Kathleen Stock - a doctor of philosophy, do we have the same views? 🧐
Or could they not be more opposing?
Kathleen and I disagree on a few aspects of sex and gender…..
Self-identification
This has become a kind of buzz-term for trans people, their allies and their antagonists. Some are asking whether it is right to allow what they see as a male, to tell the world they are actually a woman, and for that to be accepted. Some, like me, are saying that of course it should be accepted, why do we need a panel of experts to confirm someone’s personal identity?
Let us not forget that the sex marker on your birth certificate, male or female, is filled in by a registrar based on a doctor’s assessment of your genitalia at birth. If that turns out to be wrong, should the process to correct it be a simple one or, as it currently is, a complex and expensive procedure.
Changing rooms and women’s refuges
Kathleen uses the two examples that are always the most emotive. How can we allow someone to reassign their sex to female from male thus giving them access to the most private spaces a woman could be in.
The theoretical risk, that is not backed by any evidence, is that because they were assigned male at birth, and may still have body parts that people associate with the male sex, they may be a risk to women and girls of physical or sexual violence.
The actual crime statistics show that there is an astoundingly low rate of violence by trans women towards anyone, and they themselves are much more likely to be the victims of violence, especially if they are forced into male spaces.
All people, all women, all men have the right to be and feel safe, and trans people matter too!
Safe Spaces
Refuges, rape crisis centres.
What is the space for, is it a space for women only or is it a space where someone who has a need can attend? Should the space be only for women who are seeking refuge from domestic violence, or should it be for anyone who is the victim? After all, trans women and men can also be the victims here. Should it be a safe place for anyone who has been raped, or only cisgender women?
I ‘feel’ like a woman
I find it very offensive when people refers to transgender women as a ‘male who feels like a woman’. Gender identity is so much deeper than a feeling, it is a deep-rooted part of who we are. It is unchangeable and inherent, it is just who we are. A male can’t feel like a woman, because he is a male. A woman is the only person who can feel like a woman.
Women’s rights
Human rights are everyone’s rights, they are the same for all humans.
Human rights are fundamental, universal, and inalienable rights inherent to all people just by being human, regardless of race, nationality, sex, or any other status, encompassing freedoms like life, liberty, education, and expression, and are protected by international laws like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) from 1948, forming the basis for global human rights. They ensure dignity, fairness, and equality, obligating governments to protect them and enabling individuals to live with respect and autonomy.
Women don’t get to have different rights from men, and all women have the same rights, regardless of whether they are cis women or trans women. No one type of woman trumps another.
Can you ‘literally’ change sex?
Dr Stock doesn´t think you can, whereas I think you can. I don’t think you can change your sex chromosomes, the average adult human body contains approximately 30 to 40 trillion human cells and it would be impossible to change the chromosomes in every cell.
However, the Equality Act recognises, and protects, the fact that some people reassign their sex.
Equality Act 2010: A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.
The meaning of transgender
Trans or transgender, cis or cisgender, they are simply adjectives. Like tall, small, black, white, disabled, able-bodied, happy, sad. They just add some description. A black woman describe a woman who is black, a happy woman describes the emotional state of that women at that time. A trans woman simply adds a clarification, if it is ever needed, that that woman is one who has reassigned their sex from male to female. Simple. They are all women, and they deserve the same respect and dignity that all women deserve.
Over to You
What do you think about sex and gender?
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This is part of a series examining cases, commentary and hearings concerning gender identity. If you have a case or article you’d like me to review, get in touch.