During an interview with trans journalist and writer Izzy Dine, published online on Tuesday (21 October), the women and equalities minister was asked what bathroom she thought Dine and other trans women should currently be using.
In September, Phillipson, who is currently running the Labour deputy leadership candidacy, was handed the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) code of practice on single-sex services, which could result in a bathroom ban for trans people.
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Asked what bathroom trans women should currently be using, Phillipson appeared unable to give a clear answer, instead simply restating the ruling, the full impact of which remains unclear: “As Minister for Women and Equalities, I set out the policies responding to the Supreme Court judgement. The Supreme Court were clear that, uh, for the purposes of the Equality Act, sex is biological sex.“What’s now happening is the Equality and Human Rights Commission have, uh, have consulted on a code of practice to me as the minister. I’ll then be going through that line by line to make sure we get that right. It’s a 300-page document so it will take some time.”
Dine then pointed to interim guidance from the EHRC, which included a clause banning trans women from men’s toilets as well as women’s. The guidance has since been repealed.
I have some sympathy with Phillipson here, the current guidance is an absolute shit show and whatever she says she’ll get shit from transpeople, or from terfs.
But that all said, be better.
Don’t feel bad for her. She wants this. She appointed Mary-Ann Stephenson, a terf, as the next EHRC head despite objections from parliamentary committees.
Politicians have ducked their responsibilities here. Once the court ruled their unworkable interpretation of the law they should have gone back to the drawing board and passed new clearer legislation.
transpeopleis dehumanizing.“Trans people” and “cis people.” Otherwise it reads like, “blarglepeople” and “actual people.”
The mashing together of the words was the language of the early anti-trans propaganda. It was successful enough that even allies continue to use it, unfortunately. Mostly because they’ve come up with new and worse ways to deny our existence while specifically addressing us.
I would say that it feels like blowing into the wind, but I know things like this can change, especially if 'teh youth" get it.