A Week in the War on Women: Monday 2nd May - Sunday 8th May GOOD NEWS SUPPLEMENT

PHOTO CREDIT: @BeccaFirebird

Just a handful of the good news stories from the gender beat this week. Enjoy!

Sturgeon Skewered

Alex Massie was on splendid form in The Times, eviscerating Nicola Sturgeon’s stance on gender identity and women’s rights.

alexmassie @alexmassie

It is astonishing that a politician who professes to be a feminist to her “fingertips” cannot - or will not - say what a woman is.

thetimes.co.ukAlex Massie: Sturgeon is all wrong about women’s rightsWhat is a woman? I know that a woman is an adult female human but according to Nicola Sturgeon it is impossible to answer that question without descending to a

“Nobody decent wishes to make trans lives harder or more difficult than they currently are but it is a simple, demonstrable, nonsense to claim there is no conflict between women’s rights and the Scottish government’s agenda.”

Similarly, the brilliant Joanna Cherry wrote a very powerful article for The National in which she challenges Nicola Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson to a public debate on the issues around gender identity and women’s rights.

Joanna Cherry QC @joannaccherry

You can’t protect #WomensRights if you cannot define what a woman is. The @EHRC have raised legitimate issues about self identification & I’m challenging @NicolaSturgeon & @RuthDavidsonPC to a public debate on the issues.

thenational.scotJoanna Cherry: There is nothing transphobic about defining what a woman isWESTMINSTER is currently prorogued (legally this time) as we await the start of a new parliamentary session next week...

“You cannot defend women’s rights if you cannot define what a woman is. Likewise, you cannot legislate for trans rights if you are not prepared to define what a trans person is… here’s my challenge to Nicola Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson. I’ll debate these issues with you in public. Name the date and the place and I will be there.”

Might we suggest an ‘empty chair’ response if they refuse? I’m sure Helen Staniland or Emma FondOfBeetles can remember and recite the thousands of dishonest arguments they’ve come across in this fight.

Leave Them Kids Alone

Following Sajid Javid’s announcement that he is launching a review into the NHS’s treatment of gender dysphoria in children, SNP ministers are being urged to hold a similar investigation into Scotland’s gender clinic.

Genspect @genspect

Breaking News - Scotland : SNP ministers told to probe 1,411% rise in children sent to gender clinic amid fears of 'massive scandal'

scottishdailyexpress.co.ukSNP ministers told to probe 1,411% rise in children sent to gender clinicCampaigners say a ‘disproportionate’ amount of youngsters are being referred to Sandyford service in Glasgow for gender dysphoria.

Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Conservative children spokesperson, said, “This a very sensitive issue but ultimately the welfare of children and young people must come first… I welcome this inquiry by the UK Health Secretary and would urge the Scottish Government to consider a similar exercise to review services here”.

A Woman’s Place In Bristol

Woman’s Place UK held a meeting in Bristol to discuss feminism, birth and motherhood with a panel of brilliant speakers.

Womans_Place_UK @Womans_Place_UK

Good morning. Thank you to everyone who helped make #WPUKWithWomen such a fantastic event: @BristolUni for beautiful venue, security/admin/AV teams, local organisers, our panel, audience and every one of you who stood with - and spoke up for - us. Solidarity. @WeAreWithWoman

Despite threats of disruption and the presence of some vociferous protesters, the meeting was a huge success and very well-attended.

With Woman @WeAreWithWoman

What an inspiring and powerful evening with @millihill @MaraMatria @ProfMHester @glosswitch @8RosarioSanchez @Womans_Place_UK . Birth and reproductive choice is a feminist issue. We are ready to keep going in our struggle for women's control over their own bodies. #WPUKWithWomen

Furthermore, Judith Woods covered the event for The Telegraph, mocking “The insane world of identity politics”.

Womans_Place_UK @Womans_Place_UK

Thank you to the @Telegraph for reporting on our meeting in Bristol this week: A Woman’s Place is with women: feminism, birth, motherhood telegraph.co.uk/columnists/202… @WeAreWithWoman @millihill @ProfMHester @MaraMatria @glosswitch @8RosarioSanchez #WPUKWithWomen #SexMatters

telegraph.co.ukWelcome to the insane world of identity politicsFaced with a hostile crowd of trans activists at a public meeting, Judith Woods signs up for the Resistance

“Terfs, in case you don’t know, are ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminists’. This loosely translates as ‘any woman who doesn’t want some bloke claiming to be a lady joining her in the changing rooms in Monsoon, or a boy saying he’s a girl sharing a tent and, quite possibly, a shower with their daughter at a summer camp.’”

Camden Convenience

Following a massive protest over its ‘gender neutral’ public loos, Camden Council is re-instating its women-only toilets.

Camden New Journal @NewJournal

Council workers are this morning putting the women’s toilets back in Camden Town. It follows anger over the gender neutral arrangement set up while Camden said it was looking for funds to pay for repairs to the nearby men’s conveniences.

A Level Playing Field

The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that will prevent trans-identified males from competing in female sports in colleges and state-run schools.

The Associated Press @AP

The South Carolina Senate approved a bill that would ban transgender students from playing girls’ or women’s sports in public schools and colleges, likely clearing the way for the state to join a dozen others that have passed similar laws in recent years.

apne.wsS. Carolina nears transgender sports ban after Senate voteCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would ban transgender students from playing girls’ or women’s sports in public schools and colleges, likely clearing the way for the state to join a dozen others that have passed similar laws in recent years.

The bill now goes back to the House to review changes made by senators. If the new version is approved, as seems probable, Governor Henry McMaster has already indicated it’s likely he will sign the bill into law. “I think the girls ought to play girls and the boys ought to play boys. That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Elsewhere in the US this week, the Georgia High School Association will ensure that students play on sports teams in accordance with their biological sex rather than their gender identity.

Save Women's Sports @SaveWomensSport

GHSA has taken the lead and voted to separate sports by sex. We hope more athletic associations/organizations will will step up and do the right thing, protect women and and girls. #SaveWomensSports yahoo.com/news/georgia-h…

The GHSA’s executive committee voted unanimously for this course of action and regulations will take effect from the next school year.

What The Papers Say

Allison Bailey’s legal action against Stonewall is getting plenty of coverage in the press with both The Daily Mail and The Times reporting on the tribunal.

Daily Mail Online @MailOnline

Barrister tells tribunal that Stonewall operates 'like criminal protection racket'

trib.alBarrister says Stonewall operates ‘like criminal protection racket’Allison Bailey claims that the LGBTQ charity convinced her employer Garden Court Chambers to investigate her support of gender-critical beliefs and is suing them both for discrimination.

Interviewed in The Telegraph, Anne Robinson spoke out about the harm caused by gender identity ideology and the lack of debate around ‘trans issues’.

The Telegraph @Telegraph

The presenter on the lack of debate on trans issues, and why she’s leaving Countdown after just a year

telegraph.co.ukAnne Robinson: ‘I’m horrified by the lack of safety for women’The presenter on how females should look on TV, the lack of debate on trans issues, and why she’s leaving Countdown after just a year

“I am just horrified that we can’t have a debate about this. That’s what really troubles me. I’m horrified by the lack of safety in women’s changing rooms, in swimming pools... Show me a programme that’s debating trans on television. What are they so frightened of?”

And Finally…

translated cats @TranslatedCats

I don't allow it!