hope the press picks up on the fact that the Health Secretary carefully played the description back with more context (which Glinner does also give in long form) off the back of that excellent comment from Lia Nici, who I have never heard of.

🚨 There you go BBC, another headline to go with your Chris Whitty one:
"Health Secretary discusses parents' concerns of children 'groomed' on social media in to medical scandal"

Oh, and please apologise to him for that awful Newsnight show where Sarah Smith laid in to him when he articulated his views on children needing to be kept safe from this.

A fellow poster who felt they had to leave that place after more than a decade. I was sad at first but no longer.

Words, in the mouths of the untrustworthy, are weasels
(Weasel Rapid Reaction Force gears up...)

Apologies to all weasels - I know you are mighty hunters and wonderful mothers etc, but your intelligence and agility have led to you being considered untrustworthy, historically speaking.
(Weasel Rapid Reaction Force simpers a bit and stands down...)

What with reversing ferrets and weasels going up and down it's like rodent whackamole in here.

Many are supportive of it, that's what scunners me.

Intelligent, liberal, thoughtful people, who've read all the books and seen the movies.

Yet:

'It's good to have that chilling effect on freedom of speech because it keeps everyone on the Right Side of History'.

@ArabellaScott that's a stoat....

I hate myself <cringe>

It's not, it's totally different.

Re the Hansard thing....

I assumed that it was just my imagination playing tricks but, finding out that it's not verbatim, I think I'm right that this, from VA on Hansard:

"The reason why I am able to be so robust on this issue is that I believe in it; on that, I may be different from others"

Was actually this (italics added to show the tone of the repeated phrase):

"The reason why I am able to be so robust on this issue is that I believe in it.... I believe in it....; on that, I may be different from others"

And as far as I could tell, she looked at Wes Streeting when she said it. He clearly believes that TWAW because he stated that there is such a thing as a "trans child". If he was serious about showing how much he believed in the report, he would have at the very least drawn a distinction between children and adults by not using that phrase. Obviously the report itself leaves the door open to gender identity belief as well. So to me, by contrast, VA is diplomatically saying that she doesn't believe in gender identity. I'm not asking Wes Streeting to renounce his belief in gender identity but at the very least, he should refrain from applying it to children. Dr Cass managed to achieve that by saying that the link between biology and sex-based stereotypes (she called it "gender identity"..) was not well understood. Well dur... try explaining god in a scientific way. Of course it's not understood! Ahem, sorry Dr Cass. And thank you for leaving a window for us non-believers to challenge the concept of gender identity.

I never anticipated feminism would require skills in Advanced Rodent Identification. It's astonishing how often it comes up.

Zarah Sultana makes a stirring and profound contribution:

'Will the Minister join me in condemning the rise in transphobia, in acknowledging that trans rights are human rights, and in recognising that we will only deliver high-quality healthcare that everyone deserves when we respect the rights and dignity of all?'

I assure you, you can weaselly tell them apart also...<sigh>... not rodents.

<curls up and dies>

murasaki · Today 15:39

A fellow poster who felt they had to leave that place after more than a decade. I was sad at first but no longer.

I felt pretty down at the time, but I stopped using it after about a week and haven't been back. Who were you there - if that's OK to ask!

Well. That was a rout.

Compassionate, intelligent, considered, referenced, and insightful points from women who've been clearly researching and thinking deeply on the issue for a long period of time, and who have really been through the mill, versus some whining from Russell Moyle and some utterly vacuous platitudes from Zarah Sultana.

With a couple of reasonable points from Stella Creasey about how scared 'gender confused' children are.

That's actually something that the government needs to address, too. This is a group of young people who've been fed scare stories about suicide and 'transphobia' that have certainly not helped.

If the grown ups can reassert reality and we can brush aside some of the homilies and thought-terminating cliches, then it might be possible to find solid ground again, and actually offer meaningful help and support to those children who have been sold a vast, rainbow-coloured pup in the guise of 'transition' as a magic pill to solve their problems.

The Cass story is on The Media Show now! With Hannah Barnes.

It's about the media's handling of the story.

These kids really need to be stopped from going on reddit and other forums. I know MN is said to be an echo chamber but JC. The families of these kids may not even know that they're fighting against constant affirmation and are constantly being undermined by the 'glitter family' (other struggling kids, be-kinders and miscellaneous weirdos) in their child's pocket.

Interesting. Someone making the point it's being treated in newsrooms as a 'culture wars' story, rather than a medical/healthcare story.

I’ve never watched it but googled and see it’s the BBC

They are so bad at always going for “culture wars”

Yes. And there’s no way of controlling it. This is the root cause of a lot of issues.

In an ideal world smart phones would not be allowed for U16s. But Pandora is out of the box. No one really understood the consequences. Although I note many of the tech gurus don’t allow their children to use the very technology their parents invented.

This is fascinating and appalling, showing how poor the BBC's coverage of the Cass review has been, even in comparison with the Guardian: https://twitter.com/whtwldbabsdo/status/1780323215618814416

How about the PM and the Shadow PM? What have they said?

I think nothing, am I incorrect??

Dedicated thread about The Media Show's coverage just now:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5052159-radio-4-right-now-405pm-weds-after-news-cass-review-did-journalists-get-it-wrong

I thought that was a good point, well worth emphasizing.