J. K. Rowling

[emmer_moans]

I know it took me a very long time to go ahead with a smear test and there's absolutely no way I would have felt comfortable with a male conducting it. Women should be able to choose to decline on these grounds. I wish I was less anxious on those situations but it took a lot of mental battling to even go for the test with the idea of women doing it. Sometimes I don't think people understand this built in and learned fear of intimacy with strangers, whether that be changing in an gym changing room or having in intimate clinical procedure.

 

[LittleMy]

I know it took me a very long time to go ahead with a smear test and there's absolutely no way I would have felt comfortable with a male conducting it. Women should be able to choose to decline on these grounds. I wish I was less anxious on those situations but it took a lot of mental battling to even go for the test with the idea of women doing it. Sometimes I don't think people understand this built in and learned fear of intimacy with strangers, whether that be changing in an gym changing room or having in intimate clinical procedure.

Exactly. They aren’t the most comfortable procedure as it is. Add a nurse who is clearly a biological male to the scenario and either the woman is going to put up and shut up for fear of being labelled transphobic at the expense of her own comfort, or they will be put off going altogether to avoid the situation and potentially risking their own health. Unfortunately not every woman is as forward or straight to the point as the woman in the article (and even she got abuse for exercising her right to a female nurse).

 

[Inforapenny]

Actually have to cross my legs thinking about my smear test! It's such a horrible procedure but of course necessary.
The idea that woman are not having their because of men and bloody trans movement.

You can have a chaperone for a procedure regardless of the gender of the clinician. You can also stop a procedure at any point if you are uncomfortable, request a different chaperone etc. The reason they have this is as much to protect you as it is the hospital in question. But most people in the medical profession just want to do their job, get paid and go home- regardless of orientation, gender etc.

Do you know any trans ppl?

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

I know it took me a very long time to go ahead with a smear test and there's absolutely no way I would have felt comfortable with a male conducting it. Women should be able to choose to decline on these grounds. I wish I was less anxious on those situations but it took a lot of mental battling to even go for the test with the idea of women doing it. Sometimes I don't think people understand this built in and learned fear of intimacy with strangers, whether that be changing in an gym changing room or having in intimate clinical procedure.

I always end up booking my smears months after getting the reminder. It’s bad enough having to have it done in the first place, I personally feel very vulnerable having it done and I’m sure many women feel the same. If I got there and found a Male or transgender woman nurse was doing it with no female nurse available I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. But I don’t know if I would have the confidence to voice that. Knowing I will get a female nurse is one of the things that encourages me to attend these appointments.

It’s the same with men and prostate exams I’d never expect them to allow a woman or a trans man doctor to do it if they didn’t feel comfortable. To healthcare professionals, yes it is just a job to the majority of them* and they don’t think twice about these procedures, but to the patient during these intimate exams, it’s a time where you do feel very exposed.

*A doctor from the gp surgery I attended as a child got charged with abusing his female patients with unnecessary vaginal exams. He killed himself before the trial unfortunately. But it’s always stuck with me (I wasn’t one of the victims). Whilst most HCP’s are lovely and well intentioned, some of them aren’t and they don’t exactly walk around with a sign on their head. Lots of people didn’t believe the victims of that doctor.

 

[Sunflower91]

Actually have to cross my legs thinking about my smear test! It's such a horrible procedure but of course necessary.
The idea that woman are not having their because of men and bloody trans movement




Do you know any trans ppl?

Yes I’ve known a couple over the years.

Side note that I’m also in the category of just being mentally unable to get a smear. I know it could save my life but I’m just not ready. All thanks to one man.

 

[Candytuft]

For me it’s not just about toilets.

I, of course, do believe trans people have rights. I recognise they are a marginalised group. I believe that gender is a social construct.

i will also say this; women have difficulty entering public spaces. From catcalling, to being groped, to being abused - all of this behaviour stems from the public sphere historically being the Male domain, something that is still present in the psyche of people today. We have had to fight and negotiate for our place in this public sphere - to be able to walk down the street in a skirt and not have it be commented upon. To be able to walk alone at night. By virtue of being born with a specific set of genitalia, women have been removed from certain privileges. We continue to fight for these.

There is also the fact that, statistically, the vast vast majority of women have been sexually harassed or assaulted in the UK. I’d go so far to say that every single woman in the U.K. has experienced a form of harassment or assault at some point, ranging from unwanted advances in a pub, to someone grabbing your bum, to full on attacks. It is prevalent. I include myself among this statistic, as does JK.

I also do not see trans women as being a threat or as being perpetrators of this abuse at all. Most I’ve known are gentle souls with more empathy than most. This isn’t about these people being abusive.

for me the issue is this; women have carefully negotiated their place in the public sphere. If we - as a society - deem any people who are biologically Male AND decide they identify as the gender female, should have access to these spaces, it removes arenas that have been ringfenced for biological/cis women and it opens our public spheres to anyone who claims they are a woman. It’s opens our protected rights and spaces to exploitation.

we have had the vote for just a hundred years, compared to thousands of years of oppression. Until relatively recently, a woman was property of her male relatives or husband with few legal rights. It is mind numbing, just how recent this state of affairs was.

it isn’t about if I mind a trans woman in a bathroom; it’s about minding if a trans woman can use female only gym areas, women’s only swimming sessions, designated women’s sporting events, women’s changing rooms, women’s domestic abuse facilities, women’s health facilities and so on.

in worst case scenarios, women who have been subject to abuse from men (I volunteered in a charity supporting these women) sometimes find they cannot feel safe or secure in the presence of men. To state that any biological Male should have access to these women’s spaces based on their gender identity alone, is an idea worthy of discussion at the very least. No one should have TERF yelled at them over it.

I actually love you

 

[Inforapenny]

Yes I’ve known a couple over the years.

Side note that I’m also in the category of just being mentally unable to get a smear. I know it could save my life but I’m just not ready. All thanks to one man.

Tbh I thought you were a bloke because you told me to watch my 'tone'.

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

The Body Shop replied to a woman’s email about their recent tweet towards JKR. Called women menstruators and said men can have periods. They’ve really outdone themselves.

 

[LittleMy]

Thanks for reducing us to a bodily function, The Body Shop. Shall we just call all people with a pen “Ejaculators”?

Fs. Stop the world, I want to get off...

 

[PinkBogeyBreath]

Has anyone read the statement Mermaids have released addressing JK and her essay? Instagram is full of fawning comments etc about how brilliant it is but it absolutely isn’t! It completely brushes over all the valid points she made and focuses on the semantics of things like how they officially change gender instead.

Example:

“To address the core of your point, trans rights do not come at the expense of women’s rights. We see no evidence that trans girls are a threat to other girls in any way. Indeed, it is transgender children who often suffer horrific bullying at school and at home. And, as you will have seen, it is transgender adults who are made to feel afraid in modern British society, by those who would seek to characterise them as a threat without any evidence or justification and in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary.”

So, just basically sliding right past anything relating to the right to women and girls to have a pen free environment to change in or use the toilet in. The fact women’s sports are being taken away by men. And then straight to the usual “me me me” or “us us us” pattern.

Then they talk about JK having no evidence that women want safe same sex spaces. Of course she has no evidence, we aren’t bloody allowed to talk about the issue without being threatened with violence, abuse, or losing our jobs!

Then they bleat about there being no evidence that women are at risk in refuges when trans people are present. Completely ignoring the fact that plenty of women would not feel safe sharing the space with a biological man but again WE ARENT ALLOWED TO SAY SO. Women just won’t access the spaces instead putting them at further risk. But for mermaids, this doesn’t count.

I can’t even get into the rest of it because I think I’ve reached my limit now with how absolutely insane and widespread this whole brainwashing is. I just feel so so sad about it all. Reading this balls of a statement and seeing people gush over it like it makes any sense whatsoever.

A tiny part of me hopes this is just an internet thing and in real life the majority of people see sense but then to see normal people who I thought had brains commenting on this tit has blown my mind.

Sorry for the word vomit but I’m just :O at it all. The statement is proper patronising to JK too making jokes that opening bathrooms wide would be “smelly”.

 

[Scotch Mist]

Sadly I fear that due to general ignorance and stupidity women have already lost this battle.



Look at the abuse Germaine Greer has had to put up with (as well as JK) the bullies have already won.

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

“You try running with your saggy breasts down the middle of the bleeping street”

I love her way with words

 

[smellyfootballboots]

I actually love you

Absolutely.

 

[Glaschelle]

“You try running with your saggy breasts down the middle of the bleeping street”

I love her way with words

The thing is, is another example, same as JK Rowling that because she holds a different view, Germaine has been silenced and vilified. By men!!!! It's taken 50yrs but they've managed to shut her up!!!!

 

[Scotch Mist]

Vagina Museum

www.vaginamuseum.co.uk

So before the Covid19 lockdown I visited the tina museum. Below is a screenshot of a notice in the museum. I wasn't wholly on board with this.

 

[Vanillaco]

Sadly I fear that due to general ignorance and stupidity women have already lost this battle.



Look at the abuse Germaine Greer has had to put up with (as well as JK) the bullies have already won.

According to The Times the Tories are going to shelve the self ID reforms because 70% of the public were not in favour of allowing male bodied people into female only spaces. And this was after huge infiltration of the poll by trans activists. As others have said, Twitter is not the world. It comes to something when you have to rely on a Tory government to protect the rights of women!

 

[Scotch Mist]

According to The Times the Tories are going to shelve the self ID reforms because 70% of the public were not in favour of allowing male bodied people into female only spaces. And this was after huge infiltration of the poll by trans activists. As others have said, Twitter is not the world. It comes to something when you have to rely on a Tory government to protect the rights of women!

Well that's good news.

All the bathrooms where i work are now unisex. Some of the Muslim women at work were the ones most concerned over the issue. Nobody seems to care what they thought.

 

[Vanillaco]

Has anyone read the statement Mermaids have released addressing JK and her essay? Instagram is full of fawning comments etc about how brilliant it is but it absolutely isn’t! It completely brushes over all the valid points she made and focuses on the semantics of things like how they officially change gender instead.

Example:

“To address the core of your point, trans rights do not come at the expense of women’s rights. We see no evidence that trans girls are a threat to other girls in any way. Indeed, it is transgender children who often suffer horrific bullying at school and at home. And, as you will have seen, it is transgender adults who are made to feel afraid in modern British society, by those who would seek to characterise them as a threat without any evidence or justification and in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary.”

So, just basically sliding right past anything relating to the right to women and girls to have a pen free environment to change in or use the toilet in. The fact women’s sports are being taken away by men. And then straight to the usual “me me me” or “us us us” pattern.

Then they talk about JK having no evidence that women want safe same sex spaces. Of course she has no evidence, we aren’t bloody allowed to talk about the issue without being threatened with violence, abuse, or losing our jobs!

Then they bleat about there being no evidence that women are at risk in refuges when trans people are present. Completely ignoring the fact that plenty of women would not feel safe sharing the space with a biological man but again WE ARENT ALLOWED TO SAY SO. Women just won’t access the spaces instead putting them at further risk. But for mermaids, this doesn’t count.

I can’t even get into the rest of it because I think I’ve reached my limit now with how absolutely insane and widespread this whole brainwashing is. I just feel so so sad about it all. Reading this balls of a statement and seeing people gush over it like it makes any sense whatsoever.

A tiny part of me hopes this is just an internet thing and in real life the majority of people see sense but then to see normal people who I thought had brains commenting on this tit has blown my mind.

Sorry for the word vomit but I’m just :O at it all. The statement is proper patronising to JK too making jokes that opening bathrooms wide would be “smelly”.

Yes. The argument is not only about trans people. Many trans people do just want to pee and go home, do a medical procedure for their job and go home, get changed in a facility and go home. But why do women not have the right to do the same without having to have the fear that their spaces are being encroached? Just because a doctor doing a smear test has no intention of feeling up a woman doesnt mean that woman does not have the right to feel uncomfortable. Just because a trans woman wants his rooster and balls waxed doesnt mean a woman cannot feel uncomfortable doing it. Just because a trans girl has no intention of perving over her teenage classmates doesnt mean girls cant feel uncomfortable being naked in front of them. But the narrative is all about the feelings of trans above those of women. And a tiny minority of very loud trans activists issue grape threats, shut down debate, encourage girls in particular to get puberty blockers that will render them infertile although thankfully this has been stopped, discuss how to get lesbians to sleep with them, tell gay men that they are just in the wrong body. These people should be shut down by the wider trans community. They are aggressive and violent and should not be pandered to by the woke.

 

[Pra09]

According to The Times the Tories are going to shelve the self ID reforms because 70% of the public were not in favour of allowing male bodied people into female only spaces. And this was after huge infiltration of the poll by trans activists. As others have said, Twitter is not the world. It comes to something when you have to rely on a Tory government to protect the rights of women!

Twitter is not representative at all, of general attitudes. It’s an insidious place in my experience. Extreme left and extreme right opinions have taken over and both hate moderate, measured opinions. Anything that is not in absolute agreement is met with abuse. Queries about how the Labour Party has conducted itself? You’re Tory rum. Questions about the BLM organisation ? You’re racist. Not quite sure if women’s rights should be handled the same as trans women? TERF.

It’s where logic, reason and intelligence go to die.

 

[MaldonMalaise]

Just caught up, what a thread. Plenty I agree with, some I don’t, but so nice to see a discussion on the unstoppable tide of the transgender community with nuance and a lack of personal attacks, which you certainly don’t see elsewhere online.

I have a question for everyone. Do you think your opinion on MTF trans people In women’s spaces is dependent on various factors? Such as if they “pass”, if they’ve had surgery. Personally I have no real issue with a MTF trans person who has had years of treatment, surgery and life experiences who dresses well and behaves in a calm and dignified fashion, but this new generation of trans people who think they don’t have to change at all except put on ridiculously short skirts creep me out.

I know JK touched on this with her friend, but I feel like 20 years ago when trans people were a tiny percentage of the population that it was a small amount of people getting the help they needed and they were genuinely happy to be living the life that was right for them, but these days trans appears to be a badge that it’s easy to put upon yourself to look more woke or to earn some extra points in the oppression Olympics. I have a friend who is trans and has lived as a woman for over a decade, and I feel like this new generation of woke kids wanting attention in women’s spaces make the world a more dangerous place for people like her.

Sorry for the mountain of text