Many [press reports say “thousands” of] cisgender women have signed an open letter to women and equalities minister Liz Truss expressing their concern at her apparent plans for the gender recognition act.
Trans equality was not widely seen as an issue until the Transgender Equality Inquiry of 2015 triggered a concerted campaign in the media to depict trans rights as a new threat to cisgender women like ourselves.
We reject this assessment. As cisgender women, we are angry that these groups claim to speak for us, and try to justify their bigotry against a vulnerable minority in our name. It is disturbing to hear an equalities minister repeat their talking points almost word for word while outlining plans to reform trans rights.
The fact that you chose to make this a priority during the biggest crisis the world has faced in decades is even more disturbing.
I don’t know how effective such letters are; we’ve seen the current government press on with all kinds of terrible measures in the face of facts, best practice and common sense. But it can’t do any harm.