An update to the WI Announcement thread. My DH just got a reply to his application to join them.

[Another2Cats]

This is not a thread about a thread, but recently there was a thread about the Womens Institute announcement that they would not be implementing the SC ruling anytime soon.

I was reading the thread at the time and, entirely jokingly, I suggested to my DH that he should apply to join the WI and see what they say.

So he did just that (he totally gets the GC point of view) and I posted about this at the time:

Another2Cats · 08/05/2025 19:45

I just got my DH to send an email to them:

Hello,

My name is Xxxx (very obviously masculine name). I just read your transgender policy and understand that you accept men.

I am a man and would like to join the local WI group in [xxxx city] (the nearest branch for me is in yyyy [suburb of xxxx city]).

Should I just turn up next Wednesday evening and sign up?

I'm really waiting with bated breath to see what sort of response there is.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5330297-womens-institute-announcement?reply=144143149
.

Well, it turns out that they sent a response this lunchtime.

This is their reply (although with contact details redacted):

Good morning,

Thank you for your enquiry. Our policy states that “WI membership is open to all women who live as women, including transgender women.” If you fit within this statement, you will be more than welcome to attend. I am afraid the WI is not open to men.

Kind regards,

[Redacted]

[Name Redacted]
Federation Secretary
[Two cities - well, a city and a town - redacted] Federation of WIs CIO
[Address redacted]
[Telephone number redacted]
Office hours: Tues, Weds, Thurs 9am – 1pm

Please note the new email address – [Redacted]
.

I don't know, is this something that DH should take up with the EHRC now that he has it in writing?

.

I think it's when the middle finger is extended slowly rather than as a sharp jab.

Thank you so much for doing this.
It may have started as a bit of a joke on your DH part, but actually it is extremely serious and I really hope he sees this through to the bitter end.

The WI will either have to become a genuine female-only organisation, or become a mixed-sex organisation.
This has to be taken to court if necessary.

This has been a wonderful read. Bravo OP and OPs husband. Not that I’m in anyway nudging anybody towards legal action but I will just mention that there is a short time limit for bringing discrimination claims, and in this scenario the deadline is 6 months less a day from when the discrimination happened. Otherwise the claim is statute barred.

It is a mixed sex organisation. If that's what they want to be then fine, but they need to be clear and honest that that's what they are so that women who want a women's organisation know this one isn't it.

It’s not fully mixed sex, though, as only certain types of men (you know who they are) are included.
Even if they decide to go fully mixed sex, they need to change their name to reflect that.

Don't be obtuse! She's saying, 'please be kind... to other women' ! NOT to cosplaying men. I agree actually. Funny though it is to contemplate the idea of a bearded lorry driver called Dave turning up on the doorstep and claiming eligibility by the very act of trying to join the WI, it's just making the lives of the (often elderly) female volunteers miserable. Go to the top, for fucksake.

Exactly this

How the devil do you qualify something so ridiculous like this?

If your DH claims to "live as a woman" purely in his head / exclusively on Thursdays / on leap years would he qualify?

A Mohs Scale for the relative softness or hardness of hand movements is EXACTLY what we need! Genius idea. So I'd imagine that when I'm really, really pissed off and gesticulating furiously, I might be approaching an 8 (Beryl - see, it even sounds feminine!).

8 is Topaz on all the illustrations I've seen.

Nice non-binary name, Topaz.

This is funny and also genuinely fascinating. I cannot wait to see how they respond. Thank you OP and OP's DH for doing this.

A group is either mixed sex or it isn't. That it refuses to allow in all men does nto alter that it is mixed sex not single. Note the binary, there is no spectrum here!

The point is that they’re claiming to be a single sex organisation, using the premise that trans women are women.
Of course it’s literally mixed sex, but officially they’re still relying on the single sex exemption to exclude (some) men.

Having read this thread, I think it’s imperative that more women try to get purportedly single-sex organisations to clarify their stance given the SC judgement.

I’m not a WI member but I very much support women who are and who would like their single-sex organisations to actually be single-sex. I would happily contribute to a crowdjustice fund for men to claim discrimination if they are not allowed to join WI under the current set of rules that allow trans identified men to join. The WI membership rules run counter to the SC judgement for single-sex organisations and if they allow TW then they, legally, must allow all men - the WI must realise that their current sex fudge does not benefit their female members they’re just counting on no-one pulling them up on it.

“A person who was assigned female at birth”
That word “assigned” in that sentence makes my blood boil.
You can be assigned a task, but assigned sex? No, sex not “assigned” at all. What a load of bollocks.

@Callipygion "at birth" is none too clever either. The sex of a foetus can be determined via genetic testing in utero.

Is Petra Wenham, trans woman, still on the executive committee of WI, I wonder? "Petra" was a WI cover girl a few years back and very quickly rose up the ranks. Could be quite awkward if WI adhered to SC decision.

One would hope that "Petra" would recuse himself from any discussion or vote regarding the SC ruling.

There doesn't seem to be a National Executive Committee any more.

As in William Topaz McGonagall.

Well done, Mr & Mrs Cats, btw.

He only adopted the name Topaz as a result of a hoax played on him. He doesn't seem to have realised that it was a hoax.

If that's their decision let them crack on with it. I think it would be quite interesting to have a trans person in the WI. What harm can it do. It's not the same as sports, changing rooms, prisons and the like.

Petra gives talks to anyone who will listen in the suffolk area.

"ELMSWELL W.I.
After welcoming the two new
members, Margaret and Hilary, Terry
introduced Petra Wenham, who is a
transgender woman. She told us about
her life and how she became the person
she is today.
From the age of four, Petra felt that she
was the wrong gender. She was born a
boy and was treated as such. At school,
she was bullied and was later sent to an
all-boys school, to “toughen her up”, but
this experience resulted in worse
treatment. Consequently, she only
managed to pass two ‘O’ level exams.
Her lack of education did not hold her
back and she became very successful
in many fields, mainly to do with
communication, eventually gaining a
degree in electrical engineering. She
met her soulmate, Lorraine, over fifty
years ago. They married and had
children although she still felt that she
was in the wrong body.
One in two thousand babies are born
with indeterminate gender and others
have unusual genitalia. However, there
is also the mental aspect, i.e. How you
feel about your body and gender. With
the advent of social media, around
the year 2000, there was a lot more
sharing of information on-line. This
resulted in far more referrals for gender
reassignment. There is also lots of
information on the N.H.S. Website and
“Susan’s Place”.
After a lifetime of feeling that she was in
the wrong body, Petra suddenly realised
she wanted to change her gender, whilst
having hospital treatment for something
else.
In 2017, she went to the Tavistock
Clinic and eventually, to a private clinic,
to begin her transition. She has now
had hormone treatment and several
operations and is officially female. She
even has a new NHS number, passport,
and driving licence, all showing her
gender as female. Recently, she was
interviewed, with two other transgender
women on Anglia News.
Petra belongs to several W.I.’s including
“Virtual Vixens”, an online group who
meet on Zoom. She also gives lots of
talks about being transgender.
She has had a long and difficult journey
in order to become the person she wants
to be and has been supported through all
these years by her wife Lorraine. During
Petra’s talk, our knowledge was
broadened and our awareness
increased.
Next meeting we are learning about
Climate Change and reducing the carbon
footprint."

Really? Oh, that's a shame. I assumed it was the elephant bit that was the hoax.

I say, OP, Mr Cats hasn't got a hankering to join the Girl Guides, has he?