Joan Smith suggests that maybe just maybe on rare occasions we do need to know when someone is female or male.
Why is it important to know someone’s birth sex? The Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, who chairs the Women and Equalities Select Committee, evidently has no idea. ‘Why on earth would we want to?’ she asked during an interview on this morning’s Today programme.
Why would we want to know someone’s species? Why would we want to know whether someone is animal vegetable or mineral? I don’t know, it’s just part of the whole social thing, isn’t it? I mean if the someone is on the other side of the planet and you’re not interacting then meh, fair enough, no need to know, but when those conditions don’t apply…we may need to know.
Does Nokes really believe that court officials stand around at the end of a trial, not wanting to offend convicted offenders by asking their birth sex and wondering where to send them? Oh, but I’d forgotten: if said rapist announces that he ‘identifies’ as a woman, he may well end up sharing cells and bathrooms with actual women, regardless of how they feel about sharing intimate space with an individual with a penis.
What if the rapist identifies as a bear? Should we let him tear us to pieces and devour the pieces?
Sometimes we do need to know.
Comments
7 responses to “Why on earth would we want to?”
In all fairness, we don’t allow bears to do that either. The problem is that sometimes they don’t listen to our rules.
Cis-bears, I mean.
But we generally do have rules (usually unwritten) about not allowing bears into spaces that are designate human-only.
I think just to make sure that the prison outfit is fitted properly, if nothing else.
It’s extremely important if there’s a medical emergency: everything from drug doses (as well as the medications themselves) to privacy protocols are different for male vs. female.
Part of the intake process includes changing from street clothes to jail uniforms, all attended. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy during that process. So, if Member Nokes thinks that we are getting a bit too private in asking an accused for their sex she’s a bit too late on this.
Of course not. You put him in with the bears.
It’s disconcerting how much the trans talking points smack of religious apologia, right down to the way people accept such arguments based solely on truthiness.