Expressing 'gender critical' views

[ArabellaSaurus]

If you hold gender critical views-

-There are two sexes
-Sex is immutable
-Biological sex matters, and laws relating to sex should be based on sex not 'gender'

• please tell me if you feel able to express these views:

-To friends and family
-On social media
-In a professional context

I'm keen to hear whether women in particular feel that their right to freedom of belief and freedom of expression is upheld in the UK today.

Many thanks.

I've always been able to express these views to family and colleagues at work, but I work in IT and am a contractor. I have family in the NHS who have been put through "training" for their beliefs in reality so am aware it's different in other places.

Thanks everyone!

It looks like workplaces are the last place most people will raise or discuss these issues.

And that social media is also an area most people are cautious.

But at a rough glance, most people are happy to talk to friends and family.

How we got here - requiring education in the workplace if we have GC views is interesting and gathering pace with some journalists. Recommend this read and listen https://peaked.substack.com/p/the-first-rule-of-queer-club?triedRedirect=true

To friends and family, yes, mostly. Not all friends receive it well but at least agree to disagree.

Professionally, almost never. Perhaps one to one, but I’d be rather careful saying anything that could be misconstrued or used against be.

Social media, never.

At work with extreme caution, mainly I feel excluded (the irony)

Social media - yes, it’s anonymous

Family - yes, but some closest are of opposing views, so it’s avoided. But I am honest if it comes up.

Friends and family - yes (cautious with acquaintances though)
Work - very, very cautiously and certainly not in casual conversation.
Social media - not under my own name.

To family yes

to friends, some but not others. I have a dear friend with a trans child and I don’t wish to hurt her or the young person, who I’m very fond of. I empathise with their situation

on social media no and at work no

my job is in public sector and I worry about potential ramifications to me and my organisation if I were to be outwardly GC.

I have managed to ensure our inclusion documents now include the correct protected characteristics rather than sex being misrepresented as gender and gender reassignment being misrepresented as gender identity. Pushing for this was a bit unnerving but I got support from a senior HR person who is uncaptured. There was surprise and it was clear we were then differing from all other similar organisations supported by the same team.

core systems muddle sex and gender at the moment and this could result in harm

Generally - if I said Davina is changing her male body to look female, because Davina is a woman and women are female, then yes.

If i just said "women are female" then no.

Agree with this- my experience almost exactly

• please tell me if you feel able to express these views:

-To friends and family

Family, no. There are some trans people in the family and I feel I can't say what I really think. I refuse to call the males "women", "aunt" etc., (easly avoidable and probably no-one notices) but I feel coerced into using wrong-sex pronouns, for fear of falling out with close family members. I feel I am made to lie, which makes me very resentful and affects my mental health - it's a choice between this and potentially losing important relationships.

Friends, it depends. I do talk about this with some close female friends, but I don't bring it up with other friends.

-On social media
Rarely (see above). Friends and family who do not share my views may see them. On Mumsnet I am anonymous and I can say what I really think.

-In a professional context
Doesn't arise. I work for a private company, and have never been asked my pronouns or my opinions - if I were I would tell them honestly what I think. One or two people at work know what I think, but the rest don't - and for the most part I don't know what they think either, any more than I know their views on Reform or football teams.

Older family yes, younger family inc DC, no and we avoid the topic as would argue to the detriment of our relationship.
Some close friends no and I tend to be the one who remains silent when topics come up. I want my friends in my life and know they would think badly of me and much as I find this a hateful situation I would rather have friends.
Work, in private conversations with a couple of colleagues I just knew would be GC otherwise definitely not. Would very badly affect my standing at work.

With my DH - Yes.
Kids are young so when they bring it up I just act interested - where they heard about it/what do they think/do they know they can never really change sex and e.g. have a baby etc.

With friends - only a couple who have expressed they thing GI is a load of old shit. I have had conversations with my 2 closest friends but they are clearly not comfortable with my views, so we all avoid the topic.

I don't really post at all on SM like Facebook or insta, but I follow a couple of GC groups if anyone was bothered to interrogate my profile.

At work - absolutely not. Captured as fuck with men presenting on IWD etc. If I was asked directly I wouldn't lie but unfortunately I need my job so I STFU.
That said, I dont have pronouns in my signature so that's probably outing.

To my friends and family yes. To a certain extent at work, mainly because other people have brought it up.
I had to explain to a couple of colleagues that trans woman means male and trans man means female, because they thought it was the other way round.
I used to be on twitter and dabbled with Instagram, it they were anonymous accounts - I hadn't linked with people I knew. Not because of any particular reason.

I would like to add that when the topic has come up, I am in a great position to debate - without exception I am always the best-informed as to what is happening in the GI/GC space, whether that is tribunals, biased news, crime, cancellations of famous people, political parties and government decisions, and that's down to Mumsnet.

I dont have pronouns in my signature so that's probably outing.

This is why TWAW adherents require regular mouthing of the catechism.

Not in any of those 3.
Can't risk it.
It would be treated as akin to racism (which I abhor).

However, I entirely believe:
'There are two sexes
-Sex is immutable
-Biological sex matters, and laws relating to sex should be based on sex not 'gender'.

Effectively gagged though.

Diversion but maybe relevant to what you're asking...
I just went on to see if my org's policy on standard email signatures has changed in the wake of the SC ruling/ the various GC court cases against various organisations.

But no, there still a massive gushing spiel about personal pronouns and 'how damaging misgendering can be... safe and welcoming environment for all ... we encourage all staff to use them

Impartiality and integrity have different meanings when it comes to the sacred caste, it would appear.

@TwelvePercent how damaging misgendering can be.

I assume there is nohting in the spiel about how damaging it is to be forced to lie.

I think things have improved over the past decade - we have Forstater's proof of WORIADS, the Supreme Court judgement, and Cass, all backing up the 'gender critical' perspective. We know that most people share these very basic and common sense views.

But we are still experiencing the 'chilling' effect in the public sphere.

I don’t have any social media accounts. I only really post on here.
I’m openly GC in both work and with friends and family though. I’ve yet to meet anyone who disagrees with me.

This ^ mostly covers it for me

-To friends and family mostly no apart from a few cautiously sounded out friends as my DC are definitely TWAW and as @BlueLegume says, nothing I could add - even from the science perspective - would change their minds.
-On social media, just here
-In a professional context never apart from one colleague, definitely not. My union is captured and my university is wholly ‘queered’ and friends who teach E&D approach the topic from a bekind perspective

Family, yes all on board except SiL (with whom I’ve had run ins on other topics) is convinced Imane Khelif is a woman and with no discussion of our views taking place has already judged me as being some kind transphobic bigot. She has to continue to be nice to me though so it’s ok.

Friends, a few TWAW, some not, most apparently unaware. I’ve got a really lovely group of friends that I chat to regularly though and they help keep me sane.

Yes definitely. Those incidents have supported some women but the mainstream view in professional circles and certainly at university is still TWAW and to say differently is to invite condemnation. Think about how those who led the witch hunt against Jo Stock etc have gone on even higher up the administrative ladder and won’t have changed their views.

I’m very careful about expressing my explicit views in any context. With family, there is a young trans-identified relative so I do not talk about this sort of stuff openly with my family. At work, I’ve had my job threatened and faced disciplinary action, so I am careful.

I’m exhausted by it all. Really exhausted by the constant struggle.

My position is relatively nuanced. If someone wants to trans-identify, that’s up to them (although I could weep for the damage artificial hormones are doing to my young relative), but I don’t think these individual decisions of a tiny proportion of the population should change law and public policy in such ways as to exclude and damage the rights of 51% of the population.

My analogy is: Gay marriage was a campaign to include recognising same-sex life partnerships alongside opposite-sex partnerships. It didn’t require heterosexual marriage to change its nature or the language we use to discuss it, nor diminish the rights of heterosexual married couples.

To some family members yes. Not others as it’s not worth the potential falling out.
Professionally it’s important for me to be non political so I wouldn’t post anything on SM one way or another.
Friends, most, we all broadly agree and are able to discuss it calmly when we do discuss it which is not often.