The week of the NZ Midwifery petition, the Aussie court case Tickle v Giggle, and the UK Cass Review.

The second week in April 2024 was a big week in the fight against gender ideology.

First, here in New Zealand, a petition was presented to Parliament requesting an investigation into the Midwifery Council’s barely comprehensible, woke-speak laden, revised Scope of Practice. It was quite a coup to have a petition of this nature picked up by a couple of politicians, after years of most of them either being actively hostile to anyone who dared question gender ideology, or shaking in their shoes at the thought of even going near anyone who questioned it.

Second, in an Australian court case referred to as Tickle v Giggle, Sall Grover, founder of an app called Giggle – “designed to help girls and women connect to make it easy to find friends or flat mates, travel companions or to swap stories about pregnancy, fashion or makeup” – was taken to court by a man who calls himself Roxanne Tickle and says he’s a woman. Mr Tickle was denied access to the app because he’s a man. He strenuously denies he’s a man, even though he is one, because he’s had genital surgery and wears women’s clothing. The decision, when it’s made, as to whether or not women, men, and children will be forced to consider any man in Australia to be a woman simply if he says so, will be a landmark one with consequences that reach into every corner of that continent.

Third, the Cass Review from the UK about the use of puberty blockers was released. Dr Hilary Cass conducted the review over a period of four years, and did not come out on the side of their liberal use. There has been understandable criticism of some of the ‘trans’ terminology used in the review, but also some acknowledgement of the line that had to be walked with that. Ultimately, the review is unequivocal in its condemnation of how liberally puberty blockers were prescribed, and the sloppy systems and evidence which enabled that. The group Sex Matters UK has written a good summary here of Dr Hilary Cass’s findings. Irrespective of perceived flaws, the Cass Review may at last be the game-changer – i.e. the one after several ‘should have been’ game-changers - that really is a game-changer.

Even the mainstream media here in New Zealand have begun talking about the Cass Review! Until recently, they vilified anything and anyone deemed to be ‘anti-trans’. Their vituperation was toned down a little after the atrocious mob violence at the Let Women Speak rally in Auckland in March 2023, which they helped to whip up. However, they still gave a freezing cold shoulder to anyone judged to be critical of gender ideology.

It wasn’t just the mainstream media, though. There were politicians who were openly rude and hostile to ‘terfs’, and wouldn’t give us the time of day for years, either. So, imagine how surprised I was to hear the responses from Labour MP Megan Woods and National MP Matt Doocey, who were recent guests on Newstalk ZB, when host John MacDonald raised the subject of the Cass Review with them, and how that might impact us here in NZ. At various points in the first eight minutes of the podcast, both politicians said that we need a “robust; mature; calm and respectful” discussion about the matter of puberty blockers. A discussion is what we terfs have been requesting for years, and suddenly, out of the blue, it gets said like it’s a new and wise idea.

Here's an example of how those requests in the past for a discussion with MPs about the impacts of gender ideology getting inserted into laws and policies have gone. Hari – a part-Māori woman from Oamaru in the South Island – went to have a chat with her local National MP, Jacqui Dean (since retired), about the repercussions of the sex self-ID law, and verbally got abused and ejected from her office. A couple of years prior to that, Hari had had quite a courteous discussion with Ms Dean about the potential repercussions of the upcoming sex self-ID bill, of which Ms Dean mostly professed ignorance. The bill duly got passed into law, and prior to the general election in October 2023, Hari and a friend returned to talk some more about it with Ms Dean. Hari asked what her rights would be if she was in a women’s changing room and man claiming to be a woman came in and proceed to get naked. Ms Dean replied, “they won’t do that”. Hari told her there was already evidence from overseas that they were. Whereupon Ms Dean proceed to get very angry, and, as close to verbatim as Hari can remember, berated her with, “I don’t know what your rights are, and it’s not my job to know. I don’t like the tone of your comments. You’re being bigoted.” She then stood up from behind her desk, pointed at the door, and said, “Get out of my office now.”  Not everyone who has been to see their MP or local councillor about concerns relating to gender ideology getting inserted into law and policies will have had as dramatic an ousting from their office, but many have had it made quite clear that a discussion will not be held about it.

Both the above-mentioned MPs, but more particularly Megan Woods, quoted some of the unsubstantiated objections about the Cass Review made by TQ+ lobby groups PATHA and InsideOUT on the Newstalk ZB podcast. When a woman, who prefers to remain unnamed, went through these groups’ numerous objections, she found that none of them held water. Each objection was demonstrably unfounded. The complete rebuttal of PATHA’s and InsideOUT’s objections to the Cass Review can be read here.

So, yes to all the Members of Parliament, all the town and city councillors, and all the public servants, let’s have that discussion. And this time, maybe dare to take it where angels fear to tread – i.e. outside your echo chambers. We’ll be waiting.

• Here is another review of the Cass Review by BMJ (British Medical Journal)

The Cass review: an opportunity to unite behind evidence informed care in gender medicine | The BMJ