The breath taking hubris of Ruth Hunt
What I find as a Christian, and as a Catholic, is that trying to ensure that the values that are integral to the Christian faith shape my approach and response to the challenges in all areas of my working life is very important for me
Ruth Hunt
Contents
Ruth Hunt and Arcus Foundation. 6
Ruth Hunt and the Stonewall Glossary. 8
Ruth Hunt and burning bridges. 10
Ruth Hunt and The Dentons document 12
Ruth Hunt and conversion therapy. 16
Stonewall and “trans children”. 20
Ruth Hunt and Christianity. 25
Can a woman have a penis?
In 2004, the UK Government passed the Gender Recognition Act. For the first time in the UK, people whose experience of gender dysphoria was so debilitating that they wished to “live” as the opposite sex, could have that desire legally recognised. Furthermore, for the first time anywhere in the world, individuals did not require surgery before being granted legal recognition.
In that same year, Newport rap band Goldie Lookin’ Chain released a single entitled ‘Your mother’s got a penis’. The song, with its lyrics of childish humour, reached number fourteen on the UK Singles Chart.
Eighteen years later, your mother, may not only have a penis; she may also be a divisional commissioner in Girlguiding.
In an interview with Huffington Post, transwoman and Girlguiding divisional commissioner Monica Sulley, explained: “I’m a wife, mother to two, stepmother to one, grandmother to eight”. 1
The post of divisional commissioner in Girlguiding is not open to men who don’t identify as women.
Girlguiding rules were relaxed in 2017. Now, any boy can join if he identifies as a girl and any man can take up a senior role in the organisation if he identifies as a woman. Such individuals are entitled to share the facilities of the sex with which they identify.
The new rules were implemented after consultation with the lobby groups Stonewall and Gendered Intelligence.
The majority of Stonewall’s income comes from “training” and “evaluation” of taxpayer funded public sector bodies, including most UK police forces. Gendered Intelligence is a charity that receives National Lottery funding. Both organisations vigorously push the message that being a man, and being a woman is determined by the subjective feelings of an individual and not the objective reality of biological sex.
In a booklet on sexual health for young people, published by Gendered Intelligence, it is claimed:
How you look, how you speak and how you have sex are all aspects of you, but your identities (sic) paramount. A woman is still a woman, even if she enjoys getting blow jobs. A man is still a man, even if he likes getting penetrated vaginally. How you have sex need not affect your identity. 2
In November 2021, images of Monica Sulley circulated on social media. One shows her dressed in Guide leader uniform, holding an assault rifle. Another, where she is dressed in a leather outfit and brandishing a whip, is captioned, “Now behave yourselves or Mistress will have to punish you”. 3
In response to the images, a woman from Merseyside wrote two emails, one to Girlguiding UK, the other to her local Girlguiding organisation. In the emails, the woman expressed her concerns about safeguarding. In January 2022, a police officer came to her house and told her she needed to attend the police station for an interview under caution. 4
In the same month, Jennifer Swayne, a women’s rights campaigner from Newport, was arrested and detained for several hours for putting up posters. One poster read “3+ women killed by men each week”, another read “No men in women's prisons". Her phone was kept, her house was searched, posters, stickers and a book were confiscated. 5
In November 2021, Nicola Murray, the founder of Brodie’s Trust, a charity that supports women who have suffered pregnancy loss through domestic violence or forced termination received a visit from the police after the charity announced that it would no longer refer women to the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. 6
The CEO of the centre, Mridhul Wadhwa, a trans identified male had previously told rape victims:
if you bring unacceptable beliefs that are discriminatory in nature, we will begin to work with you on your journey of recovery from trauma. But please also expect to be challenged on your prejudices ...
Many feel that the response of the police to those who believe that being a man or a woman relates to the objective reality of biological sex rather than the subjective feelings of the individual, is bordering on the Orwellian.
Indeed, it is easy to envisage a new slogan cut into the glittering white facade of the Ministry of Truth headquarters.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
SOME WOMEN HAVE A PENIS
To understand how we got here, we need to reflect on where we’ve come from.
1.
2. https://whatisawoman.uk/media/GI-Sexual-Health-Booklet.pdf
4. https://thecritic.co.uk/misguided-or-misgendered/
5. Disabled campaigner for women's rights is arrested for 'hate crime' | Daily Mail Online
The Yogyakarta Principles
Although the UK was the first country in the world to allow gender recognition without the requirement for surgery, there are still some hurdles for applicants to overcome. They must be over 18, have “lived” in their acquired gender for 2 years and have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The pressure to make it easier was about to increase.
In the same year that the Gender Recognition Act was passed in the UK, human rights lawyer and former Catholic Priest, Michael O’Flaherty joined the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. 1
In 2005, John Fisher, a lawyer and co-director of ARC International a Canadian lobbying group, relocated to Geneva, with the goal of influencing UN policy makers. 2
Following work by O’Flaherty and Fisher, in 2006 human rights advocates from around the globe were invited to attend a meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to formulate a set of Principles for the protection of the rights of people with atypical sexual orientation and gender identity.
It is not clear who paid for the meeting or on what basis the invitations were extended. However, as the invitations did not extend to experts on therapeutic treatment of gender dysphoria, clearly the organisers were only interested in seeing one aspect of the trans issue - that relating to the 'rights' of the individual.
Yogyakarta Principle 3b instructs all states to
Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to fully respect and legally recognise each person’s self-defined gender identity. 3
Professor Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law at Kings College London, is an expert on anti-discrimination law and sexual orientation law and was one of the signatories of the Yogyakarta Principles
He now says the international human rights community got it wrong in merging lesbian and gay rights with the idea of a right to have “gender identity” replace sex. 4
If I had thought through the implications of Principle 3, I would have had to consider the potential for conflict with women’s rights, but I didn’t.
Robert Wintemute1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O%27Flaherty
2. https://www.hrw.org/about/people/john-fisher
3. https://yogyakartaprinciples.org/principle-3/
4. https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/yogyakarta-principles/
Rhetoric
The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle has been credited with the earliest study of formal logic.
Aristotle argued that there were three modes of rhetorical persuasion that appeal to three different parts of the mind. 1 These are:
pathos – an appeal to the emotions of an audience; ethos – an appeal to authority and logos – an appeal to logic or reason.
The arguments of trans activists rely heavily on pathos. Scarcely, a week goes by when we don’t hear about trans people being among the most marginalised in society.
The arguments of trans activists also rely on ethos, with frequent references to the “rights” of the individuals.
Trans activists avoid arguments that rely on logos. Their tactics are to shut down dialogue and to ignore the inconvenient questions.
As a consequence, the ideology pushed by Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence and others has spread like wildfire.
1. https://www.mightyknowledge.com/ethos-logos-pathos-the-art-of-persuasion/
Ruth Hunt and Arcus Foundation
Did Ruth know it would be hard for Stonewall to take on the issue of trans rights?
Ruth responded that Stonewall had been under significant pressure from individual donors, stakeholders, campaigners, the organisations, and the companies they worked with, who were all baffled why Stonewall would not consider trans issues.
Sarah Stuart: Baroness Ruth Hunt: In conversation with Compassion in Politics 1
Stonewall is the largest and most influential LGBT rights organisation in Europe. In August 2014, Ruth Hunt was appointed CEO. The previous March, same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales. The legal rights of LGB people in the UK had been secured.
In that same year, Stonewall received $42,000, for ten months of funding for the Rainbow Laces campaign to tackle homophobia in sports from Arcus Foundation.
In 2015, the Arcus Foundation awarded Stonewall a further grant of $100,000 for two years of support to ensure full legal and social equality for trans people by integrating trans-specific work into all key campaigning and programs. 2
The founder and head of Arcus Foundation is the billionaire philanthropist, Jon Stryker.
Stryker explained a precondition of being awarded a grant.
We also required that all grantees have a board-approved non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. We believe it's critical for all our grantees to show an organizational dedication to LGBT rights, officially and in writing. To this day, non-discrimination remains an eligibility requirement for all grantees. 3
It seems that, in the very early stages of her leadership, Hunt was in discussion with representatives of Arcus and the grants that Arcus awarded to Stonewall came with the pre-condition that there should be no discrimination on the basis of 'gender identity'.
This is not UK Law but the policy mandated by Arcus Foundation is the same policy that Stonewall is pushing to all the organisations that have signed up to its Diversity champions program and Workplace Equality Index.
An organisation's ranking in the Stonewall Best Employer List is entirely dependent on how well it implements Stonewall guidance.
In July 2020, the University of Essex commissioned a report following the cancellation of speaking engagements of two academics in December 2019 and January 2020. The academics were accused of holding “transphobic views”. The report, which was publicly released in May 2021, criticised the University’s policy on Supporting Trans and Non-Binary Staff:
This policy is founded on an erroneous understanding of the law. The policy is reviewed annually by Stonewall, and its incorrect summary of the law does not appear to have been picked up by them. In my view the policy states the law as Stonewall would prefer it to be, rather than the law as it is. To that extent the policy is misleading.
The Reindorf Report 4
1.
2. https://www.arcusfoundation.org/grantees/
3. Interview with Jon Stryker: A Journey to Inclusive Philanthropy | Synergos
4. https://www.essex.ac.uk/blog/posts/2021/05/17/review-of-two-events-with-external-speakers
Ruth Hunt and the Stonewall Glossary
There's a group that think trans women are women and that's the camp Stonewall supporters are in 1
Ruth Hunt
By 2016, the Stonewall website had had a makeover. A brand-new glossary was created. 2
No lexicographer was required. The glossary didn’t rely on standard dictionary definition of words. Instead, for political purpose, the glossary defined new words and redefined existing ones.
In Stonewall’s glossary, sex is not described as being determined at conception. Instead, along with many other organisations, Stonewall borrow the terminology that is used when describing individuals born with a disorder in sexual development. In Stonewall’s glossary, sex is “assigned at birth”.
Gender identity is defined as an ‘innate’ sense of one’s own gender.
Homosexuality is re-defined as attraction to someone of the same gender.
Stonewall’s definition of “trans” has no objective basis. It is purely a subjective rationalisation based on an internal identity. In theory, the definition is infinitely expandable.
Indeed by 2020, it had been expanded. It now reads:
An umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.
Trans people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) transgender, transsexual, gender-queer (GQ), gender-fluid, non-binary, gender-variant, crossdresser, genderless, agender, nongender, third gender, bi-gender, trans man, trans woman, trans masculine, trans feminine and neutrois.
Stonewall also have a definition of ‘cis’ which is:
Someone whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. Non-trans is also used by some people.
Stonewall evidently believe that unlike the development of other aspects of an individual’s identity – such as class, religion and nationality, social factors play no role in the development of an individual’s gender identity. Indeed, the language within the glossary would have us believe that while “sex” is provisional, “gender identity” is innate.
In 2016, the Stonewall definition of transphobia was:
the fear or dislike of someone who identifies as trans.
By the end of 2017, that definition had hardened to become:
the fear or dislike of someone based on the fact they are trans, including the denial/refusal to accept their gender identity.
In no other area of life is refusing to affirm someone's internal perception of themselves regarded as 'fear or dislike' of that person.
The language used is coercive. Using this definition, anyone who challenges the ideology can be accused of transphobia.
When that definition changed, Stonewall armed the activists.
2. https://www.stonewall.org.uk/help-advice/faqs-and-glossary/list-lgbtq-terms
Ruth Hunt and burning bridges
A lot of the commentary comes from a place of deep-seated transphobia....
by presuming that trans women are men. 1
Ruth Hunt
Hunt knew that the stance she was taking was divisive. In an interview published in The Guardian in May 2019, she explained:
We always knew it was going to be rough but I [knew] the organisation well enough to do this, and how to do it quickly ....
There is a group of people who believe trans women are men and there is nothing that will change that. There is a group of people who believe trans women are trans women and it's all a bit puzzling, can we have a chat about it? And there's a group that think trans women are women and that's the camp Stonewall supporters are in. 2
By 2018, there was widespread concern over the position that Stonewall had taken. A petition was organised, asking the organisation to reconsider its approach. 3
The petition stated:
Stonewall’s promotion of the concept of 'gender identity’, which has it that a man or woman is anyone (of either sex) who identifies as such, is also undermining the basis of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities as orientated around same-sex attraction. Lesbians in particular are coming under pressure to accept male-bodied trans women into their spaces and as sexual partners.
At the moment, Stonewall is failing in three key ways:
· By uncritically adopting a form of transgender politics which undermines the sex-based rights of women and the concept of homosexuality itself
· By refusing to recognise the diversity of viewpoints on these issues, including among LGBT people.
· By seeking to prevent public debate of these issues by branding as transphobic anyone who questions Stonewall’s current trans policies.
The petition attracted over 10,000 signatures.
There was to be no effort to win over doubters. In an tweet to transwoman Miranda Yardley and others, Hunt explained:
Trans women are women. It’s the sticking point on both sides I’m afraid and won’t make for a very interesting “debate”. 4
Ruth Hunt was raised as a Catholic. Her Faith is important to her. In an interview with Student Christian Movement, Hunt said:
What I find as a Christian, and as a Catholic, is that trying to ensure that the values that are integral to the Christian faith shape my approach and response to the challenges in all areas of my working life is very important for me. Stonewall supports people to find their way on some of these issues, and we don’t judge, or name and shame, and we work very hard to find consensus and build consensus, to build bridges between communities. That to me feels very Christian. An even though as an organisation we’re agnostic, that’s a very fundamental part of Stonewall’s ethos. 5
Those who hold a strong conviction that cannot be questioned, refuse to listen; they refuse to explain; they are dismissive and provocative in their language. This is the behaviour of the ideologue, and this has been the behaviour of Stonewall representatives since 2015.
It is socially divisive and morally reprehensible.
On the trans issue, Hunt hasn’t built bridges. She’s burned them.
1. History Becomes Her podcast - May 2020
3. https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dear-stonewall-please-reconsider-your-approach
Ruth Hunt and The Dentons document
A lot of Stonewall's work lies below the radar 1
Ruth Hunt
Stonewall have a close relationship with the International Law firm, Dentons.
In 2018, Dentons were among 17 global companies commended by Stonewall for efforts to create inclusive global spaces. In the same year, Dentons’ Igor Ostrowski was named Global Senior Leader.
In 2019, Dentons collaborated with Stonewall and New York University to develop a guide for employers. The guide documented the data privacy implications of collecting LGBT data on employees within Europe. 2
Also in 2019, Dentons produced a document for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO). 3 The document was entitled:
ONLY ADULTS? GOOD PRACTICES IN LEGAL GENDER RECOGNITION FOR YOUTH
Although Government funded, IGLYO work closely with privately funded organisations.
The authors of the document begin by asserting the ideological belief that gender identity is an integral part of one’s self. They proceed to explain the current legal position of young people struggling with gender dysphoria.
Most countries do not have any type of legal gender recognition for minors, leaving transgender children and young people unable to change their gender marker to reflect who they really are.
The authors suggest Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) publish legislative proposals ahead of legislation.
In many of the NGO advocacy campaigns that we studied, there were clear benefits where NGOs managed to get ahead of the government and publish progressive legislative proposal before the government had time to develop their own.
NGOs need to intervene early in the legislative process and ideally before it has even started. This will give them far greater ability to shape the government agenda and the ultimate proposal than if they intervene after the government has already started to develop its own proposal.
The authors emphasise that legislative changes should be made as quickly as possible and suggest changes be 'veiled' by other more popular reforms.
The authors of the report recognise that parents can be a hindrance to the desires of young people to transition and recommend that the state penalises the parents of young people who get in the way.
The authors stress the importance of minimising publicity and suggest that young people should be mobilised to argue the case.
Anna Robinson is listed as co-chair of IGLYO in their 2018 Annual Report. That report also includes a reference to the document that Dentons would eventually produce.
Anna left the organisation a few weeks before the document was published. She subsequently worked for the UK Parliament as researcher and coordinator for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global LGBT+ Rights 4. Her position was partly funded by Stonewall.
The Dentons document credits a number of NGOs for their input across several countries.
The only NGO that contributed to the report but wished to remain anonymous was from the UK.
1.
2. Dentons - Stonewall, Dentons and NYU launch GDPR guide on LGBT+ data collection
4. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/alumni/our-alumni/40-under-40/a-z-list-of-profiles/anna-robinson.html
Ruth Hunt and Ken Zucker
I’m concerned many viewers could believe Dr Zucker’s methods are just common sense. 1
Ruth Hunt
On 12th January 2017 the BBC broadcast a documentary entitled 'Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?'. 2
Before it aired, activists created a petition requesting that it be viewed by “experts” before being broadcast. The petition was unsuccessful.
The documentary included an interview with Dr Kenneth Zucker, one of the world’s experts on childhood gender dysphoria. Zucker made the following comments:
· When I work with families, I try to understand a child on a case-by-case basis. There are different pathways that can lead to gender dysphoria but it’s an intellectual and clinical mistake to think there's one single cause that explains all gender dysphoria.
· Identity is a process, it's complicated, it takes a long period of time, in a sense, to know who a child really is.
· What I think is very important for parents to know. Little kids can present with extreme gender dysphoria but that doesn't mean they're going to grow up with gender dysphoria. Some will but a lot won't.
· Let's see if there's any chance that this child could feel comfortable in their biological sex. Let's see if we can teach this girl that there's lots of ways to be a girl. Some girls like Barbies and some do not. Some girls like dresses and some do not. Both are equally acceptable.
Ken Zucker
Zucker's colleague, Devita Singh studied over a hundred boys treated at the clinic. It was found that 88% eventually desisted.
Some of the boys who desisted were just as severe in their gender dysphoria, in their cross gendered behaviour, as some of the boys who persisted.
Devita Singh
The documentary narrator stated that:
There is now evidence that childhood gender dysphoria could be linked to homosexuality in later life. Studies show that between 60 and 80% of boys who desist turn out to be gay or bisexual adults.
Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?
I've heard some parents say after transition: 'Well, at least they're not gay'
Ken Zucker
After the documentary was broadcast, Ruth Hunt was very worried.
She was not worried about the labelling as trans, children who would otherwise grow up to be gay, lesbian or bisexual.
She was worried that viewers would think that Dr Zucker was a credible authority.
I’m concerned many viewers could believe Dr Zucker’s methods are just common sense.
Ruth Hunt
Hunt did not rebut the points that Zucker made. She accused him of practicing conversion therapy.
Trans children can’t be ‘cured’ and any doctor who tries should be condemned. It is cruel. It belongs in the age when people tried to convert gay people.
Ruth Hunt
I completely reject the allegation that I have ever practiced conversion therapy. I practice what I would call developmentally informed therapy.
Ken Zucker
Zucker has published almost 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. These articles have been cited over 2000 times.
He has helped write much of the “standards of care” guidelines for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and has edited the prestigious journal "Archives of Sexual Behavior".
Hunt has a degree in English Language and Literature.
1. https://www.stonewall.org.uk/node/41336
2.
https://www.change.org/p/bbc-transgender-kids-who-knows-best-should-not-be-broadcast-until-reviewed-by-experts
3.
Ruth Hunt and conversion therapy
When transphobic people try to pretend they're defending butch lesbians like me, I see the cynical tactic for what it is 1
Ruth Hunt
In the 1990s, researchers in the Netherlands created a protocol for treatment of children with persistent gender dysphoria, who passed eligibility criteria. The protocol comprises:
1. Puberty blockers at 12
2. Cross sex hormones at 16
3. Surgery at 18
The eligibility criteria are significant:
· The patient should have experienced gender dysphoria since childhood
· The gender dysphoria should have worsened at puberty
· Patient should be psychologically stable and not suffer from other mental health problems
· Patient needed approval from the family
Even the originators, admit that the Dutch protocol is experimental 2. Nevertheless, it has become the basis of the “affirmative model” for treatment of children with gender dysphoria. Significantly, the eligibility criteria are frequently ignored in other countries.
Since 2009, there has been a massive increase in the number of children referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) in the Tavistock clinic. The number of children and young people referred to the service grew from 97 in 2009-10 to 2728 in 2019-20. In addition, the type of children referred has changed. 3
Since it opened its doors in 1989, around 75% of GIDS' patients had been boys - natal males to use the language of the service at the time, now referred to as assigned male at birth.
In 2011, girls equalled boys in number for the first time. And by 2015 there had been a reversal in the sex ratio, with girls now outnumbering boys two to one.
Activists pushing for the use of the affirmative approach have put clinicians under huge pressure.
In an interview with Channel 4 on 21st January 2021, Dr David Bell, a consultant psychiatrist and staff governor at the Tavistock Trust stated that the affirmation model is “a form of conversion therapy for children who are gay and lesbian”. 4
In an interview with the Guardian, Dr Bell stated:
Mermaids and Stonewall have made people afraid even of listening to another view 5
Marcus Evans is an experienced psychotherapist who worked for 12 years at the Tavistock.
Those who advocate an unquestioning “affirmation”-based approach to trans-identified children often will claim that any delay or hesitation in assisting a child’s desired gender transition may cause irreparable psychological harm, and possibly even lead to suicide. They also typically will cite research purporting to prove that a child who transitions can expect higher levels of psychological health and life satisfaction. None of these claims align substantially with any robust data or studies in this area. Nor do they align with the cases I have encountered over decades as a psychotherapist. 6
Dr Laura Edwards-Leeper is a licensed clinical psychologist who specialises in working with gender diverse and transgender children. Erica Anderson is a transwoman and a clinical psychologist of 30 years’ experience.
Together, they co-wrote an essay for the Washington Post highlighting their concerns about the huge increase in the medicalisation of children: 7
A flood of referrals to mental health providers and gender medical clinics, combined with a political climate that sees the treatment of each individual patient as a litmus test of social tolerance, is spurring many providers into sloppy, dangerous care. Often from a place of genuine concern, they are hastily dispensing medicine or recommending medical doctors prescribe it — without following the strict guidelines that govern this treatment.
In 2018, Lisa Littman, an American physician and researcher, published a report into parents of adolescents and young adults who appear to experience gender dysphoria during, or shortly after puberty. Littman coined the term "rapid-onset gender dysphoria" to describe the phenomenon.
Littman speculated that this late onset gender dysphoria might represent a maladaptive coping mechanism; and that peer and social influences might contribute to the development of gender dysphoria.
In November 2017, in an article for the Independent, Hunt wrote
They claim that the identities of young, butch lesbians are being erased, and that instead of being allowed to feel confident in their sexual orientation and as themselves, they are being pushed into believing they are trans men.
But the hard facts simply aren’t there to back any of this up. 7
Ruth Hunt
In 2017, Times journalist Janice Turner contacted Ruth Hunt asking for comment on a number of questions including this one:
Gender clinicians have come forward to say to me anonymously that they are concerned that almost all the girls are "late onset" who had no gender issues until adolescence. The girls they are seeing are either lesbian, autistic or have experienced sexual abuse. These doctors are frightened that a move towards "affirmation" means comorbidities are not being taken into account and girls are led to believe that changing gender resolve all of the other problems. Do you agree that we need to take great care when diagnosing trans in girls and young women? 8
Hunt failed to reply
3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56539466
7. Trans kids don’t get the mental health care they’re entitled to - The Washington Post
Ruth Hunt and reason
If I was locked in a church and could choose anyone to be my companion, I think right now a long and off-the-record chat with Pope Francis would be good. 1
Ruth Hunt
The scientific method involves someone observing a phenomenon and then creating an hypothesis to explain it. The hypothesis must be falsifiable so experiments can be created with the aim of disproving the hypothesis. If, over time, the hypothesis fails to be disproven, it progresses to a theory.
The teaching that is being pushed that we all have an innate gender identity that may or may not correspond with our biological sex is unfalsifiable. It falls at the very first scientific hurdle. It cannot be tested. It is purely a subjective feeling.
Something that is being pushed so strongly with no rational underpinning, is an ideology. The gender identity ideology movement is a radical form of self-determination where subjective feelings override objective, biological, genetic reality.
Unsurprisingly, the Catholic Church see grave dangers in this movement.
In a conversation with Jesuit priests, Pope Francis stated:
Ideology always has a diabolical appeal, as you say, because it is not embodied. Right now we live in a civilization of ideologies, that’s true. We need to expose them at their roots. The “gender” ideology of which you speak is dangerous, yes. As I understand it, it is so because it is abstract with respect to the concrete life of a person, as if a person could decide abstractly at will if and when to be a man or a woman. Abstraction is always a problem for me. This has nothing to do with the homosexual issue, though. If there is a homosexual couple, we can do pastoral work with them, move forward in our encounter with Christ. When I talk about ideology, I’m talking about the idea, the abstraction in which everything is possible, not about the concrete life of people and their real situation. 2
Pope Francis
1. Interview: Ruth Hunt, chief executive, Stonewall (churchtimes.co.uk)
2. “Freedom Scares Us”: Pope Francis’ conversation with Slovak Jesuits | La Civilta Cattolica
Stonewall and “trans children”
When I speak to other feminists, feminists I respect and admire, sometimes I'm surprised to hear them call transitioned girls weak. We are not weak. We were indoctrinated - an experience you will not understand unless you were saturated with it from the moment you attended school
Charlie Evans
In August 2021, the Scottish government issued guidance to Scottish schools on supporting “transgender pupils”. The contribution of Stonewall Scotland to the development of the guidance was acknowledged. 1
The title of the published document “Supporting Transgender Pupils In Schools - Guidance for Scottish Schools”, immediately applies the label “Transgender” to children struggling with gender dysphoria and indicates that the perspective of the document is focussed on “human rights” rather than on mental health.
The document ignores the concerns of some psychotherapists who work with gender questioning children and states:
Transgender young people may recognise and discuss their gender identity at any age. Before puberty, any transition or change is limited to socially changing their name, pronoun and gender expression. These aspects do not need medical or healthcare involvement.
The document suggests that social transitioning be enabled in a school setting...
Young people can simply choose to tell others informally that they want to use a different name. They don't have to change their name on their official school record.
... and parents have no right to be informed about their child’s social transition within school.
it is best to not share information with parents or carers without considering and respecting the young person’s views and rights.
The document recommends resources that can be used to educate. One of the recommended resources is Pop’n’Olly, a series of cartoon videos.
The videos have been created by Olly Pike, a young man whose qualification for teaching gender identity to children is a degree in drama. One of the Pop’n’Olly videos focusses on the Gender Unicorn in which Pike claims that “Gender identity” is what you know you truly are.
Gender identity is someone’s internal sense of being male, female, neither of these, both or another gender or genders.
Gender identity is what you know you truly are because you can just feel it. 3
Pop’n’Olly: The Gender Unicorn
Another recommended resource is the book ‘I am Jazz’ that can used by children in primary school.
The book relates the story of Jazz Jennings, a highly intelligent biological male who socially transitioned at a very young age, started puberty blockers at age 11 and had a penile inversion at the age of 18.
In the book Jazz explains:
"I have a girl brain but a boy body. This is called transgender. I was born this way!"
The teaching of this ideology in schools follows the practice in the United States. In her book “Irreversible Damage - The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters”, journalist Abigail Shrier, describes this teaching:
This is how gender identity is taught in schools: with the materials, curricula, speakers and teacher training supplied by gender activists. Kindergartners are introduced to the “Genderbread Person” and “Gender Unicorn”, Kindergarten teachers read from “I am Jazz” and the little ones are taught that they might have a “girl brain in a boy body” or vice versa.
Schools that administer this instruction never acknowledge that, as a scientific matter, it’s gibberish.Abigail Shrier: Irreversible Damage
Jazz Jennings is one of the poster children of gender identity ideology. Another is Kai Shappley, another highly intelligent biological male, and young actor, who in April 2021, at the age of 11, testified before Texas lawmakers against a proposal to ban “gender affirming care” for children. 4
Giving testimony, Shappley said:
“God made me, God loves me for who I am, and God does not make mistakes. Please, just listen to me, hear me, try to educate yourselves, try to understand everybody.”
Shappley is a Time magazine “Kid of the Year” finalist.
In an Emmy award winning documentary, Kimberley Shappley, Kai’s mother admitted:
“I remember even thinking — before Kai was three — that I think this kid might be gay! And I thought that, that could not happen. And that would not happen. We started praying for our family. Prayers turned into Googling conversion therapy and how can we implement these techniques at home to make Kai not be like this." 6
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle spoke of the three parts of the human mind, that we use to make sense of the world.
Although activists believe that gender identity is something that everyone is born with, isn’t it more likely that Kai rationalised his unhappiness by subscribing to the belief that he was born in the wrong body?
3.
4.
5.
Arcus Foundation
The gender identity phenomenon has achieved huge growth by creating a killer brand that can be accessed by consuming medical treatments; the target consumers of this product are teenagers who are forming their identities in an identity obsessed world. 1
Catherine Karena
In November 2006, the Yogyakarta Principles were signed off. In November 2007, a panel discussion on the Yogyakarta Principles was held at the UN headquarters in Geneva.
In the same year, Arcus Foundation, headed by billionaire philanthropist Jon Stryker, started massively funding organisations that promoted trans rights activism.
In 2008, Michael O'Flaherty was a keynote speaker at a conference in Bellagio, Italy organised by the Arcus Operating Foundation, where he stressed the potential of human rights-based advocacy.
In 2008 and 2009, Arcus Foundation awarded grants to ARC International totalling $398,000 to “advance the recognition of human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity at the international level through strategic planning, coalition and movement building, and advocacy”.
On the ARC International website, it is asserted:
These Principles are an invaluable tool for activists working on sexual orientation and gender identity issues and affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply. 2
ARC International: Yogyakarta Principles
The same assertion is made on the Arcus Foundation website:
In 2006, in response to well-documented patterns of abuse, a distinguished group of international human rights experts met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The result was the Yogyakarta Principles: a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply. 3
Arcus Foundation: The Yogyakarta Principles: A Universal Guide to Human Rights
The assertion is untrue.
The principles are not a UN document, and have not been ratified by any UN body, despite intensive lobbying by Arcus funded organisations.
GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) is an American organisation founded by gay man Kevin Jennings. GLSEN works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
GLSEN have received nearly 3 million dollars from Arcus Foundation since 2007. Kevin Jennings joined Arcus in 2012. GLSEN push gender identity ideology in schools. 4
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is an American organisation set up to "defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States".
Chase Strangio is a trans man and deputy director for transgender justice at American Civil Liberties Union.
In reference to Shrier’s book “Irreversible Damage”, Strangio has tweeted:
Stopping the circulation of this book and these ideas is 100% a hill I will die on. 5
He has also accused Shrier and JK Rowling of being closely aligned with white supremacists. 6
ACLU has received over $2 million from Arcus Foundation since 2007.
In March 2021, it was reported that 17 US states planned restricting “gender affirming care” to transgender youth. 7
In the same month, it was reported that Stryker and his partner had gifted $15 million dollars of their personal money to the ACLU. 8
In April 2021, it was reported that Arkansas passed a bill to ban “gender affirming” medical treatments for young people. It is the first State to do so. 9
Chase Strangio announced that the ACLU was preparing to challenge the bill in court.
Stryker is heir to a multi-billion-dollar health care corporation. 10
1.
2. https://arc-international.net/yogyakarta-principles/
3. https://www.arcusfoundation.org/publications/yogyakarta-principles-universal-guide-human-rights/
4. https://www.glsen.org/activity/gender-terminology
6.
The reality is that people like JK and Shrier and all the rest of them are closely aligned with white supremacists in power and their rhetoric in turn creates dangerous policy proposals and eventually laws. We have a lot of mobilizing to do.A Republican lawmaker in Georgia has filed legislation that would ban transgender girls from competing in single-gender sporting events if it doesn’t align with their gender identified at birth. #gapol https://t.co/jgrL7tSZOiGreg Bluestein @bluestein9. https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20210407/arkansas-bans-transgender-treatment-youths
10. https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/01/the-billionaires-behind-the-lgbt-movement
Ruth Hunt and Christianity
Becoming CEO of Stonewall changed the way I talked about my faith. Without sounding too grand, I almost had a kind of “here I am Lord” moment. 1
Ruth Hunt
In August 2019, Ruth Hunt stepped down as Stonewall CEO. In her 5 years in charge, Stonewall’s income had grown from £5.4m to £8.7m.
Under her leadership, Stonewall has come to align itself with the interests of both homophobic parents, embarrassed by the behaviour of their gender stereotype non-conforming children, and a gender identity industry that profits from the medicalisation of young bodies.
Hunt’s Christian faith is important to her but hers is not a Christianity that I recognise.
In the Gospel that I read; Christ rejects the desire to impose our will on others.
In the Gospel that I read; Christ rejects the belief that we are more virtuous than others.
In the Gospel that I read; Christ rejects the conviction that the sacrifice of ourselves for our faith makes us more worthy than others.
At the beginning of her time in charge at Stonewall, Hunt sowed the seeds of division. Society is reaping the harvest today.
The beauty of scripture is that it illuminates truths about human failings that resonate from generation to generation.
At the Good Friday service, when the Passion narrative is being read, I hope that Hunt reflects on the characters in the reading:
The High Priests who unjustly judge those who don’t hold the same beliefs.
The crowd who make demands without giving any thought to the implications of what they’re demanding.
Pilate who avoids the responsibility that is rightfully his.
Peter who, out of fear, reneges on a commitment that he has previously made.
And I hope that above all, Hunt reflects on the action of Judas, who betrayed people’s trust for 30 pieces of silver.
1. https://catholicwomenspeak.com/CWS-portfolio/jeannine-gramick-usa-and-ruth-hunt-uk/
Great piece, but ...
Error here:
"One poster read “3+ men killed by women each week”, another read “No men in women's prisons""
Should read:
3+ women killed by men each week