Which kind of dignity and respect?
This conversation gets so ridiculous.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer does not believe transgender women are women, his official spokesman has said.
It comes after the UK Supreme Court ruled last week that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.
So until then he did believe that “trans women” are women? That’s so bizarre, because the word “trans” is right there.
And why are we talking about “believe”? Does the BBC do stories reporting that Starmer does not believe horses can fly? Does it report on everything the Prime Minister does not believe? Can’t we assume he doesn’t believe silly fanciful things?
Asked whether Sir Keir would now use a trans woman’s preferred pronouns, the spokesman declined to comment on “hypotheticals” but insisted the PM had “been clear that trans women should be treated with the same dignity and respect as anyone else”.
This raises an interesting and important question. Is it in fact treating people with dignity and respect to join them in playing Let’s Pretend? I don’t think it is. Adults with intact faculties are expected to leave their fantasies at home. A wide exception is carved out for religious fantasies, but I think that too is a mistake.
There’s an easy way to contend otherwise: misinterpret how other people are being treated. Just claim that “cis” people get to be referred to by their preferred pronouns, while completely ignoring the notion that pronouns might not have to express gender identities, and there you have it. All of a sudden, of course “trans” people aren’t being treated with dignity and respect, because “cis” people are being unfairly favored over them. How come their gender identities aren’t regarded as valid, too?
Well, that’s a separate subject. Yes, one can come up with ways to make The Big Lie sound reasonable at first blush, but that’s not the same as joining people in their fantasies.