‘Well what sort of question is that? That’s bloody stupid if you ask me. I’ve two daughters and five grandchildren. I’ve got my bits and him indoors, he’s got his – that’s just nature.’ Those were the words of my octogenarian neighbour Joan who, reasonably enough, looked at me like I was a simpleton when I asked her what she thought ‘made a woman.’
What prompted my question to Joan was the upcoming arrival of a huge billboard emblazoned with the unremarkable words ‘Woman; wʊmən/(noun) adult human female.’ This message will be placed in Liverpool city centre by the campaign group Standing for Women ahead of the Labour Party conference. The debate that underlies it is the inclusion of transgender women on the Labour Party’s All-Women Shortlists and the party leadership’s support for government proposals that will make it easier to legally change your gender.
The woman behind the billboard is campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, who says the aim is to ‘make the politicians stop and think.’
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