Maya Forstater

If Bunce feels in whole or in part a woman, then he would count as one. But I feel like one could make reasoned arguments either way, and that's ok. Seems to me the point of the pledge is to be effective in the 99% of cases where there is not room for reasoned argument.

Thanks for being brave and taking the plunge with an answer Matt! As you know I disagree!

I'm sympathetic to concerns about safety in prisons, less so about panels. Trans people are such a tiny minority (c.0.5% of US pop.), I struggle to see how they might usurp women's voices/ participation in business/ society.

I certainly would not twitter-shame a panel if it included four men and a trans-woman. That would seem nasty, punitive, and hurtful to her identity (and other trans people). Without much gain. I would of course prefer it if every panel had more than one woman.

Maya, are you saying that trans women are not women? I’m a bit confused...

I wouldn't want to speak for Maya, but I sense her concern is that if trans-women can self-identify as women they may take opportunities reserved for biological women (eg. political reservations, panel spots).

Personally, I doubt a man would do this deceitfully, in order to gain access to such opportunities. I also doubt trans woman taking such opportunities is a threat to women's voice/ access (because trans people are a tiny tiny minority).

I don't think there is any way to tell if someone's feelings of being a woman are 'deceitful' or not. I don't know what it 'feels like to be a woman' - are my feeling womanly enough? Who is to know? I think it is regressive to define womanhood by dress code, behaviour or feelings