Times Radio: the gender debate, with Jo Coburn
This was a Times Radio discussion with Helen Joyce, and it covered a lot of ground quickly: gametes, single-sex spaces, the Cass Review, puberty blockers, WPATH, and the long-term effects of gender-affirming care. The conversation was robust. I went in knowing it would be, and I said what I believe to be true.
What was really being argued underneath the individual claims was this: that trans healthcare is evidence-free, that the people providing it are reckless, and that the correct response is to stop it. Each point was presented as settled science or obvious common sense. Some of it is neither. Some of it is simply false. And some of it rests on real evidence read selectively, or cited in a way that strips out the context that would change the conclusion.
Below are the things that were put to me, in the order they came up. For each one I have said what the claim was, why it sounds plausible, and what is actually going on.
Moments worth watching
Each one is about half a minute, and has a page of its own.
The myths, answered
What was put to me in this conversation, and what is actually true.
There are only two sexes because there are only two gametes
See the answerLoopholes in single-sex spaces are always exploited by the worst people
See the answerHumans can always tell someone's sex at a glance
See the answerA trans woman is a man for the purposes of the Equality Act
See the answerDeeper dives
Some of these claims deserve more than a paragraph, so each one has a film and a full piece behind it.
What this looks like in a life
The studio argument is one thing. These are people it actually happens to.
