John Gower

Independent energy economist. Politics, the arts, hill walking, Arsenal.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@UnoHimYerMan @bjacollins There seems to be no acceptance on the nationalist side that there are two ethnicities in NI. Real reconciliation won't be feasible until that changes. A tokenistic approach will not cut it.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @Suspiria451 @ZacGoldsmith I'm leaving this topic. Almost all the responses have been assertions that female identification is not legitimate for those who were born male. I acknowledge that you do have points on the different topic of intermediate physical status, but I don't have time to pursue them.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @Suspiria451 @ZacGoldsmith I'm not going to investigate the medical condition of a woman I don't even know. All I will say is that I think the way she has been treated is shameful. The same goes for Caster Semenya, the talented South African athlete.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@Suspiria451 @FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith The usual ones, I believe. The point is that she was born a girl, registered as female, lived as and identified as a female. She happens to have a higher level of testosterone than normal, but that doesn't make her a man. And levels of testosterone vary markedly between women.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith I'm sure there are genuine concerns, and they should be addressed in a practical not ideological way. I think the concerns are wildly over-stated, though. For instance I can only think of 1 case of a (claimed) trans rapist being sent to a womens prison.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@bernese02 @ZacGoldsmith Well, we get trans men in male spaces and shrug. But I recognise that women have some genuine concerns (though often overstated) and those should be addressed in a practical not an ideological way.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith Women have had separate spaces for decades, indeed centuries. A big part of the 20th century womens liberation struggle was about breaking out of segregation, in education, sport, etc.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@DianeTreeLover @CordyHaig @ZacGoldsmith You are getting towards a reasonable point of view. But no-one is asking anyone to "bow down to a lie".

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith I certainly think JKR was nasty about Khelif. People are entitled to express their views about trans issues generally (but they never seem to go beyond strident assertions) but shouldn't pick on blameless victims like Khelif.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith Khalif was born with female organs, was treated as a female and identified as such. Yes, she had higher than normal levels of testosterone, but even within the normal range some women have much higher levels than others. Khalif is a woman.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@fairnotkind @ZacGoldsmith It isn't about me, Esme; I'm not personally affected. The issue is whether as a society we have the decency to respect the identity of others.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@bernese02 @ZacGoldsmith People's identity shouod be respected. Where there are practical issues, they should be addressed. But my observation is that most women are not transphobic and are not impacted at all in practice by the needs of trans women.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@VaughnHebron @FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith Other things to do. I don't run a 24 hour response service!

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith Transphobes always say that gender is defined by the organs people are born with. The boxer Imane Khelif was born with female organs, and was registered as and identified as female, but JKR said she was a man getting pleasure from hitting a woman. Sheer nastiness.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@fairnotkind @ZacGoldsmith I think you know, really, Esme.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@lebenderanderen @maxtempers There's no doubt that many are scared of being thought non-PC but the point remains: we need migrant workers; Europeans came mostly as single people or young couples; Brexit means they are being replaced by people from part of the world where dependents can be expected.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@FieldRikfield @ZacGoldsmith I have lost the respect I once had for JK Rowling; much of what she has said on the issue has been really bad (including her nasty comments on that Algerian woman boxer). I don't like the hate that is spewed out on social media, though.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@RachelWilde13 @CordyHaig @ZacGoldsmith What is a fact is that some who are born with male organs identify as female, and vice versa. The question is whether you are going to respect them or direct hate at them. I know what the decent option is.

[John Gower @JohnGower1]

@waynebriqu37421 @maxtempers It was indeed inevitable. Britain needs migrant workers. If Europeans are discouraged, migrants will come from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and they will have many more dependents than Europeans.