Gussie Grips rips Scottish Parliament a new a-hole.

What a Christmas present we got from Scotland this year! While we are enjoying the warmth of summer here in New Zealand, Elaine Miller – aka Gussie Grips – heated up Scotland’s winter with a searing flash of merkin at the Scottish Parliament, and set social media aflame.

The Scottish Parliament voted in favour of passing reforms to the Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) on 21 Dec 2022, whereby it became easier for someone to be legally recognised as the opposite sex to that which they were born. A GRC is a legal document that changes the gender listed on a person’s birth, marriage and civil partnership certificates, with effects on their pension, prison, and marriage rights. The word ‘gender’ is confusing, because although the GRC changes a person’s listed gender, it appears to confer rights according to their self-declared sex.

The Scottish Government insists that a GRC won’t impact the UK’s Equality Act, which allows transpeople to be excluded from single-sex spaces such as changing rooms and shelters. Naturally, there are many, many women and men who are calling “bullshit” on this last bit, which is intended as a sop to those protesting the GRC reforms, even if what’s in the Equality Act is technically correct. Apart from JK Rowling’s recently-funded Beira’s Place , single-sex spaces and shelters for women all over the UK have opened their doors to men who say they’re women. What may be technically correct is rampantly ignored. It’s common knowledge that any policies should be made with the inevitability of bad actors in mind who will try and abuse them, but the Scottish Parliament just made it easier for bad actors to abuse sex self-ID. They don’t think there will be any, or at least enough of them to worry about. Ditto from our Government here in NZ in December 2021.

Elaine Miller, who works with women who need single-sex spaces for privacy and dignity, not to mention that boring ol’ thing we bang on about, safety, for the freedom and life it gives us, knows a thing or two about these needs. So she ripped the Scottish Parliament a new arsehole when they passed the bill for reforms to the GRC. From the public gallery in Parliament, she angrily made it quite clear that one indecent act deserved another, and threw her skirt up in the manner of anasyrma at them. She was on fire - I felt the heat from over 18,000 kilometres away. It was 23 seconds of brilliance.

[Indecent] Elaine Miller flashes Scottish Parliament - Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill - YouTube

Anasryma is an ancient act of Greek origin by women. It is deemed to have a few purposes, one of which is a political statement in the form of showing defiance and disrespect to an adversary, and another to show female power. It is seldom used as a sexual display. Elaine made a merkin (an artificial pubic hair wig) from fake fur for her gesture of scorn and anger at the Scottish Parliament, which she knew was hellbent on passing reforms to the GRC. She was ready for them.

Social media exploded. Many, like myself, thought Elaine’s act was effing brilliant, and damn the consequences. Others thought it was totally wrong and inappropriate. Which I thought highly amusing, as that was kind of the point of it. Sometimes doing the ‘wrong’ thing is absolutely the right thing. Will there be consequences for Elaine over this? Possibly – but I’m sure she didn’t go into it blindly.

There were howls of outrage about what a wicked woman Elaine was, because there were children present in the public gallery. However, the only ‘children’ who got a direct eyeful were the MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament). That didn’t stop the usual social media assortment of wild hyperbolic accusations from being thrown about, though. I’m going to take a punt that many of these were from the same people who think that drag queens - i.e. sexualised parodies of women for adult entertainment - are appropriate entertainment for children.

I know that there are those who think that Elaine’s actions may hamper further negotiations with the Scottish Parliament about sex self-ID. It’s true that MPs do hold us ‘bigots’ to ransom over the smallest transgressions, but Jaysus, don’t you just sometimes get fed up with being a good girl? Strangely, transpeople get cut way more slack over bad behaviour. Then you realise that the transpeople behaving badly most of the time are the men who say they’re women, so of course they get cut more slack.

I’m backing Elaine, because playing by the rules is not always the best game plan. Others will disagree with me, and that’s cool. No battle is ever won with just one plan. But never think that playing by the rules all the time will always get you respect or a seat at the table.

·       Elaine Miller talks the next day about her protest “Get it right up yas” - YouTube

·       I found this editorial from the Taipei Times to be a good summary of the issues- Scotland’s controversial proposed gender reforms - Taipei Times

·       This is also very good, but it is paywalled - Scotland’s gender bill should worry Labour | Comment | The Times