Thackray Museum statement on SC ruling

[ThatDaringMintCritic]

Saw this statement on LinkedIn. Wonder how many other institutions are going to pipe up saying that their world view trumps the SC. They also reference the not consulted line. Didn't Amnesty Int present the 'trans argument?'

STATEMENT FROM THE THACKRAY MUSEUM OF MEDICINE FOLLOWING THE SUPREME COURT GENDER RULING

April 24, 2025
The Thackray Museum of Medicine is a safe space where the trans community has always been, and will always be, a welcomed part of our family – through our staff, volunteers, co-producers, the communities we share our building with, our visitors, our professional networks and beyond.
We are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the legal definition of a ‘woman’ as we believe it has further discriminated against and alienated minority communities, and further eroded equality for all people and everyone’s basic human right to be treated equitably.
We stand with our friends at the Vagina Museum who rightly comment on the judgment that: “sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and other characteristics related to sexual identity exist in various different combinations and their relationship to one another is never clear cut. What is clear to us is that everyone, regardless of their body parts, are deserving of human rights, dignity and the power to identity as they wish to.”
As a museum family, we believe that sex and gender are a spectrum; this a position supported by science. Where people choose to sit on that is their choice and it should be respected. The Thackray is not here to provide authoritative definitions but we are here to provide an open, respectful, safe and inclusive platform for conversation, where trans people are represented in our collection and through our activities.
The trans community have been excluded from consultation around the Supreme Court’s decision which in our eyes has increased ambiguity and not offered clarity. We will not exclude the trans community and our building and our facilities remain open to all. We stand with them in allyship and will continue to embrace and represent minority communities through the lens of medicine, wellbeing and healthcare, so that people can see themselves represented and feel included, to enable a better understanding of each other, and to help shape a better tomorrow for everyone.

Bonkers

Utter bollocks. Sex is not a spectrum - it is binary! How depressing that a supposed science museum is spouting this shit.

Who or what is the Thackray Museum? Is it prestigious?

There are so many inaccuracies in that statement it's embarrassing. But as we've repeatedly seen, this ideology encourages organisations to becolown themselves and utter untruths, lies and fantasies.

Not sure what you can do unless you've the energy to point out all the untruths they're spouting.

The trans community have been excluded from consultation around the Supreme Court's decision eh?

It's a judgment on legal principles of interpretation not Eurovision, fuckchops.

It says it is the UK's largest independent medical museum. I can't help wondering how some of the big funders will react to statements like this.

It is a museum about medicine- mainly geared towards GCSE History students that study Medicine Through Time. It's attached to St James's Hospital in Leeds.

I believe The Thackray Museum is in Leeds and therefore probably heavily dependent on Leeds City Council for funding? I think that goes a long way towards explaining their attitude and that’s without even touching on their relationship with the Vagina Museum.

Akua Reindorf wrote an excellent response to the ‘we weren’t consulted’ and other such arguments. It’s paywalled but it’s been posted on other threads or someone might have a share token.

It's a medical museum in Leeds. Sort of history of medicine, they used to have a re-created Victorian street, hands on stuff for kids that type of thing.

I seem to remember some previous related nonsense with one of their exhibits - will go see if I can find old thread.

Mission accomplished. I have never heard of the museum before, but I have now. I suspect that was the motivation with this statement.

Can't find previous thread but it might have been something to do with this exhibit.
https://thackraymuseum.co.uk/privateparts/

I’m speechless. This is a MEDICAL museum.

They known damn well sex is not and never has been a spectrum. Sometimes something goes awry during development leading to DSDs but there are only 2 sexes.

I am embarrassed for them. It’s not that far from me. When I went last I’m sure there was a whole section on birth and medicine. Never once did it mention a male human that had been able to give birth. Funny that as I would expect examples of this on the spectrum they speak of.

I've asked them what they mean when the say sex isn't binary.

Either they mean sexual characteristics, which of course aren't binary (and no one is suggesting they are so why make the statement other than to be disingenuous) or they mean sex itself, in which case I'll ask for the scientific proof that a third sex exists, and what the purpose of that third sex is.

They are going to have to change their tune whether they like it or not.

So does this mean they have always had gender neutral toilets and will continue to operate these? If so apart from the disagreeable bluster I do not think it says much apart from it being yet another “captured” institution. If they are saying they will now defy the (clarified) law on single sex spaces then it will be interesting to see what action is taken. For me this battle is by no means over. It is quite possible that many employers and other public bodies simply ignore the ruling and do not comply.

Gosh. The Thackery museum is a medicine museum. You'd think they'd know....

I love how they say they are mates with the Vagina museum (whatever this is) in the same statement where they're saying they can't possibly organise spaces by biological sex!

"We are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the legal definition of a ‘woman’ as we believe it has further discriminated against and alienated minority communities, and further eroded equality for all people and everyone’s basic human right to be treated equitably." This is a bit risky for an organisation to put out i would have thought.

'We have not been upholding your rights based on sex, and are unlikely to do so' has a similar meaning. Organisations really haven't understood that because they didn't understand the law, they have been discriminating. And starements about how they wish they could continue disctiminating are not going to help them if they are sued. It certainly suggests an organisation that would be hostile to anyone who thinks it's important to accurately understand that our protected characteristic is based on biological sex, or who thinks sex matters.

The museums journal pilublished an annoying article of museum responses to rhe ruling. I'm not sure this is one of them but there were other similar ones.

I think it fine to say they welcome trans ppl and they are an important part of the museum community or whatever, but they shouldn't be saying they don't agree that women should have rights as a sex, which this does.

It's a judgment on legal principles of interpretation not Eurovision, fuckchops.

Will this fit on a t-shirt? It's very very funny😂

On a more serious note, there are so many of these 'we stand with our poor marginalised trans brothers and sisters' messages, all of them equally inaccurate and catastrophising, wouldn't it be great to have a standard response in email or even post-card form to send to them?

It would be something along the lines of 'Get a grip, you're embarrassing yourselves'..

I do hope one of their employees is a secret TERF and if they don’t have access to single sex facilities as per the Health and Safety at work act, that they take them to ET

“We will not exclude the trans community and our building and our facilities remain open to all.“

I’m no Law Talking Guy but has anyone suggested trans people cannot go to museums because of the SC decision?

School trip discussions will be interesting for them now, then.

If their mission was "more bums (of any description) on seats", then no. It's one of those places I always intended to visit, but this has put me right off. My 100% woman-bum will go elsewhere.

Another load of nonsense from somewhere that should know better… it’s like self soothing; they are sticking their fingers in their ears and repeating the script.

They just can’t face reality - there’s something so petulant about it…I can’t help thinking there is a cohort of recent graduates who positioned themselves in the arts, media, charities, marketing departments etc. who were peddling this crap for the last few years unchallenged, and are now faced with some cold hard reality - that they don’t make the law, and are throwing a tantrum.

"As a museum family, we believe that sex and gender are a spectrum; this a position supported by science."

It isn't supported by either science or English. They need to look up the meaning of the word 'spectrum'.