Letter of the law

Transgender people have been the focus of lots of political and social attention in recent years, with trans rights becoming a target, especially of those who associate themselves with culture wars.

Although the term transgender refers to anyone who identifies as the sex opposite to that assigned at birth, the focus has been on those who transition from male to female.

Today the Supreme Court in the UK ruled that, in Law, a Woman is defined by Biological Sex.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7pqzk47zo

For Transgender people who identify as Women, the worry will almost certainly be that trans rights are further eroded and they become the subject of yet more attacks.

Recently I listened to a debate on the radio during which a woman, arguing that trans women we not women, stated that 'she knew she was a woman, because she felt like a woman' she went on to say that 'if you don't have a womb you are not a woman'.

I pondered how that person might feel, given how sure she was of her identity, if she found out that she was in-fact not actually a woman biologically, or it turned out that she did not have a uterus. Might she still know that she was a woman, despite perhaps not actually 'being' a woman.

Trans people know who they are and have the same conviction about their identity as the caller did about hers.

We need only look back through history, even as little as 50 years ago, to see how things that people believed true at the time are now known to be wrong and might even seem ridiculous to us today.

We think we know all there is to know, but we still know very little about some topics.

It is entirely possible, and there is some evidence already, that you can be born 'in the wrong body'. There are understood reasons why someone may be born with certain features and body parts that do not match their biological sex, there are less well understood reasons, such as hormone balance, why you might identify differently.

We know that a men can be born with female organs, that a woman may not develop a womb. It is not too far a reach to suggest that there are as yet ill understood reasons for a 'biological man or woman' to identify as the opposite sex.

As with all things, there are those who may seek to take advantage, there are bad actors, this is true of all sexes and backgrounds, it should not be used to scapegoat an entire section of society.

Today is a sad day, not because a clear legal definition has been provided, but for the way some celebrated and for the vitriol that will likely follow.

Humans ought to show compassion to others and take note of the remarks made by Judge Lord Hodge, who noted that this should not been seen as a victory and minded that trans rights remain an important feature of the law.