I wonder what the WI are going to announce on Woman's Hour in the next few minutes?

[nauticant]

Apparently it will be a matter of the greatest seriousness and sorrow.

well this is the overriding issue isn't it? Probably, in before times, not many of us would have batted an eyelid (exceptions being women who cannot be in a space with a man at all) and would have probably rolled our eyes a bit in private, but been kind and inclusive. Because there would have been very few and they would honestly have been trying to "pass" and so on.

But no. Stonewall barged in and ruined it for those quiet, genuinely dysphoric people. And now they must ALL stay out of women's spaces.

Genuinely dysphoric (i don't want to say "tru trans") people must and should be angry at the TRAs who have utterly ruined their lives over this. Not women who would probably have just carried on carrying on. As we do.

(have not rtft: is this as a result of the MNetter's DH who challenged them?)

Can't wait to see an agenda for a sisterhood meeting.

'Welcome
My Important Thoughts about Me (Chair to present)
How to Make Jam In An Expressively Gendered Way'

er...

'AOB Why This Is Not Good Enough and How We Now Campaign To Make the WI Submit to Sisterhood Harder'

Queues out the doors, applause [Brighton Branch only, future meetings cannot be guaranteed, pictures to be taken for the WI annual report to show we WEREN'T WRONG AND WE DON'T CARE)

The men’s shed allows women as well as men - a condition of funding according to DH

whixh surprised me because of the great work they do with make mental health for which I would have thought a sex restriction was appropriate… unlike for making jam

They don't have to exclude anyone. There is nothing stopping the WI inviting men to join, as long as they include all men.

How cruel.

Basically telling some members to fuck off, get back in your hole.

I'd imagine this was a safe space for many. Not anymore.

This was in the Guardian this morning.

“As an organisation that has proudly welcomed transgender women into our membership for more than 40 years, this is not something we would do unless we felt that we had no other choice.”
Transgender WI members known to the leadership team at the organisation had already been informed of the decision before an announcement, said Green.
“They’ve been so respectful and so understanding of the decision, but profoundly sad,” she said. “I spoke to one 80-year-old woman who has been in our organisation for decades, who said it was one of the greatest experiences of her life, and the only place in her 80 years where she’s been treated as a woman with respect.”

I'd have thought the WI would have had more bottle. They should be ashamed of themselves.

For reference - the Mothers' Union will have mothers, non mothers, men.

If in future they'll be WI meetings for women born biologically female and Sisterhood for the TW then I wonder _ how many TW will still attend since it won't validate them as women

Phew, I saw the thread title and was terrified that it would be something truly schismatic and controversial. My money was on apricot jam being officially declared an abomination.

So glad to see that it's just something as straightforward as the Women's Institute confirming that it's an organisation for women only.

Has Battersea Dogs' & Cats' Home confirmed whether they're expanding to include giraffes and pigeons yet?

“However, this change is only in respect to our membership policy and does not change our firm belief that transgender women are women.”

Who are these absolute morons who believe this? wtf.

I was referring to the independence of civil society organisations as a core democratic value and an essential element for a strong and healthy democracy.

It is certainly anti democratic that a civil society group has been forced to restrict their membership against their core values because of (interpretations) of state law.

Yes, and they will be so concerned that it will "out" them 🙄

Yes 🙌🏼 they say they’d lose loads in legal challenges and the Charity Commission would be crawling all over them.

Why did you reply to yourself?

The WI has certainly not been democratic about this. If they ask med the women in the WI their opinion I can guarantee that the majority would not have voted to include men in the membership.

Decent, educated and open minded individuals, capable of perceiving diversity and complexity in human experience.

Exactly!!

For reference - the Mothers' Union will have mothers, non mothers, men.

They're a completely separate organisation with different founding principles and presumably charitable objectives.

Basically telling some members to fuck off, get back in your hole.

That's not actually true, though, is it.
It's saying a group that was set up for a specific group of people remains for that group of people. And they're setting up new groups that include everyone.

I don't feel like any organisation I'm not eligible for is telling me to 'fuck off'. I haven't joined the orchestra because I'm terrible at the violin, not because they've told me to fuck off. This childish pretence is not helping.

There’s a lot of sad faces and “how could they” on the unofficial WI FB group

I'm sorry, mate, but no matter how purple you make the prose, "women can have knobs" is never going to be clever and "women should not be allowed to gather away from men" is never going to be reasonable. I realise this is precisely why you need the purple prose, but you're not fooling anyone.

It doesn't say how many though. It only needs 1 trans member to claim that.

It was an additional thought / comment to my previous post.

I suppose it’s like me setting up a charity to take care of horses and fundraising for horses but then wanting my membership to prioritise lions.

Rather against the purpose for which the Charity was founded.

I can choose to become a lion 🦁 focused charity instead.

I can’t however be a horse charity that wants to focus on the needs of lions.

They either become a mixed sex organisation or stay single sex. They had a choice.

This is good news!

What a fresh, sophisticated and mature take.

No, their core values are that they are the Women's Institute. For women only.

Hth.

I bet you're not decent enough to give an example of what differentiates men and women.
Either you think there's no difference, and any transition is meaningless, or you think there is a difference but you can't say what it is because soo many reasons but they all go to a different school.

It's more open-minded to think that a woman can have any personality, character, set of skills, desires, etc than to think only certain of these are women.