Finally!! A political canvasser has knocked on my door.

[GargoylesofBeelzebub]

Representative of a Labour candidate. He handed me a flyer and asked me what my thoughts were. I have been waiting for this moment for a LONG time!

I told him I would only be voting for candidates who recognised that the definition of a woman was someone of the female biological sex and would uphold the Supreme Court ruling.

He stood there grinding his teeth and said he had no idea what her stance on the matter was. 🙄 I expressed surprise given it’s a big topic in the news right now…

He denied it had ever cropped up and turned tail and ran.

I think I've only brought it up once or twice with a canvasser, largely because I don't have the energy to argue.
How much energy does it take to say "if you don't respect my sex, you're not getting my X"?

It's such a misogynistic viewpoint to say it's about 'trans' issues when it's clearly women's rights and child safeguarding that are the issue.

And frankly, shows a real lack of understanding of the issue - women's sex-based rights and child sex-based safeguarding cuts across and interacts with many other issues like schools (including safety of children in schools), education, SEND provision, safety of women in healthcare environments (lack of single sex spaces in all NHS trusts and anti-woman, illegal policies) mental health provision (both amount and quality for both adults and children and 'affirmation only' approach breaching medical ethics), school attendance, social services provision. Trust in government, trust in the police and courts.

I could go on.

I'm finding this really interesting. Because, I think until very recently people didn't feel they could bring it up for fear of being called a bigot. I only became really aware of what was happening in 2024 so I'd be interested in whether it has gone up the list of voter issues since then. Things might have changed but I can see it's considered a fringe issue. I do think there are a hard core of often 'left-wing' voters who simply refuse to vote for a party that supports gender ideology however much they agree with other policies. However, they may be balanced by the hard core who support gender ideology and are switching to the Greens from Labour. Interesting times.

Yes I think some politicians don’t get this either. They flounder and go on about ‘trans issues’.

Whilst women do incredible things like go to the Supreme Court and change the landscape through the law.

I’m hoping to encounter the greens. They will be left in no doubt exactly what I think and why it’s likes of them who will be to blame if Reform get in

Well why would you invite someone to be nasty to you and call you a bigot? Because that's what some of them do. And then someone who's potentially so unhinged as to think sex realism isn't worthy of respect (even though deemed in a court of law to be so) knows where you live.

The death threats, rape threats and physical violence are all one way.

Edited to add: It's also misogynistic to not understand why there has been a climate of fear about this issue and why many women are afraid of violence if they speak up, so don't speak up. It's why women like FWS are so brave - they will have had death and rape threats, there will have been men who absolutely want to hurt them.

Im in London - Labour stronghold area. Total complacency, no one ever knocks the doors. All my local councillors are career politicians, the majority don’t even live here. Zero visibility. I hope other parties will make the moves and don’t assume that just because it was always Labour stronghold, they don’t have a chance. The times have changed. Labour brand is toxic.

I think this is often why the left get surprised by election results (see Brexit and Donald Trump). They really don't want to hear what people are thinking (think Gordon Brown dismissing a woman who was concerned about immigration as a bigot). There's a wonderful video doing the rounds of a woman telling Owen Jones she's not going to vote Green because a group of canvassers left the café door open when they left. He laughs at her. She says ' Actions speak louder than words'. I think how canvassers behave on the doorstep does reflect on the party they're canvassing for. It's an opportunity that some political parties seem to be missing. https://youtube.com/shorts/vuOqJxQtWsQ?si=lXe6yBcgxjrW_4vo

Your insights are very interesting, but I wouldn’t agree that this topic rarely comes up in the media. The Sandie Peggie case has had lots of coverage, numerous commentators have mentioned the interest the case has, both here and internationally, which I wasn’t aware of. A Scottish newspaper did live commentary. The Darlington nurses has again been covered widely. In both cases they held press conferences after the court cases. Last night developments in the puberty blocker trial were covered on the BBC News at 10. These are not minor articles hidden in the middle of a newspaper.

With respect, referring to this subject without referring to trans people would be slightly confusing. Do you have an alternative three word term for it?

I think that presuming that using the term 'trans debate' is in itself indicative of a position on women's sex based rights, and worthy of withholding political support, is a fairly extreme and blinkered position to hold.

Probably not a lot, but then they'd argue back and you'd have to argue back to them, and so on. I prefer not to waste too much of my time arguing with stupid people.

I said that it occasionally comes up in the media, and I stand by it. If there is a particular case then it gets coverage. And there are places where that coverage is amplified (like on here). But compared to the top ten issues that come up (NHS, Schools / SEND, immigration, cost of living, very local issues, Council Tax levels, roads, etc) it is nowhere near. And bear in mind that the vast majority of people don't raise any issues at all. They just want you to go away.

I’d love to see your list please. That’s a brilliant idea. Love the gif.

You’ve answered with the term in your own post.

I’m not sure what you mean in the last line, what’s blinkered?

What exactly is the point of political party national policy at local elections? I live in an area which is so Lib Dem controlled, there is no realistic opposition to their plans, so I won't vote for them on the basis we do need a decent opposition. And here that means voting Conservative.

It's blinkered to make a political judgement based on the use of the term 'trans debate'. Not someone's position on the issues, just using the term. That seems like a very very tiny thing to make a judgement on, especially since it is a debate and I'm not sure what alternative shirt hand term exists with which to define it.

Women’s sex based rights is a better way to frame it. If politicians used it we’d be in a much better place.

To be fair that is a good short hand. I do worry though that refusing to even use the term 'trans debate' could be used to justify claims of erasure when actually i think it's fine for anyone to think of themselves as trans (but that those thoughts obviously don't undo biology and turn them into the opposite sex, which is sad for them but nevertheless true).

Name changed for this as it could be outing down to my actual address.

I had them round a couple of weeks ago. DH answered the door and told them he'd stopped voting SNP because of their nanny state policies. The guy was like "Oh, sorry to hear that".

DH was about to shut the door and I thought "Hold my pint". I told the canvasser I'd been a lifelong SNP voter but would never vote for them again thanks to their insistence on shoving women under the bus and throwing public money at opposing FWS. I gave him both barrels, that there were X former SNP voters in this house who'd never vote for them again, plus x number of my acquaintance who felt the same.

I was still going as he reached the end of the path, I think he was scared I was going to follow him down the street. My only regret is that it wasn't my actual MP, I'm itching to ask her if she's had her chromosomes tested yet.😡

I raised this with a Labour canvasser back in 2019 and he literally walked off screaming at the top of his lungs TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN (I was pretty soft spoken).

Didn’t get another canvasser for some time after that until I got an elderly gentleman for Labour at the last election. Think I may have turned him into a Terf.

To be fair I wasn’t questioning whether it comes up on the doorsteps, I was just talking about the media.

I must've been honoured, as I got a former member of the UK Cabinet at my door on a Saturday afternoon.

Some people think abusing canvessers is ok? No wonder most people will not get involved in politics

🤣 what a prize knob

Mate, there are more stories here of canvassers being abusive to people on their own doorsteps. That’s worse.