#terf island

[brinconvenient]

I’m sorry... WHAT?!

Seriously: When do you ever just sit and think about the fact that Ian Katz of the Guardian (recently boycotted for its transphobia) and the BBC (routinely protested for its transphobia) was married to Justine Roberts of Mumsnet (a primary radicalizing hub for UK transphobia) for twenty-five years? Most people don’t! I didn’t, until I heard it from the poet Roz Kaveney during an interview. It got trimmed from that piece, and I have been trying to wedge it into different pieces ever since, to no avail. Sometimes, when I talk to other trans people, I will mention that a top Guardian and/or BBC editor was married to the founder of Mumsnet; almost always, when I mention this, I will find out that they didn’t know.

Here’s something else that happens when I tell a trans person that Ian Katz (Channel 4, BBC Newsnight, the Guardian) was married to Justine Roberts (Mumsnet) for 25 years. They will, without fail, make the following noise: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Then they’ll inhale a little, and then they’ll do a controlled little exhale. Then they’ll say yeah, that explains it. Or, yeah. That makes total sense.

[enbycrip]

The Cass Report demonstrates a truly ridiculous ignorance of literally *anything* to do with not only trans lives, but basic medical treatment protocols.

You *cannot* do double-blind tests where an intervention very clearly has distinct observable effects. Medicine also frequently does not do double-blind tests when doing so would be a) basically impossible, and b) inhumane. It’s particularly common to measure efficacy of an intervention by follow-up and statistical analysis where children and young people are concerned because experimenting on kids is so fucking unethical.

The report is treating reports following established medical protocols as though they are some kind of pseudoscience. Literally the only reasons for this are either a) an ignorance of basic medical and research procedures so profound as to show an utter unsuitability to be involved in reporting on anything to do with healthcare or b) blatant disingenuousness to find an excuse to discard the results they don’t want to acknowledge. Which also renders them deeply unsuitable to report on anything to do with healthcare.

They have used to existence of nonbinary people as an excuse to deny under-25s transition care, treating our entire identity as some sort of adolescent identity crisis. As a 40-year old nonbinary person, I can only say how *utterly* this betrays a profound ignorance of trans culture and identity and/or a commitment to patriarchal and colonial gender norms so profound they are utterly unwilling to dive into the easily-available evidence of adults all over the world with nonbibary identities today, and the anthropological and historical evidence of cultures all over the world with an understanding of gender outside the binary.

And the recommendation that transition should be forbidden to people with mental illness or neurodivergence only betrays how deeply and profoundly transphobia is entwined with disableism. There is a line which literally says “transition did not affect manifestation of symptoms of autism spectrum disorder”. As if this was remotely relevant to anything other than pathologising both transness and neurodivergence.

It of course also attempts to ignore the reality that millions of British adults are seeking neurodivergence diagnoses through the NHS and being turned down or stuck on waiting lists that can easily be *seven* years long.

I am sick with fury and fear, and trying to mute my own reactions because I have a dissertation draft due in tomorrow I *need* to work on.

[blogpostsofvariablequality]

so I read the fucking report

^ what the fuck? just. what the fuck is this

^ so she doesn't even know anything about gender. gotcha

^ these lies and others like them permeate the entire fucking report

^ again. what the fuck is this. what are you suggesting here

^ WHAT. THE. FUCK. ARE. YOU. TALKING. ABOUT.

^ how can you write this as if it means anything whatsoever

^ oh would you look at that more terf talking points who would have guessed

^ WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO EVIDENCE IT GIVES TIME TO THINK THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT IT DOES

^ 'SOME' YOUNG ADULTS!? 'SOME'!? IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT?

also 'let's gatekeep more! that's definitely a good idea! the problem is not enough gatekeeping!'

terf fucking island.

[charliejaneanders]

I think I've posted this before but here it is again in case anyone needs it

[toadundercoldstone]

Despite living in England, I have been incredibly invested in the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill for the past few months because to me, it represented UK politics moving forward from the time of medical diagnosis of dysphoria, 10 year waiting lists and the like.

I thought that considering that the bill passed in Scotland with a solid majority, and they had taken steps to make it as difficult as possible for the uk to intervene without causing issues, that we were smooth sailing and we were finally seeing some progress on terf island.

I even foolishly allowed myself to believe that the rest if the UK would follow along eventually, and that it marked the beginning of self-reporting your gender without medical intervention - as it is in many other countries.

Section 35 (follow the link below for a better explanation) is part of the Scotland Act 1998 that allows the scottish secretary by power of the UK government to veto any bill within four weeks of its passing if there are reasonable grounds to believe either:

The bill is incompatible with the UK’s international obligations or jeopardises national defence.

The bill has adverse effects on policy areas that are the responsibility of the UK government.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN USED UNTIL TODAY

Parliament is claiming that the scottish bill has “passed the adverse effects test” and has used section 35 to stop it from coming into effect, continuing to place the lives of trans people in danger and furthering tensions surrounding Scottish independence, making claims about “same sex schools” and “sex equality”.

FM Nicola Sturgeon has called it a blatant attack on scottish independence and has promised to fight against this situation. She has also accused the UK government of using trans people as a weapon in the debate of scottish independence, and I am inclined to agree with her.

As angry and disappointed as I am, I wish I could say I was surprised. terf island continues to terf and trans people continue to die as sufferers of violent crime, economic disparity and suicide. Spread love, check in with your friends, fight your battles until we don’t have to anymore.

I love all you trans people in scotland and the uk and the world and I wish you the best <3

[reallyneedsalife]

"is the UK really that bad for trans people?" we don't call it "TERF Island" for shits and giggles

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

The UK government is right now trying to ban trans women from using the same HOSPITAL WARDS as cis women, in the middle of a healthcare crisis where all wards are overstuffed and understaffed.

What the actual FUCK???

The health minister is on record saying it's only "wokery" that has led to trans and cis women (AND men!) to be allowed to use the same spaces IN THE HOSPITAL so far. (For context, his political party has been in power for the last 13 years... so would have overseen or been happy with that happening for this duration anyway... yet suddenly NOW it is a problem???)

I can't believe this is real life.

[bottlesandbarricades]

Hey UK media could we have a fucking crumb of respect stop dead naming a teenage girl who just got fucking murdered thanks

[tanihanya]

I hate this country's politics so fucking much. This year I'm probably gonna finally get to vote, and It'll be basically down to the Party That Thinks Trans People Don't Exist or the Party That Wishes Trans People Didn't Exist. I actually really really hate this. Things like the Cass report come through and nothing is ever going to change them. There's no pushback. I hate terf island.

[ophidahlia]

[muffinlevelchicanery]

Caption: “It is a very convenient kind of religious freedom that lets you pick and choose the laws you’d like to follow while simultaneously ensuring that you can still dictate how everybody else lives their lives.” A figure of someone frowning wearing a shirt that reads “keeping the state out of the church but not vice versa” exists in the small space where other text in the image does not.

- Uncredited artist

[yourfavouriteblorbo]

as a british @dog-park-dissidents fan - why do i live on terf island so far away from all their gigs?

[coochiequeens]

"It is vital that women's voices are heard in the NHS and the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected." -Steve Barclay. Finally a man I can quote without without an eyeroll emoji

Health secretary plans to bring back 'sex-specific language' to NHS

Steve Barclay wants to push back against what he calls "wokery" in the National Health Service, with a source telling Sky News "ideological dogma" is stopping women from being listened to when it comes to their health.

Tuesday 3 October 2023 12:01, UK

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards in England, under new proposals put forward by the health secretary.

In his conference speech, Steve Barclay announced plans to push back against what he called "wokery" in the NHS, saying it had led to women's rights being increasingly sidelined.

The government will consult on making changes to the NHS constitution, which will also include the right to request same-sex intimate care requests.

The health secretary also confirmed sex-specific language would be used when dealing with women's health.

Speaking to party members in Manchester, Mr Barclay said: "We need a common-sense approach to sex and equality issues in the NHS - that is why today I am announcing proposals for clearer rights for patients.

"And I can today confirm that sex-specific language has now been fully restored to online health advice pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and the menopause.

"It is vital that women's voices are heard in the NHS and the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected."

In April, Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the government could ban trans women from entering female-only spaces, and asked parliament's human rights watchdog for its advice to change official wording from just "sex" to "biological sex", which she described as a "technical and contested area of law".

Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Barclay also announced an expansion of NHS training and funding of new technology in the health service.

He also confirmed new medical schools in Worcester, Chester and Uxbridge, as well as an increase in the number of places up and down the country for students wanting to train to be doctors.

However, Labour said the three "new" schools announced already exist, and added that restrictions on the number of government-funded places mean they are only training international students.

Mr Barclay's speech comes with the backdrop of ongoing junior doctor and consultant strikes in England.

They are taking joint action, with Christmas Day levels of cover expected until Wednesday.

It follows two days of strike action at the end of September and coincides with Rishi Sunak's first Conservative Party conference as leader and prime minister.

The Conservatives will be hoping to grapple back control of its conference in Manchester, which has been dominated by leaks regarding the northern phase of HS2 - which Sky News understands will be scrapped in the coming days.

While Number 10 says no decisions have been made, it is thought the section of the high-speed rail project between Birmingham and Manchester will now be shelved.

[feckcops]

Gender: the EHRC explain

“108:08 Next question. Which other NHRIs {National Human Rights Institutions} around the world are taking the same position as you on this issue?

“108:13 silence

“108:17 MB: I’m not aware of the position of other NHRIs on this question. I know that there are many which don’t take this position.

“108:26 HB: Which then begs the question, again, why you are.

“108:32 silence …

“109:03 It’s not often I cry myself to sleep but I did last night. I’m a tough old cookie. But last night my wife and I were both awake until 3 o’clock in the morning, trying to process at what point do we flee this country.

“109:31 And for — a human rights institution to cause that — is unfathomable.

“109:48 silence

“109:53 And I don’t know where to, it’s, it’s, where to go with it.

“110:03 And I think it’s astonishing, the reversal of your position, and you cannot provide evidence and you know you’re an outlier … can you not see how that makes, well, can you not see what effect that has on your standing, not just within trans communities but within the wider LGBT community, and I know that this is also shared in other protected characteristics as well, who are looking on what you are now doing to trans people and thinking, dear god, I hope they don’t turn on us. Because they fear that too.”

“111:21 Can you see that?

“111:22 10 seconds silence

“111:32 MB: I absolutely hear what you’re saying.”

[spaceyqueer]

what really fucking irritates me about all the transphobia in the British media right now is that I guarantee the Tories and, largely, the British public do not give as much of a shit as they've lead the media to believe. Are they transphobic? Abso-fucking-lutely, because the Tories hate anything that deviates from the norm because otherwise they would struggle to maintain control as the upper class bastards they are, and I don't doubt there are individuals (looking at you, Kemi Badenoch) who are unhinged enough to believe that trans people are violent predators lurking in bathrooms to attack cis women, but by-and-large most of these people probably wouldn't be able to tell a fucking trans person apart in a line up. They only care about control, and if that control means wielding one of the Hot Topics of the times (aka should we treat trans people with basic human rights) as a shitty sword they're going to fucking do it.

Much easier to use something people don't understand well enough to combat against - I mean, I'm not going to lie to you as a trans person I didn't even fully understand trans issues until I went to college and got my butt thoroughly kicked into gear - when there is so much other shit going on they could be fixing and are undoubtedly being criticised for. The blocking of the GRA reform in Scotland is only like 10% about trans people from transphobes, and 90% about maintaining control of the status quo. If they look like they're doing something - "see, we're keeping those violent nasty trans people away from good respectable normal people!" - people are less likely to pay attention to the other heinous nasty stuff that they're doing (such as underfunding the NHS, for example, despite promising millions after Brexit, or how about when they changed the law regarding protests that basically allow the police to arrest protestors for no reason, or the shipping of immigrants to Rwanda despite human rights organisations best efforts).

It is all about control.