What are you feeling since the judgement?

[BlessingKalmly]

A space to explore the emotions, thoughts and feelings post judgement; that Women are BORN and not worn.

A request: If TRA's join and derail, PLEASE can we totally ignore them like we might a gnat. Please let's not unfocus from us, the women who have seen this fight through to the end

Personally, I'm feeling a whole range of emotions.

I feel elated, I have that feeling like I have to almost pinch myself to remind myself that this madness has ended. I feel emboldened to speak my truth, I feel powerful in protecting my sisters. I feel slightly in shock... as if I haven't fully been able to process the madness of the past few years.... it's been constant fight, fight, fight for our rights, and only now can I stop and take stock of WHAT THE F* went on.

At the same time I feel so DEEPLY effing ANGRY at the men lamenting over not being able to give away rights that were never theirs in the first place. Men lamenting over something that has no impact on them.

I feel deep sadness and frustration that people can't seem to find a single fuck about severely disabled, or elderly women who deserve the right to truly female only care.

I feel so confused over how fucking stupid some people are, sharing memes and propaganda without ZERO understanding of how the Equality Act works or what any of this means in practice.

I feel so deeply thankful that our justice system remains strong, and a beacon of sense a truth in what feels like times of madness.

I feel like I could facepalm myself into oblivion, watching trans-maidens totally disregard their sisters and pander over men's rights.

What about you?

I was in despair for a couple of years and felt a great sense of relief after the judgement.

However at work (civil service) there were posts about ‘supporting trans colleagues at this difficult time’ and shit like that.

Then I see a relative who’s a social media bod for a gay/trans choir bleating on about trans women are women and other infuriating crap.

Then the Daily Mail with its Labour Party chat messages. Silence from Starmer. TROONs attacking women and defacing statues and the police do fuck all.

I feel that we still have the fight of our lives ahead of us.

I was surprised by how complete the judgment was, how it confirmed everything we had been arguing for and came down categorically on our side.

I didn’t feel much initially. I think this campaign has almost cost me too much for me to feel pure joy, but then there was a dawning relief that, if I end up in hospital, and there’s a wanking man beside me, I can complain and anyone ignoring my complaint would not have a legal leg to stand on.

Initially, social media was good, with one or two niggles as people posted about trans rights with, as usual no acceptance or even understanding that women had been pushed into fighting to show the rights they had all along actually existed at all.

Now I’m sickened by the huge wave of wailing about how awful it is for men who are to be so cruelly excluded from women’s spaces alongside more sickening evidence that men can go out waving banners about killing women, and yet people still support them.

I’m also marginally concerned that I posted on LinkedIn and that activists might have found my Twitter account if they looked. I haven’t been terribly careful about posting on Twitter because my job wasn’t listed on there. I’m a civil servant with a line manager with pronouns in his e-mail signature so potentially vulnerable.

Mostly I’m tired now though, but with moments of optimism. It’s clear my employers, the police and the NHS have been providing illegal, mixed sex “women’s” spaces? Surely these huge bodies will have to comply with the law, now it’s 100% clear that men are not women? I live in hope.

I feel relieved.

Not because this misogynist movement is going to grind to a halt any time soon, but because women have had it confirmed that we have the right to single sex opportunities and meetings and support groups and the right to speak and campaign for female people's specific political interests, and I believe these things are fundamental to Feminism.

Women need space away from men to feel what it is like when men are not there. We need that to truly recognise our oppression and how the presence and demands and entitlement of men drags on us, to relax the hyperawareness and conciliation we do subconsciously so much of the time. To share our expereinces and frustrations and realise these are not individual problems but structural ones. To understand what we could be and do without the weight of male dominated opinions and groups, to visualise what we need to overcome the drag of men and organise ourselves to get it.

I only ever cared about Genderism to the degree that TWAW was preventing women having the conversations and spaces and empowerment we need to continue our fight against personal and structural disempowerment. I even think we could be friends and allies again, eventually.

But I also feel wary that the rage and hyperbole released since the verdict will lead our politicians, who have alreday shown themselves to be utterly cowardly in the face of genderist rage and entitlement, to undo what was done bythe SC and legislate us back into political non-existence.

I initially was elated.

I’ve settled into a sense of airiness. A weight we’d been bearing that was crushing so many women for years has just evaporated, and instead I feel light and untethered.

It’s been such a relief. I’m can’t believe how on edge I had felt.

The vitriol in the response was what I was expecting, and I’ve not worried about it.

Women, our rights and nothing less.

Relief but also annoyance that (a) it ever came to this and (b) some of my "friends" will probably campaign harder.

I'm very emotional. Very moved by the sheer brilliance of the people who took this on. And so sad about all that I, personally, have lost. Friendships, opportunities, a whole career. And sad for those who have lost even more than me. A real mix of feelings.

I think this outburst of rage/backlash is going to burn itself out. They've lost. It's over. Let them have their tantrum.

Obviously there's still loads of work to do. But this is a brilliant and transformative victory! Fucking YES!

It took a couple of days to decide how I really felt about it. The SC ruling includes me of course, so I had to take it in and (as I always do) I paid attention to takes both from the trans community and GC women so for a couple of days I just felt a little bit indifferent, trying to look at all the angles.

Honestly I decided I felt relieved by it and I chose to see it as a positive thing, despite all the rage and sadness from other trans people I also think this was completely necessary to try and reset AND I'm glad to see it brought relief to so many women. But, I am upset it's likely going to get much worse now after yesterday and I was very upset and angry it had gotten to the point that it had done. So time will tell where we go from here 🤷‍♀️

Relieved that what so many of us believed to be the law, has been shown to have always been the law. So that is good.

Glad that lesbians got a special mention.

Relieved that it was reiterated that trans people still have the protections that were put into place, and are covered by 2 protected characteristics.

I am disappointed, and not surprised, at how many of my fb friends have been posting panicked hyperbole about our trans friends not being safe etc etc. I just ignore (have snoozed most of them). Have been increasingly aware that a lot of my friends are insufferable in some respects.

Not surprised at the protests, but hoping it is going to add to the sunlight shining on the violence of the TRAs.

I am worried that the government is going to try to amend/change/replace the 2010 Equality Act but will vote appropriately, and be checking out my local MPs stance as well as their party's stance on women's issues.

I've been very agitated and I'm tired because I haven't been sleeping well. The heroes like Maya Forstater and Sandie Peggie need us ordinary GC women now. I work in a captured industry and I've been round in my head about how far I'm going to push things (my income is vital for survival so I'll have to be careful). But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't push back at all, even if I have to do it mostly anonymously.

I'm probably going to have to grit my teeth for the rest of the tantrumming and the wave of support from the handmaidens. But then I want to see policies that reflect the fact that women matter.

Constant vigilance!

At first I felt elated, then angry, now exhausted. It feels like we've been trapped in a bad dream where so many people have gone insane.

People fighting against women's rights to privacy, decency and safety.

Mutilating and medicalising children.

Elimination of free speech.

Blatant lies pushed as truth.
Sexual preferences deemed as transphobic
And it all being done in the name of kindness? WTF!

I've lost a lot of respect for humans, their stupidity and cowardice has astounded me. I didn't realise people were so easily led by something so clearly false. I've lost trust in the government, the police, the NHS, education, the public sector, mainstream media, etc.

Relief after so many years of outright misogyny.

Oddly enough, the backlash confirms it for me. There was always going to be narcissistic rage from the MRAs in the movement who always got off on trampling women's boundaries (note how they went after FWS - not the judges?). There was always going to be panicked outrage from the autistic people who have been told "if you are not affirmed, it's literally suicide." There was no other option. And as for the handmaidens and virtue-signallers...well, if they have not got it by now, they will never ever get it. Critical thinking on this issue is not their strong point.

Outside of those voices, the response ranges from "well, of course," to "eh; wasn't that the case already?". They don't need to shout about it because it IS reality and what we are seeing is a walk back to common sense safeguarding.

This is it, ladies. We've stopped the juggernaut. Now comes the hard yards - digging out the policies, challenging the doublespeak and making sure our political weasels know we are watching them. They sneaked the GRA in through the back door and Stonewall quietly rewrote everything. We're on alert now.

Finally - fuck you, Stonewall. You sold out the LGB and your ideology tried to erase lesbians and lesbian clubs. You are responsible for the safeguarding fails that led to rapists in prison and in the NHS.

Ruth Hunt and the Trustees should hang their head in shame.

Delighted in principle, but apprehensive about the possibility that organisations will just make things mixed sex.

Initially relief, like so many pp. Now I'm still pleased but wary. FWS won an enormous battle for us but the war is still on. I'm waiting for Starmer to speak up, if he ever does. I'm worried about the hyperbole coming from tras. Some tp are vulnerable, that's not in dispute, but the bile spewed by their 'allies' may drive them to harm themselves or others. I think they can't genuinely care about tp, they're just pissed off they lost the argument.

I felt elation, then exhaustion, then rage and now dread.

Such a poor response from the government, and such a vitriolic backlash from TRAs and allies. The sense of disappointment with people who have failed us so comprehensively is deeply depressing.

I have mixed feelings, really. I'm not a TRA, and I do agree with the ruling, but I have a lot of concerns about how my trans friends and the community as a whole will be treated socially. Not as a result of the ruling itself, but the reinvigoration of the "culture war" has left me feeling on edge. It's so important that women's rights have been clarified when it comes to single sex spaces- I appreciate that prisons, refuges, changing rooms, sports, toilets, hospital wards and more all benefit from that clarity and that women's safety is being prioritised- but in turn I am disappointed that my women's hobby groups may now either have to remove trans women or open up to everyone. Looking at the bigger picture I'm pleased that safety comes first and that women's rights have been affirmed, but on a personal level I admit I'd be sad to lose the social groups I've benefited so much from.

I thought “People are still going to be really stupid about this.” And they are. But at the same time, as you say OP, the parapet has lowered and more people can speak sense out loud. We can cite the law if needed in situations where it was unclear before.

Quite apart from my views on the judgment, I'm genuinely amazed at the number of trans people and worse, progressive" cis men, bewailing how silly women are not to realise how damaging this will be to themselves. I mean there's nothing more progressive than a man telling women what they ought to want, is there? I am willing to listen to the trans voices, who at least have skin in the game; but I swear one more straight cis man giving it the sad head shake, the "they know not what they do", and finishing up with "obviously, trans women are women" (alright mate you marry one then) I am going to lose my fucking temper. Never has it been more appropriate for privileged men to SHUT THE FUCK UP and let the oppressed people do the talking. If it wasn't for the apparently irrepressible violence of a large number of their sex, we wouldn't have this problem in the first place.

I think this outburst of rage/backlash is going to burn itself out. They've lost. It's over. Let them have their tantrum.

I really hope that this is the case. I’m delighted with the win but angry with the misogyny and male centering by TRAs and their handmaidens. Some are friends, and for now I haven’t bothered to respond to them.

I have mixed feelings. I'm thrilled FWS won - successive governments have been rubbish at protecting women's rights from gender identity ideology, and it seems court cases are the only way to go.

But I don't think a blanket ban on trans women in women's spaces is fair or socially sustainable, nor do I think it was the intention when the Equality Act was passed. I think the government will need to bring in new legislation.

Proud of my DS who was playing with his Harry Potter lego this afternoon and, when I told him about my friends' Facebook posts about boycotting Harry Potter merchandise as it funded the SC case, said, "but that's ridiculous. J.K.Rowling's right. Of course women should have their own prison and rape support if they want and of course sex and gender are different: You can't change sex!"

Relieved and happy with the judgement .
since the backlash has started it has really crystallised for me how misogynistic much of the trans movements aims and statements are.

whether work will remove phrases such as birthing people from job descriptions and whether the organisation will have an actual woman representing women on the next international women’s day remains to be seen. I’ll be interested to see how far the equalities commission is prepared to go to ensure single sex spaces.

I feel the same, we are a rotten species, fatally flawed, selfish, gullible, vain, stupid, vindictive and clueless most of the time.

But I think of the Suffragettes, they took on society, they face the wrath, they suffered the wrath, but they stood their ground and in the end it was society that changed. Just like Wilberforce and the Abolitionists who fought to end slavery, and many others through out time, they ended up changing society, society didn't change them It’s how humans improve, get better at being human, it’s not the good times that bring out the best in us but the worse times.
These past decades have definitely been the worse times, and it’s likely they’re not over yet but there is a way forward, even if most of us have to be led by the hand.

But I'm with you I really don't like humans right now.

I felt like the adults were back in the room - finally. I was cancelled at my last job for just saying I am glad we are talking breast feeding and not chest feeding. The room fell silent and someone said ‘ you TERF’ I responded by saying my fundamental belief is that biological sex is immutable and that was it - suddenly having GC beliefs meant I was cold shouldered and ended up leaving my job. I find the whole trans movement violent and aggressive and pretty scary. (This doesn’t mean all trans people are bad ) but this bloody protest in London … Can you imagine women defacing a suffragette statue ? Or pissing in a bottle and throwing it at people? Some of the placards were really violent. And why are they conflating trans with Palestine - I spat my tea out when I heard that chant. It’s insane really.

But I don't think a blanket ban on trans women in women's spaces is fair or socially sustainable, nor do I think it was the intention when the Equality Act was passed.

Perhaps then fully tighten up the Gender Recognition Act. Rewrite it to make it clear that gender does not equal sex and make the guidelines for getting one very strict, and then perhaps make some genuine exceptions for those relatively few people involved. I think the judgement gave a number for those who had one which was somewhere between 8- 9000. Which is not many in a country of 65 million.

But the voyeurs, rapists and those getting a sexual thrill from it all can certainly stay banned from women's spaces.

But I don't think a blanket ban on trans women in women's spaces is fair or socially sustainable

Yes it is. It's far fairer and more sustainable than a situation where women don't have the certainty that "women's gym" means "no penises".