Physics teacher and trade unionist.
The heated transgender debate is aggravated by muddled language that has obfuscated discussion and clouded understanding. Dispute resolution requires clarity of thought, which in turn needs precision of language. In transgender politics, that starts by unravelling sex and gender, description and definition, and even the verbs to be and to do.
A new book, Irreversible Damage, reveals how teenage girls are being duped into believing they want to be male, and are pushed into taking puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and undergoing double mastectomies.
Whether it is a statement or a question, the title of this book conveys the necessary urgency of this desperately sad story. Amid the trans debate, seemingly a battle between grown adults, vulnerable children are prey to a malevolent ideology that survivors call a cult.
The U.K. government has a rare opportunity to help trans people restore societal fairness and trust.
Like an out-of-control juggernaut, transgender ideology has steamrolled through legislatures and institutions, leaving irrational and unscientific policy in its wake. But there’s been some promising pushback in London this summer where the British government might be about to say no to the transgender lobby.
“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people.” With those words, JK Rowling threw herself into perhaps the most febrile debate in contemporary society. Even Covid-19 has not dampened the furore over transgender rights. As two world views collide, fundamental truths that previous generations thought were self-evident have been cast into doubt. What is a woman? what is a man? and how can we tell them apart?
“‘Personas menstruantes’. Estoy segura de que solía haber un nombre para estas personas”. Con estas palabras, JK Rowling se lanzó al que probablemente es el debate más febril de la sociedad contemporánea. Ni siquiera la covid-19 ha servido para atemperar el furor en torno al debate sobre los derechos de las personas transgénero. Conforme dos visiones del mundo colisionaban, algunas verdades fundamentales que generaciones anteriores consideraban indiscutibles han empezado a ponerse en duda. ¿Qué es una mujer? ¿Qué es un hombre? ¿Cómo podemos diferenciarlos?
Today marks International Non-Binary People’s Day. Scheduled ingeniously 128 days after International Women’s Day (on 8 March) and 128 days before International Men’s Day (on 19 November), today has been set aside for people who identify as non-binary. But while it is easy to create identities, it is rather more difficult to define who qualifies.
Parents! How do you support LGBT+ kids? As a parent, a teacher and as a trans person, I think the answer is simple: treat them just like any other child. They need space to explore what it means to be human, activities to learn about the world, and boundaries to keep them safe. When BBC Bitesize explored this question, they talked to drag artist Divina De Campo. Behind the flamboyant exterior – ‘camp as a row of tents,’ according to De Campo – there is a former teacher making some sensible points. ‘Everything is there forever,’ De Campo says of social media posts, ‘it doesn’t disappear because somebody’s screenshotted it.’ But unfortunately Bitesize wasn’t content with just offering plain, helpful advice.
Die Bestseller-Autorin J. K. ist wegen ihrer Äußerungen über Transmenschen in die Kritik geraten. Hier erklärt die britische Transgender-Aktivistin Debbie Hayton, warum sie sich mit der “Harry Potter”-Autorin solidarisiert.
Nachdem Joanne K. Rowling im vergangenen Monat eine Flut von Beschimpfungen erhalten hatte, weil sie das Wort “Frau” zur Beschreibung ihres Geschlechts zurückforderte, hätte man J. K. Rowling vielleicht verzeihen können, wenn sie den Staffelstab der Kampagne an andere weitergereicht hätte. Die Transgender-Debatte, an der sie teilnahm, ist vielleicht der toxischste und spaltendste Streit, der in den sozialen Medien tobt.
Как трансженщина, родитель и учитель, я утверждаю, что Дж.К. Роулинг совершенно права: подталкивать детей к смене пола — это насилие над ними.
Автора бестселлеров заклеймили позором за предупреждение относительно того, что трансактивисты подталкивают детей, испытывающих психологические трудности, к приёму гормонов и хирургическим операциям. Однако она поступает храбро и верно, высказываясь на этот счёт. После обрушившегося на неё в прошлом месяце шквала оскорблений за то, что она просила вернуть слово «женщина» для описания своего пола, Дж.К. Роулинг, вероятно, была прощена за то, что передала правозащитную эстафету другим.
The best-selling author has been vilified for warning about how children struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery by trans activists. But she is brave and right to speak out.
After last month receiving a barrage of abuse for reclaiming the word ‘woman’ to describe her sex, JK Rowling might have been forgiven for handing the campaigning baton onto others. The transgender debate that she entered is perhaps the most toxic and divisive dispute raging across social media.
Debbie Hayton