Written by Genevieve Holl-Allen, from the Telegraph
Rosie Duffield right to say only women have a cervix, says Starmer
> Labour leader says his views on gender ‘start with biology’ in stance shift.
>
> Rosie Duffield was right to say that only women have a cervix, Sir Keir Starmer has said, in a sign of a shift in his stance on gender.
> The Labour leader said that his views on gender issues “start with biology” and that his party’s MP for Canterbury was “biologically” correct by stating only women can have a cervix.
> In 2021, the Labour leader had criticised Ms Duffield for saying that only women have a cervix, saying that her comment “is something that shouldn’t be said. It’s not right”.
> But asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Tuesday whether Ms Duffield’s statement was right or wrong, Sir Keir said: “Biologically, she of course is right about that.”
> Sir Keir, however, would not apologise to Ms Duffield, instead saying that the pair “discuss a number of issues” and “get on very well”.
>
> Ms Duffield, a prominent feminist campaigner who believes a person’s sex cannot be changed, has regularly complained about her experiences in the party and has likened it to being in an abusive relationship.
> She has previously been heckled by male colleagues on her benches while speaking about trans issues in the Commons, which prompted her to accuse Labour of having a “woman problem”.
> Sir Keir’s comments are the latest sign of a shift in stance from the top of the Labour Party on trans issues, in the wake of the Cass Review into gender care for children.
> Dr Hilary Cass, one of the UK’s most eminent paediatricians, found in her report that the evidence for allowing young people and children to change gender was built on weak foundations and that there was no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of treatments, such as puberty blockers, given to children.
> Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, admitted earlier this month that he was wrong to say trans women are women.
>
> In the Labour leader’s first comments on gender since the publication of the Cass Review, Sir Keir said: “There’s a distinction between sex and gender. The Labour Party has championed women’s rights for a very long time.”
> However, when asked about whether Ms Duffield was owed an apology by the party, he told ITV: “I don’t want this to go back into this toxic place where everybody is divided.”
> He added: “Rosie Duffield and I get on very well, we discuss a number of issues.
“She’s a much-respected member of the Parliamentary Labour Party and I want to have a discussion with her and anybody else about how we go forward in a positive way.”
> Sir Keir has been trying to clarify his views on gender since 2021, when he struggled to say whether or not a woman could have a penis.
> In 2023, he said that 99.9 per cent of women “haven’t got a penis”, before going on to say in July last year: “Firstly, a woman is an adult female, so let’s clear that one up.”
>
> His latest remarks come after the Government proposed changes to England’s NHS constitution, to give patients the right to request to be treated on single-sex wards, with transgender people placed in rooms on their own.
> Asked how Labour would respond to transgender women who did not want to go on male wards, Sir Keir said: “We have to accommodate that situation as it arises, but treat everybody with respect and dignity… I do not accept this is an issue that cannot be resolved with respect and dignity.”
> He added: “Where we need to make accommodations, we can make accommodations… As a country, we’re a pretty reasonable, tolerant bunch and most people know that there are a small number of individuals who do not identify with the gender that they were born into.
> “Many of them suffer great distress and trauma. And for my part, I’m perfectly happy to say I would treat them, as I would treat anybody, with respect.”
Siori777 on
How dare she say something so controversial and true.
letsgetcool on
I told the Labour canvassers that I would never vote for Labour while people like Duffield are in the party and they just sort of sadly nodded and went on their way.
Her culture war bullshit is the opposite of what we need right now
edit: fascinating watching the upvotes swing so wildly whenever the topic of trans rights comes up. hello TERF brigade. 👋
StupidMastiff on
If someone presents and identifies as male, and is treated by society as a male, but has a cervix, I’d say that man had a cervix.
It’s also possible for certain types of intersex people to have XY chromosomes and a cervix.
42Porter on
The consensus both in the scientific and medical communities is that gender is a concept independent of sex. You’d think people would have learnt this now that the issues been in the spotlight for so long.
luxway on
Even without trans people, every now and then a cis man is born with a cervix. This is factually incorrect.
sm9t8 on
She’s biologically wrong. The cervix isn’t unique to humans.
TheLimeyLemmon on
I’m really glad we’re focused on the important stuff like who has a cervix, as opposed to the silly fluff like treating people like human beings.
Comes2This on
The Cass Report seems to have had a significant impact on Starmer’s Labour.
Marcuse0 on
Can…can they come up with plans to make people’s lives better please?
I don’t care what someone identifies as and I’m not interested in their reproductive organs. I’m happy for them to live as they want as long as I can live as I want. I’d like the country to get a better economy and public services to make everyone’s lives better.
SuperGuy41 on
Glad they cleared that one up. Now, the NHS? Crime? Immigration?
Such_Significance905 on
Who. Fucking. Cares.
We’ve homeless people camped all over the country. A poor boy was killed by a man wielding a sword at a Tube station this morning. Young people can’t afford a house or a baby.
Fuck politicians and this purposeful distraction of a culture war.
McFuzzyChipmunk on
Damn so does that mean women without a cervix aren’t women? /s
AJFierce on
This is all so frustrating. Honestly, it really is. One thing I really want to be clear on is the difference between legal sex and biological sex, because half the time they get muddied:
Biological sex: depending on the biology being done, can be measured by sex chromosomes, expressions of the genes contained therein, gonads present, genitals present, hormones in bloodstream, ability to react to said hormones, secondary sexual characteristics present. Bimodal; most common sexes are Male and Female, but intersex conditions exist, and multiple sexes are present depending on the way it’s being measured.
Legal sex: M or F. Assigned as a best guess at birth based on observation of the genitals. Capable of being changed after observation of development, or during transition on request and after approval. Depending on the situation, your legal sex can be different things in different legal documents. Can only ever be M or F. Binary.
The goal of current anti-trans activists is:
1) Separate gender and sex completely as concepts.
2) Paint gender as a style choice and sex as completely immutable.
3) Tie together the ideas of biological and legal sex.
4) Push for legal recognition of sex only, with no legal recognition for gender.
5) profit
Hunglyka on
Knowing the difference between sex and gender equality s very important in this matter.
If your sex Your sex is female you will have a cervix. But your gender can be male and have a cervix.
TheAdamena on
>The Labour leader said that his views on gender issues “start with biology” and that his party’s MP for Canterbury was “biologically” correct by stating only women can have a cervix
A nothing story.
wrigh2uk on
I hate that fact that this sucks so much air out of the public discourse.
MondeyMondey on
I’ve met a guy with a cervix. So, she’s wrong. Next issue!
cryingtoelliotsmith on
i’m really tired of this constant debate. so few of y’all are actually impacted by trans people living their lives. why does it need to be a constant barrage of attacks.
new_yorks_alright on
Im so bored of having this argument just because some politicans failed primary school biology.
Psy_Kikk on
This is so dumb, it doesn’t need to be said out loud. It’s culture war BS. – Look at what just happened to the SNP :
Imagine being a single issue party, anywhere in the world, and then sacrificing that single issue for atleast two decades… for trans rights. Wtf?
Someone tell the politicians everywhere that twitter and the twitterrati are not representative of jack shit except their own little bubble. And also explain to them they are not american, no matter bad they want to be.
BusyAcanthocephala40 on
It’s literally true. Some day people will realise you cannot force others to go against science by cancelling them. It just makes you come off as deranged the more you try and justify it.
ea_fitz on
I hate this boring, spineless man with a great deal of my heart.
23 Comments
Archive link here: https://archive.ph/pIC7Q
Article text
Written by Genevieve Holl-Allen, from the Telegraph
Rosie Duffield right to say only women have a cervix, says Starmer
> Labour leader says his views on gender ‘start with biology’ in stance shift.
>
> Rosie Duffield was right to say that only women have a cervix, Sir Keir Starmer has said, in a sign of a shift in his stance on gender.
> The Labour leader said that his views on gender issues “start with biology” and that his party’s MP for Canterbury was “biologically” correct by stating only women can have a cervix.
> In 2021, the Labour leader had criticised Ms Duffield for saying that only women have a cervix, saying that her comment “is something that shouldn’t be said. It’s not right”.
> But asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Tuesday whether Ms Duffield’s statement was right or wrong, Sir Keir said: “Biologically, she of course is right about that.”
> Sir Keir, however, would not apologise to Ms Duffield, instead saying that the pair “discuss a number of issues” and “get on very well”.
>
> Ms Duffield, a prominent feminist campaigner who believes a person’s sex cannot be changed, has regularly complained about her experiences in the party and has likened it to being in an abusive relationship.
> She has previously been heckled by male colleagues on her benches while speaking about trans issues in the Commons, which prompted her to accuse Labour of having a “woman problem”.
> Sir Keir’s comments are the latest sign of a shift in stance from the top of the Labour Party on trans issues, in the wake of the Cass Review into gender care for children.
> Dr Hilary Cass, one of the UK’s most eminent paediatricians, found in her report that the evidence for allowing young people and children to change gender was built on weak foundations and that there was no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of treatments, such as puberty blockers, given to children.
> Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, admitted earlier this month that he was wrong to say trans women are women.
>
> In the Labour leader’s first comments on gender since the publication of the Cass Review, Sir Keir said: “There’s a distinction between sex and gender. The Labour Party has championed women’s rights for a very long time.”
> However, when asked about whether Ms Duffield was owed an apology by the party, he told ITV: “I don’t want this to go back into this toxic place where everybody is divided.”
> He added: “Rosie Duffield and I get on very well, we discuss a number of issues.
“She’s a much-respected member of the Parliamentary Labour Party and I want to have a discussion with her and anybody else about how we go forward in a positive way.”
> Sir Keir has been trying to clarify his views on gender since 2021, when he struggled to say whether or not a woman could have a penis.
> In 2023, he said that 99.9 per cent of women “haven’t got a penis”, before going on to say in July last year: “Firstly, a woman is an adult female, so let’s clear that one up.”
>
> His latest remarks come after the Government proposed changes to England’s NHS constitution, to give patients the right to request to be treated on single-sex wards, with transgender people placed in rooms on their own.
> Asked how Labour would respond to transgender women who did not want to go on male wards, Sir Keir said: “We have to accommodate that situation as it arises, but treat everybody with respect and dignity… I do not accept this is an issue that cannot be resolved with respect and dignity.”
> He added: “Where we need to make accommodations, we can make accommodations… As a country, we’re a pretty reasonable, tolerant bunch and most people know that there are a small number of individuals who do not identify with the gender that they were born into.
> “Many of them suffer great distress and trauma. And for my part, I’m perfectly happy to say I would treat them, as I would treat anybody, with respect.”
How dare she say something so controversial and true.
I told the Labour canvassers that I would never vote for Labour while people like Duffield are in the party and they just sort of sadly nodded and went on their way.
Her culture war bullshit is the opposite of what we need right now
edit: fascinating watching the upvotes swing so wildly whenever the topic of trans rights comes up. hello TERF brigade. 👋
If someone presents and identifies as male, and is treated by society as a male, but has a cervix, I’d say that man had a cervix.
It’s also possible for certain types of intersex people to have XY chromosomes and a cervix.
The consensus both in the scientific and medical communities is that gender is a concept independent of sex. You’d think people would have learnt this now that the issues been in the spotlight for so long.
Even without trans people, every now and then a cis man is born with a cervix. This is factually incorrect.
She’s biologically wrong. The cervix isn’t unique to humans.
I’m really glad we’re focused on the important stuff like who has a cervix, as opposed to the silly fluff like treating people like human beings.
The Cass Report seems to have had a significant impact on Starmer’s Labour.
Can…can they come up with plans to make people’s lives better please?
I don’t care what someone identifies as and I’m not interested in their reproductive organs. I’m happy for them to live as they want as long as I can live as I want. I’d like the country to get a better economy and public services to make everyone’s lives better.
Glad they cleared that one up. Now, the NHS? Crime? Immigration?
Who. Fucking. Cares.
We’ve homeless people camped all over the country. A poor boy was killed by a man wielding a sword at a Tube station this morning. Young people can’t afford a house or a baby.
Fuck politicians and this purposeful distraction of a culture war.
Damn so does that mean women without a cervix aren’t women? /s
This is all so frustrating. Honestly, it really is. One thing I really want to be clear on is the difference between legal sex and biological sex, because half the time they get muddied:
Biological sex: depending on the biology being done, can be measured by sex chromosomes, expressions of the genes contained therein, gonads present, genitals present, hormones in bloodstream, ability to react to said hormones, secondary sexual characteristics present. Bimodal; most common sexes are Male and Female, but intersex conditions exist, and multiple sexes are present depending on the way it’s being measured.
Legal sex: M or F. Assigned as a best guess at birth based on observation of the genitals. Capable of being changed after observation of development, or during transition on request and after approval. Depending on the situation, your legal sex can be different things in different legal documents. Can only ever be M or F. Binary.
The goal of current anti-trans activists is:
1) Separate gender and sex completely as concepts.
2) Paint gender as a style choice and sex as completely immutable.
3) Tie together the ideas of biological and legal sex.
4) Push for legal recognition of sex only, with no legal recognition for gender.
5) profit
Knowing the difference between sex and gender equality s very important in this matter.
If your sex Your sex is female you will have a cervix. But your gender can be male and have a cervix.
>The Labour leader said that his views on gender issues “start with biology” and that his party’s MP for Canterbury was “biologically” correct by stating only women can have a cervix
A nothing story.
I hate that fact that this sucks so much air out of the public discourse.
I’ve met a guy with a cervix. So, she’s wrong. Next issue!
i’m really tired of this constant debate. so few of y’all are actually impacted by trans people living their lives. why does it need to be a constant barrage of attacks.
Im so bored of having this argument just because some politicans failed primary school biology.
This is so dumb, it doesn’t need to be said out loud. It’s culture war BS. – Look at what just happened to the SNP :
Imagine being a single issue party, anywhere in the world, and then sacrificing that single issue for atleast two decades… for trans rights. Wtf?
Someone tell the politicians everywhere that twitter and the twitterrati are not representative of jack shit except their own little bubble. And also explain to them they are not american, no matter bad they want to be.
It’s literally true. Some day people will realise you cannot force others to go against science by cancelling them. It just makes you come off as deranged the more you try and justify it.
I hate this boring, spineless man with a great deal of my heart.