GG and WI - is it a coincidence?

[Theeyeballsinthesky]

That these public garment rending hand wringing oh my god it's soooo awful statements from these 2 organisations come just as Baroness Falkener has stepped down from Chairing EHRC and Mary Ann Stephenson takes over?

is this a loudly performative attempt to get EHRC to change their guidance?

(and yes I know we all know the guidance doesn't change the law but it all seems very suspiciously timed)

I’m not sure it is working as a plan, as most of the public comments seem to be ‘good, at last’ type comments.
Not a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth in the general population.

Maybe.

Fuck them. Fuck their abandonment of women and their appeasement of trans activists.

It does seem odd that they've both happened in the same week, doesn't it?

I did wonder.

It really does and it's very determinedly high profile. Arranging to on women's hour to announce it for example. It really does feel like a maximum publicity drive to highlight how sad men are and what big meanies the SC is making them be

Nah someone has just pointed out to the boards that are braking the law and are personally liable for all penalties both financially and criminally and civil crts.That along with the lawsuits in the pipework and the fallout for Carol Potter in the NHS fife fiasco has clarified the situation that they find themselves in, its much better to blame the sc than admit that they have screwed up

I was wondering if they've both been given the same advice.

I think I read on twitter that they have the same law firm, so yes, probably they got the very same advice.

If it's a cunning plan, it won't work, because the law's the law.

Also you should check out @Another2Catsthread about her husband trying to join the WI. The law firm for both was Bates Wells. It would really be interesting to find out who else they represent to see who has a press release tomorrow. Might have a glass of wine tonight to celebrate!

Are there more organisations to follow? Hampstead ponds? Park run?

I wonder if both organisations are losing money and need to find a way to win women back while simultaneously seeming 'regretful' over all the poor men they are being forced to abandon?

I wonder if the number of those born male in each organisation is very small in any case.

As for Park Run, as it is open to all and just the record times that are false, I doubt they will follow suit. Hampstead Ponds seems unlikely too in my opinion.

I don't know, the majority of comments on GH Facebook post are 'how awful' and people declaring they will be distancing themselves from the organisation. I'm assuming the many people who distanced themselves when they stopped being an organisation for girls are just holding their tongues.

I suspect they got legal advice together, and decided to split the costs. Sounds like a common sense way of doing things.

I think Hampstead ponds will fold because they can't say the women's pond is for women when they let some men in. I can't see they have a legal argument to make for that position

they could of course go down the route of declaring all the ponds to be mixed sex which would be fine - except of course women lose another resource because a few men can't bear the word "no"

I expect it's that. It was the same after FWS judgement with loads of loud performative wailing on social media

I didn't post my support for the judgement on social media for all the reasons discussed many times on here

I agree. I can’t see the Ponds have a leg to stand on as things are at the moment. And to make all 3 ponds mixed sex would be a big step when everyone already has access to 2 out of the 3 ponds already.

I think was blocked from their FB page ages ago, possibly for commenting on the Monica Sulley incident. I’d been looking for a local brownie pack for my DD at that point, after her old one folded, but knowing she could potentially be sharing local camp accommodation with him made me deeply concerned and she never went back to Girlguiding.

Gg is a dying trend. Most girls are not interested. It will be interesting to see if the number of girls and volunteering drops further

I think that they both ended up with the same actual solicitor. She looked at all the legislation and offered up the following legal advice: "Youse are on a very shoogly peg".

I noticed a petition up to make them change their minds. 11,000+ have signed so far.

How do they get so many to sign? I'm honestly puzzled.

I can imagine some conversations

Lawyer: so what are we talking about? 50% of your membership are Transwomen

GG/WI: 20

Lawyer: 20%. OK lets..

GG/WI: erm.... No. 20 Transwomen.

Lawyer: are you fucking kidding me? In that case just follow the bloody law you stupid idiots.

I'm utterly sick of the emotional stories being told on Facebook and those (apparently) hundreds of women up in arms about this.

I couldn’t believe my ears listening to Women’s Hour. That WI CEO made it sound like the whole point of the Women’s Institute was to make trans women feel better about the fact that they aren’t women.