Calton attended the demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament organised by the Glasgow Cabbie a couple of days ago to protest against Nicola Sturgeon in general and her sordid sex education and the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in particular. It was very well attended, unlike the counter-protest, with a variety of protesters from different backgrounds there. Calton has invited one of them to do a guest post:
"I am a sixty-something Scotswoman. When I was wee, girls became nurses when they grew up and boys became doctors. By the time I left high school I had acceptances from three Scottish universities to study medicine. I decided to study maths and physics instead and was one of a growing number of young women to do so. In the 80s engineering was the last bastion of male-only studies at university. So I became a software engineer upon graduating, working for a large electronics company in Scotland. I had to put up with manspreading, mansplaining and pornographic pictures everywhere I looked. I was never paid as much as men doing the same job, which affects my pension today. It was a really sexist, misogynistic environment but it was nothing compared to the misogyny I see today coming from the Scottish Parliament, under a female First Minister, and I never felt unsafe in the ladies toilets!
In the last three decades of the 20th century women's rights were improving. There was still a gender pay gap and some way to go but we felt we were making progress. We had our first female Prime Minister, pornography gradually disappeared from the workplace and women were no longer told they could only do certain jobs. Now we are going backwards fast under a female First Minister who claims to be a "feminist to her fingertips" but doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word. Young boys are being taught at school that porn is fine - go ahead and have fun with it. Young girls are being admitted to hospital with serious anal injuries after experimenting with a type of sex promoted in school sex education which I hadn't even heard of at their age. A primary school teacher caught two kids trying to have sex in the gender neutral toilets after sex education. This isn't progress and it's damaging kids, girls in particular.
I never used to think of myself as a feminist but I do now - a TERF and proud of it. Nicola Sturgeon doesn't know what a man is but I do and they shouldn't be in women's prisons, women's refuges, women's toilets or any other space reserved for WOMEN. That's why I attended Glasgow Cabbie's demonstration - to say SHAME ON STURGEON and ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
WOMEN WON'T WHEESHT - for the sake of the children."
I totally agree with what you have said thank you x
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with all you have said.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree and a well written post....thank you
ReplyDeleteWell said. So many feel the same way. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with everything you’ve said here, and I’m in my 70s and a grandmother
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and never was a truer word spoken. Sturgeon is one sordid person making it so easy for predators she is dangerous. Very dangerous. Young women have never been at such risk.
ReplyDeleteGood on you! This legislation is unsafe and doesn’t protect enough people or progress society.
ReplyDeleteI am gay and think the legislation is sinister.
There is far more at play here than most consider I am sure.
I now have great concerns that visiting public areas restaurants, theatre etc with my 15yr old granddaughter will she be ok going to the toilet herself at 15 she should be able to be free in choice to go unescorted and be safe in a female area.
ReplyDeleteI was there too, for the first time in my life and like you, after fifty years of feminism and fighting for equality, I felt it was time to shout out loud.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I agree with this 100% and this is the hill I'll die on #WomenWontWheesht
ReplyDeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteIf you're 'for the sake of the children', it would make more sense to challenge parents who commonly give 9 year old kids their own Internet connected phone. Then we wouldn't have to mitigate that harm through the education system. There are identifiable real world causes that you willfully ignore, because it's easier.
ReplyDelete