We are not a minority

[InTheTimeGarden]

https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/51545-where-does-the-british-public-stand-on-transgender-rights-in-202425

From the backlash against the SC ruling and various sporting bans you could be forgiven for thinking that GC beliefs are a fringe view held by a minority but everything I can find suggests that not only are GC beliefs aligned with the opinion of the majority but that that majority is increasing. Notably on the question of sports no segment in society has a majority belief that transwomen should play with women. Puberty blockers, hormones and surgery for children is similarly roundly rejected.

So why are the media, Government, institutions and big employers so captured by this ideology and how do they possibly row back from it? It is hard to go from "trans rights are human rights! Transwomen are women!" to "errr actually biological sex is real and immutable. We kinda fucked up on this one". I wish they had thought through the consequences of trans "rights" properly before we got into this mess.

Of course society should not necessarily be run on majority rule, especially where minorities rights are concerned, but the portrayal of GC beliefs as a hateful minority feels very disingenuous and harmful.

I know that when I've discussed this issue with friends in real life it's been in hushed tones "oh did you hear about that court judgement". It does feel like women are silenced in the media (looking at you BBC OS), in their workplaces and even amongst each other and that silencing is, in part, because we are falsely made out to be a minority.

Always keep in mind that everyone knows human can’t change sex. The rest is just misogynistic smoke and mirrors. We need to stay strong and keep the momentum of truth now more than ever.

I agree OP. I always have to be careful when expressing GC views, whereas TRAs can happily express theirs where they like, probably because only one side in this has form for bullying, accusations of bigotry, death threats etc.

I'm going to a music festival next week where there are a lot of LGBT acts. Some of them I'm a big fan of. But I'm expecting a fair bit of rhetoric from the stage along the lines of 'have we got any terfs in tonight?' or 'hands up if you support JKR'. They'll get the majority reaction they are expecting but it will be down to fear. I'm still considering what my own reaction will be if/when it happens.

Glad you posted this. Yesterday I was reading the ‘Ben and Jerry’s ’ Facebook page (promted by another mn thread) and decided to post a reply to one replied postings. I felt really nervous doing it, even though I shouldn’t, and lots of other people have already said they support the SC ruling. So far, I’ve had a reply from the poster, and some ‘likes’.

You might find this thread interesting too.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5247162-results-of-yougov-survey-dec-24-for-sex-matters?page=1

I always post everywhere now. I am very mindful when I post not to be rude or aggressive or demeaning towards the Trans community but I am clear that men aren't women and cis isn't something I ever want to be called because I am a woman. I get a lot of but "what about intersex" and "you are cis get over it." Which I never respond to, my aim is to not to argue as I know I won't change TRA minds but to just keep calming stating 'Transwomen are male humans' and 'I am a woman, born female' over and over.

Yes 🙌

Anyone who calls you cis is assuming your gender identity, (and that you have one) which, as I understand it, is extremely transphobic 😊

I agree OP, it is really important to remember that ours is actually the majority view.

i’ve found quite a number if women more fully embracing a GC position since the SC ruling, even if they were a bit #bekind before. Sadly, some organisations are struggling to catch up (and many are still hopelessly tangled up)

It definitely feels like a minority view! Especially when you have people shouting loudly that this is not what people want and we are the minority. But then they also shout other things that we know are not true.

OP I am 100% sure you are right that the GC view is the majority view. And people are increasingly

However, to address your question about why the government etc are so captured on this subject, I think the 'minority' issue in their mind is that transpeople are a minority within the wider population and a concern that an allegedly intolerant majority is not inadvertently discriminating against a supposedly vulnerable* minority.

So the government etc are not thinking 'GC views are a minority so we can ignore them' but are thinking 'transpeople are a minority so they need to be protected'.

And they are conveniently forgetting (egged on by the TRAs) that women are vulnerable because of biological factors, which is why the sex discrimination protections matter and why the SC judgment mattered. [And was about women's rights not all about the tranz.]

*I don't think GC views are intolerant, but they are often portrayed as such by the other side.

**I have no doubt that many transpeople appear vulnerable to those who know them. Plus the history of discriminatory practices over the years is littered with examples of where minority groups (e.g. people who are same-sex attracted) have been vulnerable to having been ridden roughshod over by majorities.

Yeah - so the majority of people disagree with the SC while simultaneously trans people are the most persecuted minority. Who’s doing the persecuting then? 🙄

As the survey posted previously consistently shows, most people know that humans can’t change sex, and sometimes sex matters - and anyone who disagrees with those statements is actually lying.

Part of the complexity of this is that there are a group of genuinely vulnerable people in that community. They're the often mentally unwell, autistic children and young people who've been gaslit into believing their bodies are wrong but a sex change will cure them.

They need protecting from the dangerous adults leading this ideology who have relentlessly targeted them with no care for their trashed future lives. It's too late for some of them but we need the silent majority to speak up now in order to stop more children being caught up in this.

Agreed - my comment wasn't nuanced enough but you're absolutely right.

I know exactly what you mean, @DigitalGoat. Went to a gig recently. They have a fairly big gay following so was half expecting something stupid to be said and to be scolded in some way by one of my fave acts. But thankfully nothing, just great music.

Was quite surprised, because some of their previous collaborators had signed that music list in protest at the court ruling. And I don't doubt some of their artsy/privileged audience would be gaga for a bit of wokery. So now I'm wondering if they're being deliberately terfy, which is cheering, or if they just have the self-awareness not to get involved.

Imagine if an act went on stage and said how good the Supreme Court ruling was for women. I can't even imagine it, tbh! That's how you know there's still a lot to do for womenkind.

What is most interesting is that men are and always have been far more sceptical about trans issues.

Whilst TRAs have been screaming at women and calling them TERFS and threatening to rape them, your average bloke has been thinking “man in a dress - I wouldn’t fuck him” all along.

In my view, it's women. Especially mothers of needy boys.

Women do the volunterring, gate keeping of power or secretarial work in many organisations.

One caring "she/her" and a lot of noise will be generated over something no-one wants.

absolutely!