Women's rights general conversations - Thread 8

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of Thread 7.

There is so much excellent information and so many active discussions on FWR that I wondered if it would be useful to have a thread to sort of "cross-fertilise" between them - airing little thoughts or vignettes that wouldn't themselves merit their own thread, to highlight other posts/threads of particular interest or to point to notable developments on fast-moving threads so that casual observers know where to look.

(For example, "the X thread has meandered onto a fascinating discussion of Y" or "Poster P's amazing analysis on thread Z might have relevance to the scenario in thread W" or "Has anybody noticed this recurring theme that keeps coming up??" or even "Random bloke asked me to smile while I was choosing onions in the supermarket, grr"- that sort of thing).

Changing the signage to reflect a policy of “ensure your fanny is properly covered up” may be a bit trickier though

Especially in the multiple languages required for a tourist attraction!

This may have been posted already but I've only just seen it. Scottish First Minister John Swinney is asked by Nicky Campbell how many genders there are. The silence, Nicky Campbell's expectant stare. It's toe curling.

https://x.com/WhatIsAWomanUK/status/1807753568650207390

So he thinks 'there's the male and the female gender', but also that female includes women and transwomen?

Clear as mud, as usual.

I'm not sure he knows what he thinks, tbh.

I'm sure he knows he's Right though. And a Good Person. And on the Right Side of History. That's the really important thing for him, and everybody, to know about him.

Why is it ok to have a water slide operating that has the potential to cause serious injury to 50% of its potential customers? How the fuck did that get through a risk assessment? It should be closed down straight away.

There are protective clothing options - no idea what, but I know it's been an issue in women's water skiing.

Gosh, in my early 20s I used to water-ski in a flimsy bikini most weekends (not in the UK, obviously - in the Med) and had no flushage issues! And my then boss's daughter was doing the same thing, but very much better and faster than me, when 6 months pregnant.

It must be an extreme speed issue - no idea what speeds, but definitely read about it - and knew it didn't effect everyone, as a pal was an enthusiastic water skier, and she wouldn't have been keen on those side effects.

I wasn't sure where to put this but I thought he needs to be seen

Bless him for taking responsibility, he was a child! I think he's wasting his time expecting remorse from those who led him down this path. They've had their fun with him, it got them off, perhaps made them money and now? Well now they're busy transing other sad boys.

Can I ask a question? I've seen mention several times lately of 'the Alabama case'. Could someone explain briefly what that is all about, please?

A couple of years back, Alabama made it a felony for a doctor to prescribe puberty blockers, with a potential jail sentence of up to ten years. There has been to-ing and fro-ing with appeals against such laws there and elsewhere - Georgia, perhaps? I don't know what exactly people are referring to, as I try to ignore America (insofar as that is possible).

This is so sad.

I think a lot of the recent jawdropping stuff about WPATH and Admiral Levine have come out due to disclosures related to this case.

This is so sad. I feel sad that he’s ’taking accountability’ for choices he was probably too young to comprehend, and as he says, he was being told by clinicians this was right for him while he was vulnerable and suggestible. It’s awful. I expect more people will speak out about this in the coming years. It’s a scandal of huge proportions.

I hope he can channel his feelings into appropriate anger and action, more than the self-reproach and very understandable sadness here, eventually.

It seems like a horrible irony to me that he is now experiencing the feeling of being in the wrong body that he was diagnosed with before any intervention.

Interesting comment on Newsnight.

A significant majority of the undecided voters ahead of the election fit a particular singular profile.

They are 2019 conservative voters, who are women and slightly older.

This explains a lot about how the election campaign has gone - and why the womens rights question has come up repeatedly.

A tragedy, and there will be many more to come.

This is unusual in that it’s mainstream, neutral reporting in the Guardian of what women are saying about their voting intentions. No denunciations, snark or even commentary:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/02/this-isnt-a-culture-war-uk-women-feel-politically-homeless

Many of the women who responded to an online callout or spoke to the Guardian expressed frustration with politics that had failed to address poverty, inequality, healthcare for women and children in particular, the climate and Brexit, and voiced acute fears for their and their families’ future: mothers of children with SEN (special educational needs) or mental health issues, mothers unable to afford childcare, or with adult children unable to buy homes, unpaid carers, women feeling exploited in low-paid jobs with no prospects of progression, and women with disabilities fearing harsher welfare conditions in future.

Scores also said they were concerned about rising extremism and political polarisation, misogyny, violence against women and girls, antisemitism and Islamophobia.

About a fifth of respondents said they had either decided to spoil their ballot paper or were considering doing so, among them Sharon, a 60-year-old social worker and “lifelong Labour voter” from London who does not own her own home and has no savings. Her two adult children are unemployed, despite having gone to university, each owing about £40,000 as a result. Private rental housing was “beyond their means”, she said.

Politicians, she said, had repeatedly failed to deliver on promises, such as building more houses, improving the NHS, or reducing knife crime.
“However, the final straw for me is the issue of women’s rights,” she added.

Sharon was one of hundreds of women who shared that sex-based rights for women and girls was a main political concern of theirs this election.

Women from across the country, dozens of them economically disadvantaged or with disabilities, said they would abandon Labour, the Lib Dems or the Greens over this issue and vote either Conservative, Reform or spoil their ballot – particularly women from marginal areas Labour is hoping to gain, such as Lincoln, Darlington, Derbyshire, Warrington North and Truro and Falmouth.

Various said they felt “politically homeless” because of this issue, with Starmer having repeatedly referred to the debate over trans rights as “divisive and toxic” culture wars.

“This ain’t a culture war,” said Kerri Clarke, a 46-year-old stay-at-home mother from Hertfordshire. “I’ll be voting Conservative for the first time in my life, as the child of Labour activists.”

Clarke worries that the current Labour party is “utterly uninterested in women, our rights to safety and dignity”.

I told you it was coming up in polling and focus groups...

...and 2 days before the election, here is the Guardian acknowledging it.

The Guardian.

And that is now where we are at. Take note Women of MN.

Btw the concern list sounds almost EXACTLY like the MN manifesto.

Interesting to see

Plus I appreciate ‘this isn’t a culture war’ headline

I have been saying that for a while. It was always a way to minimise and disregard women

That exact phrase has come up in conversation several times here.

Tracy, from Kent, in her 40s and usually a Labour voter, is likely to spoil her ballot. “I want to vote Labour but I can’t bear to support a party that so struggles to define the word woman.

“There are some contexts where biological sex matters, and women’s rights have been affected in recent years by a failure of law and policy to recognise this. Starmer wants this to go away, but it’s not going to go away.”

Fascinating.

Is this the start of The Guardian's gentle extrication?

https://www.channel4.com/news/who-are-britains-undecided-voters

They tend to be women. Nearly two thirds – 62% – of undecided voters are female, according to a poll by More in Common released yesterday.
And this is revealing – undecided voters are more likely to be people who voted Conservative last time round.

Two in five of this year’s undecided voters – 40% – voted for Boris Johnson in 2019. Just 13% voted for Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.

The campaigns know this too and courting voters who backed Boris Johnson’s Tories in 2019 has clearly been a key factor in this election.

[RTB: Noting Boris Johnson has been wheeled out today. Noting how the Tory Campaign has been hammering the point about Starmer supporting Corbyn.]

But that’s not the whole story.

Put aside ‘undecided voters’, there’s another category of voters who tell pollsters they have made up their mind, but might still switch at the very last minute.

36% of voters could still change their mind, according to Ipsos. This compares to 27% who thought they might do the same before the 2019 general election.

That’s why people are talking about voter volatility – a significant number of voters may change their minds right up until they cast their votes.

So undecided voters or last-minute switchers could still have a very big say on who wins this election – and by how much.

[RTB: I commented previously that Labour seem far more nervous than they should be by rights based on their lead in the polling. This is confirmation of why they are appearing nervous - they are. Their vote isn't as solid as it should be]