A bill banning puberty blockers for trans youth and defining sex to exclude trans people was blocked from being heard after Labour MPs spoke at length on pet names and ferrets.
The UK has been a huge source of bad news for trans people lately - such as the extremely long NHS waiting lists even before the current wave of transphobia started cresting. So itβs nice to have a tidbit of good news out of the UK. Pet names and ferrets - Iβll take that over transphobia any day of the week!
Having been born in the UK myself, there have been times that I have simply been marveled at the civilized ways and times that Brits find their way of making a point of their dislike regarding matters that they may not like voting on, for fear that they know someone will be damaged or discriminated against in the process.
After all, to say that they donβt recognize anyone who believes that gender is strictly binary, would not only discriminate against Trans people, but most of the residents of Essex in the North end of London and many other major cities that have a large population of Hindu people, who happen to believe in their God Shiva, who represents both sexes and a number of genders.
When you try to outlaw gender in any way, you find that under scrutiny, you hurt many and become hated even more.
Maybe people for whom this is not a personal issue are just tired of dealing with it since the number of people who are affected is so small. And maybe they also saw how a certain Mr. Robert Galbraith, who is in fact a bottle blonde, is presently being hung up by his - I mean, her - balls.
While this was an amusing story, the fact that a scattering of MPs from both main parties got together to squash a private member bill from a Tory crank doesn't offset the fact that both Labour and the Conservatives are both amenable to banning trans women from "women's spaces" and activities by default rather than applying the stricter UK Equality Act test that it should only be pursued as a "proportionate means to a legitimate end." To be clear: the law as it stands does permit trans exclusion, but the onus is on the excluder to prove it is necessary (and of course to be willing to defend that view against challenge). The only difference between the Conservatives and Labour is that with one or two exceptions, Labour are less rabid about it. In other words, from the trans dignity perspective the forthcoming general election choice is between "bad" and "worse."
For context it's worth mentioning that the crackpot squad have been accused of filibustering a recent private members bill providing for a trans inclusive conversion therapy ban. Amongst the highlights of that debate was Rosie Duffield (one of the rabid Labour MPs on this subject) opening her speech opposing the bill by complaining about lesbians being forced to date men who identify as women, though she did get back on topic, albeit with the usual transphobic hyperbole.
If there is a cross party group of trans ally MPs, I do hope they start calling themselves the Cross Party Ferret Group or something similar.
Also, my dad kept ferrets as a child (and hunted with them).
Defeating weasels... with ferrets.
Hats off to the magnificent mind responsible for π΅π©π’π΅ bit of poetic justice. Bra-π·π°!
The UK has been a huge source of bad news for trans people lately - such as the extremely long NHS waiting lists even before the current wave of transphobia started cresting. So itβs nice to have a tidbit of good news out of the UK. Pet names and ferrets - Iβll take that over transphobia any day of the week!
"after Labour MPs spoke at length on pet names and ferrets" <-- I do not understand UK parliamentary procedures, but right now I am okay with that.
Fuckliztruss is going to be the name of my next pet
Maybe you should opt for βLettuceβ instead.
I love that the ferret has become an βovernight symbol of trans resistance .β Where can I get some ferret swag??!! π
Fire up those Cricut machines and get the t-shirts ready for printing!!!
Having been born in the UK myself, there have been times that I have simply been marveled at the civilized ways and times that Brits find their way of making a point of their dislike regarding matters that they may not like voting on, for fear that they know someone will be damaged or discriminated against in the process.
After all, to say that they donβt recognize anyone who believes that gender is strictly binary, would not only discriminate against Trans people, but most of the residents of Essex in the North end of London and many other major cities that have a large population of Hindu people, who happen to believe in their God Shiva, who represents both sexes and a number of genders.
When you try to outlaw gender in any way, you find that under scrutiny, you hurt many and become hated even more.
Go Ferrets.
Love that they talked about ferrets π
I discussed ferrets with someone only yesterday.
March 15th, 2024: the day Labour actually did something useful.
Maybe the Ides of March actually can mean for something good, this time!
That is jolly good news! I've never owned a ferret, but we had a dog named Chloe and a guinea pig named Grandpa I'd like to add to the record ;)
This is epic! I already liked ferrets, but I think I might love them now. Ferret power!!
No words all I am doing is smiling.
Alternate title: Labour MPs Give Liz Truss The Business!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret#Etymology
This is so delightful! π₯²
Maybe people for whom this is not a personal issue are just tired of dealing with it since the number of people who are affected is so small. And maybe they also saw how a certain Mr. Robert Galbraith, who is in fact a bottle blonde, is presently being hung up by his - I mean, her - balls.
While this was an amusing story, the fact that a scattering of MPs from both main parties got together to squash a private member bill from a Tory crank doesn't offset the fact that both Labour and the Conservatives are both amenable to banning trans women from "women's spaces" and activities by default rather than applying the stricter UK Equality Act test that it should only be pursued as a "proportionate means to a legitimate end." To be clear: the law as it stands does permit trans exclusion, but the onus is on the excluder to prove it is necessary (and of course to be willing to defend that view against challenge). The only difference between the Conservatives and Labour is that with one or two exceptions, Labour are less rabid about it. In other words, from the trans dignity perspective the forthcoming general election choice is between "bad" and "worse."
For context it's worth mentioning that the crackpot squad have been accused of filibustering a recent private members bill providing for a trans inclusive conversion therapy ban. Amongst the highlights of that debate was Rosie Duffield (one of the rabid Labour MPs on this subject) opening her speech opposing the bill by complaining about lesbians being forced to date men who identify as women, though she did get back on topic, albeit with the usual transphobic hyperbole.
If there is a cross party group of trans ally MPs, I do hope they start calling themselves the Cross Party Ferret Group or something similar.
Also, my dad kept ferrets as a child (and hunted with them).