Who counts as a woman? This question lies at the heart of many public debates about sex and gender today. While we increasingly recognise the desire of some to eliminate the sex binary in law, a particular boiling point emerges through conflicting demands over women’s spaces. Which should govern access to these - sex or gender identity?
Karen Ingala Smith, a veteran campaigner for women’s and girls’ rights, opts for the former. In this trenchant critique of inclusivity politics, she argues that we cannot ignore the wealth of evidence which shows that people of the female sex have a unique set of needs which are often not met by mixed-sex spaces. Drawing on her 30 years of experience in researching and recording men’s violence against women and girls, she outlines how certain spaces, including refuges, benefit from remaining single sex - and what they stand to lose. Written with sensitivity and respect for all concerned, this book nevertheless dismantles the idea that we have reached a post-sex utopia.
Table of Contents
DedicationAcknowledgements
1. What’s the Problem?
Notes
2. Sex Inequality
Notes
3. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Notes
4. What Difference Does it Make?
Risk assessment - women’s refuges
Risk assessments - community-based services
Trauma - and trauma-informed environments
Gaslighting - re-learning to trust our own judgement
Why is this important when we’re talking about women’s refuges?
Asking women what they want
Sarah’s story
Notes
5. Looking Beyond
Prisons
Women’s safe accommodation
Toilets
Hospital wards and healthcare
Women’s bodies - only women bleed
Feminist conferences and meetings
Women’s prizes
Women’s sports
Girl Guides
Sexual objectification and the performance of femininity
Lesbians and same-sex attraction
What about the men?
Notes
6. Sisters are Doing it for Themselves
The Fawcett Society
Edinburgh Rape Crisis
nia - standing alone and standing up for women
Grassroots support
Women speaking out for women
Notes
7. ‘Trans Rights Are Human Rights’
The Gender Recognition Act and reform
Transgender lobby groups and the single-sex exceptions
Influencing government: through the backdoor silently
Research
Suicide research
Homicide statistics
Crime data
Notes
8. Despatches from ‘Terf Island’
Notes
About nia
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