September 7, 2022 - 2:18pm

Non-men (formerly known as women) have suffered yet another blow, with the Minister for Women and Equalities being renamed in the recent cabinet reshuffle to Minister for Equalities. ‘Wonder if the erasing of Women from the job title is intentional or just an oversight ......’ tweeted Caroline Nokes NP in response. It is somewhat ironic that Nokes, of all people, tweeted this. Lest we forget that it was she who offered a ridiculous response during an interview on the Today Programme last December when she was asked, in a discussion about self-ID, about whether it was important to know a person’s birth sex. Nokes, who at the time chaired the Women and Equalities Select Committee, replied: “Why on earth would we want to?” [su_membership_ad] Let me count the ways. As Joan Smith wrote in these pages last year: “Sex is a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act, but how can a woman claim protection against someone who has a piece of paper saying he shares it?” If your definition of the word ‘woman’ included biological males, then you have rendered it null and void. I would love to think that the missing ‘woman’ is a lightbulb moment for Nokes, but I know in my heart it can’t be. Why? Because no one, from the softest liberal to the most rabid of trans activist, believes that ‘trans women are women’, or that self-ID would not clash with the rights of women and girls. People may be confused as to why so many Conservatives have drunk the Kool-Aid when it comes to trans ideology. But it’s not surprising to me at all: the notion that the brain is ‘sexed’ as opposed to bodies is a deeply regressive and conservative belief. There is nothing progressive whatsoever about telling young camp boys or tomboyish girls that they should go to the gender clinic and get ‘fixed’ with hormones and surgery. Putting men in prison with vulnerable women is an abhorrence, as is allowing biological males to compete against females in competitive sports. I could go on listing all the ways in which it is deeply sexist and anti-equality to allow men to identify as women because of a ‘feeling’ or desire, but suffice to say that gender ideology is based on the worst aspect of old-fashioned notions of ‘real’ men and women. It is perfect fodder for old-school Tories and should never have been so passionately embraced by the Left. What is the point of an equalities minister if men can simply define as women? Also, how can equality legislation combat sexism when it applies equally to men? The more honest thing to do would be to scrap the equalities post altogether. It can never claim to be any use to women, when ‘woman’ means whatever trans activists decide.

Julie Bindel is an investigative journalist, author, and feminist campaigner. Her latest book is Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation. She also writes on Substack.

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