My Left Foot
Update 458. For Women Scotland Special. #BeMorePorcupine.
Next in the Irish Heroes season is Jim Sheridan’s 1989 classic, My Left Foot. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown, an Irish man born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Brown grew up in a poor working-class family, and became a writer and artist. Brenda Fricker plays his mother. Both won Oscars and it marked a new renaissance of Irish film.
Thanks to two wonderful readers for suggested pieces.
Death Certificates
One piece here from Sex Matters latest Memo (18 October):
Non-binary added to death reporting forms
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has added transgender and non-binary categories to official documents used for reporting the death of a child.
The updated form now asks: “Which gender did the child identify as at the time of death?” It offers options including “male (including trans male)”, “female (including trans female)” and “non-binary”. Previously, the form simply listed “male”, “female”, “other” and “unknown” under the sex category.
Last year, following the murder of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, a petition called for changes to the Gender Recognition Act and specifically urged the government to update the legislation so that the “family of a dead trans person with no GRC can apply for [a] re-issued death certificate via statutory declaration” and that where “a trans individual has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, can acquire a GRC via statutory declaration”. Backbench Labour MP Charlotte Nichols has vocally supported this move.
Sex Matters’ director of advocacy, Helen Joyce, condemned the new wording, describing it as “an ill-conceived, agenda-driven question that should be dropped immediately”. The DHSC and NHS England have yet to comment.
For Women Scotland
I reported on For Women Scotland’s challenge in the Supreme Court which is coming up on 26 and 27 November here (under ‘Lobby of Parliament’):
https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/this-is-ripley-signing-off
Understandably, gender critical campaigners will frequently put emphasis on men being in women’s prisons, or on Mridhul Wadhwa heading up the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre or on men invading women’s sports because these are issues that are likely to ‘peak’ people and garner some headlines. But, in many ways, the most central issue is women’s toilets because, at some stage, virtually all women and girls have to resort to a public toilet or a toilet at their school or their place of work.
Legal academic Michael Foran has been doing a series on his substack, Knowing ius about potential implication in various areas that might result from the ultimate judgment in this case. In this piece he expresses concern that, if the FWS case is lost, this may destroy protection for women’s toilets and changing rooms in the workplace. I haven’t managed to fully analyse Michael’s arguments yet, so will revert on this at a later date.
For Women Scotland and Female-only services
Oct 20, 2024
This post is a part of a series that I am doing in the legal aspects and implications of the appeal in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers that will be heard by the UK Supreme Court at the end of November 2024.
The central question to be decided in this case is whether guidance issued by the Scottish Government about the meaning of the word “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 is lawful. That guidance states that a person with a full Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) which confers upon them the acquired gender of female is a woman for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. For Women Scotland have challenged the accuracy and therefore lawfulness of this guidance, claiming that the definition of woman in the Equality Act is tied to natal biological sex.
In this post, I want to address the issue of single-sex services, with particular attention to toilets and changing rooms in the workplace. Much of the commentary on this case has focused on the idea that, even if a GRC does change someone’s sex for the purposes of the Equality Act, it will still be lawful to have biological female only toilets and changing rooms. That [ is] certainly true for services provided to the public; but it is far from clear that it is also true in employment. My own past commentary on this issue has assumed that services provided in employment are treated the same as those to the public. That was a mistake. In this post I want to set out, in detail, where I think the law is on this issue.
Most of these posts are behind a paywall but this one is not:
Conversion Therapy Ban
James Esses, reporting on Matt Goodwin’s substack, has drafted a letter to the Government on this issue which has been signed by over 100 people. Please consider sending this letter to your MP.
James Esses: Help me oppose Labour's conversion therapy ban
Support my petition on the 'trans-inclusive' conversion therapy ban
Oct 21, 2024
It’s not enough to just complain about the state of the world; sometimes, you also need to act. Which is why, last week, I sent an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, signed by more than 100 prominent people in our national life, demanding that his Labour government does not follow through with its recent pledge to introduce a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”.
What is this? This would ban therapies that are “aimed at changing or suppressing somebody’s gender identity or sexual orientation in England and Wales”. What this essentially means is that therapists will be prevented from doing anything other than affirming a young person’s gender identity and their desire to transition.
Where did this ban come from? Well, it actually dates back to the previous “conservative” government. In the Queen’s Speech of May 2021, Boris Johnson’s government announced it would introduce a ban for sexual orientation only, without including the dangerous and nebulous concept of ‘gender identity’.
This was welcome news to myself and other campaigners. However, by January 2023, the government had U-turned, announcing that ‘gender identity’ would now be included in a proposed conversion therapy ban.
By the 2024 general election, however, while the government was still working on a draft Bill I’d heard it had lost the appetite for it altogether and was simply going to quietly drop the Bill altogether.
But then along came Keir Starmer’s Labour government with its enormous majority and strong appetite for woke policies.
Labour’s recent announcement that it’s ploughing forward with a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices” has not only revived this flawed idea but comes with the news that Labour is also establishing a new ‘Office for Equality and Opportunity’.
This, we are told, will ensure that “equality and opportunity run through the government’s missions and work”. A sentence that might have been designed to fill people with hope fills me with dread. This will no doubt put woke policies across government on steroids.
All of this should come as no surprise given that, as I’ve already shown, Labour cannot be trusted when it comes to sex and gender. After all, this is the Prime Minister who previously asserted that 1 in 1,000 women have a penis!
So, what’s the problem with a trans-inclusive conversion ban, I hear you ask? And why do you care so much about it?
Well, I see five big problems that you need to be aware of and which underpin my campaign to oppose yet another dark turn in Starmer’s Britain.
For the five problems , see the full piece below.
James concludes:
In the final analysis, if this legislation passes, not only will it embed the notion of ‘gender identity’ further into our social and legal fabric, but it will also risk criminalising parents and therapists alike and deprive vulnerable children of the possibility to settle into their bodies with the aid of explorative therapy.
It simply must not become law.
Which is why I just mobilised more than 140 prominent people from different sectors of British society, including Matt Goodwin, to demand that Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour government do not proceed with their proposed “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”. As I say, sometimes you have to take action.
And now I’m saying to you, our readers, that if you share our concerns about Labour’s proposed law then why not send the same letter, available via the link below, along to your local Member of Parliament and ask them to do the same. What’s stopping you?
Conversion Practices Letter
197KB ∙ PDF file
The full piece is here:
Well done, James.
No Baroness Rowling
For some reason I feel re-assured by this news!? All thoughts gratefully received.
Alix Culbertson in Sky News ( JK Rowling turned down peerage twice - and would not accept if offered again 21 October) reports:
JK Rowling said she had been offered a peerage by both Labour and Conservative governments. Pic: PA© PA
The Harry Potter author made the revelation after Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch said she would offer Rowling a peerage after praising her for her contributions to the transgender debate.
Kemi Badenoch said she would offer JK Rowling a peerage. Pic: PA/GB News© PA
Rowling posted on X: "It's considered bad form to talk about this but I'll make an exception given the very particular circumstances.
"I've already turned down a peerage twice, once under Labour and once under the Tories.
"If offered one a third time, I still wouldn't take it.”
The full article is here:
England and Wales Cricket Board
Women’s Rights Network in their latest newsletter (20 October) report:
Ignoring Amateur Women
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) says it wants ‘everyone to feel included and welcome in our sport’.
The recent update on cricket’s transgender policy indicates that ‘everyone’ doesn’t include the women and girls forced to risk serious injury by facing the much harder batting and bowling of male players.
Elite female cricket is now fair and safe. At grassroots (below Tier 2) any male is entitled to rock up at any cricket ground, tell the umpire he’s a she and, hey presto, he’s in the team and in the female changing rooms.
Cricket’s discriminatory policies don’t seem to have affected its ability to pocket millions of pounds of public and private funding to grow the game.
In 2023 Metrobank promised £5 million specifically for girls’ cricket, while another £35 million of taxpayers’ money was awarded by Sport England for children’s cricket. Will the money be spent equally in a sport that puts women and girls at risk by allowing males into their game?
WRN has made several attempts to engage with ECB but has been rebuffed. Many parents and coaches have contacted us, telling us how worried they are for their daughters and players. We have told the ECB we have evidence of the harm being done to the grassroots game but it’s been complete radio silence from the cricket authorities.
The only crumb of comfort is that this is an updated policy position and ‘a detailed policy will now be developed over the coming months.’ If the ECB does wish to meaningfully consult, they know where we are.
Round Ups
I, of course, provide a selection of news round ups mainly from the Anglosphere though I do not just deal with news but also videos, interviews, commentary, opinion pieces, campaigning news and consultation papers.
JL on the Glinner update provides an excellent round up of worldwide Terfy news twice a week: https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/
Bernard Lane on Gender Clinic News in Australia provides regular worldwide round ups concerning ( so called) ‘gender medicine’: https://www.genderclinicnews.com/
PITT Parents provide regular round ups covering the States: https://www.pittparents.com/p/saturday-pitt-review-october-14-to?r=7ogxh&triedRedirect=true
Georgia O’Keefe on Woman: Adult Human Female does regular round ups largely about the States ( this one is about sport but she covers other Terfy matters): https://wahf.substack.com/p/october-11-18-males-in-female-sports?r=7ogxh&triedRedirect=true
To help me with continuing with my round ups please consider becoming a paid subscriber ( less than the price of a coffee each month) or buy me a coffee: https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/subscriptions-to-my-substack
Irish Hate Crime Bill
When this Bill was dealt with in the Seanad ( the Irish Upper House) Senator Sharon Keogan got hold of a list of 72 genders from some fruit loop organisation and read them all out. This took 25 minutes!
This was a mixture of hilarious ( especially as other Senators tried to halt her progress) and brilliant for illustrating the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
She mentioned Magpie Gender! Personally I don’t want to meet just one of them but would be happy to meet two 🤣
Imane ‘The Cheat’ Khelif
I reported extensively during the Olympics on the men boxing in the women’s boxing competition ( and taking the gold medals). For example:
https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/the-queenand-angela-carini?utm_source=publication-search
I had the misfortune to stumble on a photo of Khelif recently in his underpants ( presumably after a weigh in) and, let’s put it this way, there was no doubt that he’s a man! Mr Khelif is still determined to beat up more women:
Ben Rumsby in The Telegraph ( Olympics gender row boxer Imane Khelif to turn professional 21 October) reports:
Imane Khelif’s Olympic gold in the women’s 66kg boxing event at Paris 2024 was marred by controversy - Getty Images/Ariana Cubillos
Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer at the centre of the gender storm to engulf this summer’s Olympics, has announced she [HE! Come on, Telegraph!] is to turn professional.
Khelif, who won women’s welterweight gold at Paris 2024 after being disqualified from the last World Championships upon being ruled to have failed a gender eligibility test, also revealed she [ HE!] would fight in Liverpool next year.
The full article is here:
Australia - The Lesbian Action Group
Thanks to Feminist Legal Clinic as ever for the next two pieces.
Let’s talk about sex — and fetishes – by Julie Szego (21 October)
The two-day hearing early last month was an appeal against the Australian Human Rights Commission rejecting a year ago an application from a group of lesbians — the Lesbian Action Group — to hold public events exclusively for “lesbians born female,” a door rule that would have excluded, among others, trans women, meaning biological males identifying as lesbian.
A decision is expected to be handed down before December.
The case is one of several currently before Australian courts and lesser jurisdictions that touches on the question, “what is a woman?” and lays bare the efforts of mainstream politicians and sense-making institutions to suppress debate on the question — perhaps because their policies would not withstand scrutiny.
An appeal is being lodged in the landmark Federal Court case of Tickle v Giggle, in which a female-only app and its owner were found to have indirectly discriminated against a trans woman (biological male) on the grounds of “gender identity.” (The decision, in my view, uncritically adopted trans-activist mantras — you can read my analysis here.)
The same court is hearing the lengthy and politically intriguing trial of Victorian MP Moira Deeming’s allegations that state Opposition leader John Pesutto defamed her as a Nazi sympathiser in the aftermath of last year’s infamous Let Women Speak rally — an “anti-trans” rally in the reckless media shorthand — where neo-Nazis gatecrashed and sieg heil’ed in front of Parliament House.
Elsewhere, Victorian breastfeeding expert Jasmine Sussex is being taken to Queensland’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal for alleged vilification after she labeled attempts by trans women to breastfeed their children “experimental’’ and a “dangerous fetish”. Yes, some biological males — presumably, and mercifully, small in number — are taking a cocktail of hormones to induce pseudo lactation so as to breast feed the baby they fathered. Is your head spinning yet?
Source: Let’s talk about sex — and fetishes – by Julie Szego
Hounded
The women who’ve been hounded for asking questions about gender identity – ABC listen (21 October)
In 2019 Scottish poet and feminist Jenny Lindsay spoke up on Twitter about a post that called for violence against women at a pride march in London. The tweet had been written by a trans activist and was directed at so-called “TERFS” (trans-exclusionary radical feminists). Lindsay says she, and other women who have raised questions about gender identity, have been hounded out of their jobs, and sometimes even out of their cities. But trans activists say their actions are causing harm to the trans community. Guest: Jenny Lindsay, poet and author of “Hounded. Women, Harms and the Gender Wars,” published by Polity.
[Ed: About time the ABC started to discuss this topic – however, they needn’t resort to a feminist from Scotland for an account of how women are being persecuted by trans activists.]
Source: The women who’ve been hounded for asking questions about gender identity – ABC listen
Story Of A Monster
All I can say is what a brave woman Ceri-Le Gavin is! Harrowing interview with Andrew Gold. JL on the Glinner Update also deals with this today:
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/a-week-in-the-war-on-women-monday-2e0
Endpiece by Liz
We need some light relief, Liz!
#BeMorePorcupine
#LetWomenSpeak
#GrassrootsArmy
Such a shocking video from Andrew Gold but sadly, not remotely a surprise. How can people not see that gender ideology is a charter/ cover for predators and paedophiles? Anyone who can’t see this has to be refusing to see it and I’m never going to be able to forgive them. They are culpable in all the horrors of the past ten years. All it would take is for everyone to say no and this would be over.
I’m glad that JK Rowling won’t sit in the H of Lords. She has a tendency to sound as if she wants to compromise at times and this could be misconstrued and used by the ‘delusion’ lobby. Can’t bring myself to say trans anymore- no such thing.
I’m sure the ‘identity’ video is out of date by now especially as I’m identifying as f-ing furious gender today.
Thanks Dusty….oh and brilliant dancing!
I saw that movie ‘My Left Foot’. I can only remember snippets of it now, but I remember the mother in it the most.
Allowing men (who say they’re women) into women’s spaces is the same as telling women that, for these special men, they have to ignore their human survival instinct of being aware of their surroundings and who’s in it. It’s thoughtlessly negligent at best, and surely criminally negligent at worst.