I've written a response below. But as it's very long, can I just say right up top how much I hate this. I'm so tired of replying to people in a way that suggests that I'm anti-trans or trying to demonise trans people. The whole problem is the there is so little honest, open discourse, that most people are totally unaware that there's anything to talk about.
Puberty blockers are totally safe and reversible, nobody ever transitions and regrets it, there are no examples of women being assaulted by males who gained access to female spaces, and anybody who has facts to disprove all of these assertions is "right-wing" and a "TERF". This is simply, categorically untrue.
Anyway, I guess I chose to write about it, so that's enough venting. I'm not blaming you for asking perfectly reasonable questions, I'm just frustrated to be stuck on this side of this debate. Anyway, below is the response to the quoted section above and some examples of the "overreach."
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Nope, it doesn't come as a surprise. I wonder if you also saw this on Katy Montgomerie's Twitter feed. But it's worth noting what this support actually means in real terms. Context you're not likely to get from Katy. Here's the raw data (https://comresglobal.com/polls/bbc-scotland-gender-recognition-act-poll-17-february/).
Support was strongest for reducing the amount of time required for a trans person to change their sex on their documents. Something I think most reasonable people would fully support. But the majority of people, men and women, also supported the continued provision of single-sex spaces, and were against males competing against females in professional sport. It's also worth noting that 66% of respondents said they haven't been following the debate on these issues closely.
I think most people want trans people be free to identify as they want to. But most people also recognise the fact that males competing against females in sport, for example, isn't fair. Or that single sex-spaces such as changing rooms and crisis centres might be really important to some women.
As for the legitimate issues and overreach, I actually just posted this information for another reader, so I hope you won't mind if I just copy/paste what I wrote to him. It's regarding the implementation of self-ID in prisons and the dangers of the affirmation-only model of gender affirming care:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/male-inmates-in-womens-prisons-11622474215
From the article:
"Take [California law] SB 132, which took effect in January. It allows transgender-identified male state prison inmates to transfer into women’s prisons based on “individual preference”—no hormones, surgery or time spent living as the opposite sex required."
Here’s another from the UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9750105/High-Court-rules-transgender-women-female-prisons.html
“…a female prisoner, known only as FDJ, brought a legal bid against a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policy which allows prisoners to be housed according to their gender identity ‘irrespective of whether they have taken any legal or medical steps to acquire that gender.’”
FDJ launched the legal bid because she was sexually assaulted by the prisoner in question.
Or this (https://lacroicsz.substack.com/p/by-any-other-name?), one of hundreds if not thousands of stories online about teenagers being given hormones on their first visit to a gender clinic because of the “affirmation only” model that practically criminalises a doctor asking a child if there is anything that might have led to their sudden gender dysphoria (in the cases where it is sudden)? Abuse, depression and a variety of other comorbidities are often ignored.
Or this (https://twitter.com/mothergender/status/1505672236320976898) story from a detransitioned woman who had a double mastectomy when she was just 16 years old after only 5 months of therapy.
As I said above. I'm not trying to delegitimise trans affirming care or trans people. I'm trying, very, very tentatively, to highlight the fact that there are issues of fairness and safety and safeguarding that are being completely ignored. Because any attempt to talk about them, however reasonably, is demonised as anti-trans hatred.
It's as if somebody has convinced the world that it's impossible to care about trans people and simultaneously care about females in sport or some of the reckless things happening in healthcare for young people.
