A very good analysis that should be read by those arguing pro or against the dismissal of Mario Mallia or pro or against homosexual rights.
While Fr. Joe Borg published today an article in favour of the Church changing its teaching on homosexuality, the Daily Telegraph published an article telling us that Stonewall is rapidly declining. This English charity organization that rose to glory “promoting equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans” individuals has ended up taking a downturn after it moved on to aggressively sustain that “transwomen are women” and advocating the right to change the sex of two-year-olds if the parents and experts think that the infant is expressing signs of gender dystopia! And what about the rights of the child to decide in due course? This rights issue started out with good intentions but, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Meanwhile, because of its change in approach to its original set up, Stonewall has lost some of its generous sponsors including the BBC.
The article in the Daily Telegraph appears at a time when Malta is discussing the dismissal of Mario Mallia. His dismissal has brought to the fore educational issues, including some about transgender policies that were being adopted at St. Albert the Great College, where Mallia was headmaster.
Miriam Cates has given us a brilliant and balanced article on a highly delicate issue that has not only got out of hand but is denying us our rights too.
“Not too long ago Stonewall was riding high. This household-name charity enjoyed widespread public approval following its leadership of a hugely successful civil rights movement, culminating in the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2014. Stonewall’s well-deserved reputation opened the door to consultancy contracts with multinational organisations, government departments and even schools. The charity’s financial position was looking pretty healthy too, with an income of £11.5m in 2021.
But over the last year, the Stonewall star has begun to fade. Government departments and even the BBC have pulled out of contracts. The intolerant orthodoxy and oppressive practices of the trans activism espoused by Stonewall – an activism that aggressively preaches ‘transwomen are women’ – have increasingly been questioned by high-profile feminists, politicians and journalists.
On Monday, the charity caused outrage after it issued a tweet that suggested children as young as two could be transgender. And this week, an employment tribunal decided in favour of barrister Allison Bailey, whose chambers were found to have victimised her by upholding a Stonewall complaint against her for expressing gender critical beliefs.
Stonewall’s decline now appears to be rapid and terminal.
But how did Stonewall’s metamorphosis from reputable civil rights campaigner to state-funded extremist organisation go unnoticed and unchallenged for so long?
No doubt much will be written on this subject, but the short answer is that Stonewall’s reputational capital allowed them to shift their focus from gay rights to aggressive trans activism without dissent. Public bodies and private companies alike trusted Stonewall because of their excellent track record, and so swallowed their advice whole. At the heart of the extraordinary influence of Stonewall is a misinterpretation of the Equality Act 2010 that has led organisations mistakenly to believe that ‘gender identity’ is a protected characteristic. In other words, if a man says he is a woman, then he must legally be treated in all respects as if he is a woman.
This is fundamentally incorrect. There is no such thing as gender identity in law. A man does not legally become a woman because he wants to be one, any more than I can legally become a French citizen just because I’d quite like to live in St Tropez. It is legally permissible to discriminate against biological males in areas such as women’s changing rooms, hospital wards and sports regardless of gender identity, however deeply that identity is felt.
But Stonewall has been so successful in embedding this misinterpretation of the law that organisations continue to adhere to it, despite the enormous damage being done to women and girls.
Most people in Britain know that there are important biological differences between men and women, that you can’t change sex and that women and girls need single-sex spaces and services for dignity, privacy and safety. These are common sense, consensus views, based on material reality and an understanding of biological facts. And yet ignorance of the law, fears of a media backlash and a reluctance to appear bigoted prevent individuals and organisations from defending basic truths.
Yesterday’s announcement that the Tavistock Gender clinic is to close is further proof that the trans ideology bubble is bursting and we should be glad of it. But the extremism promoted by Stonewall is still alive and well in our schools, our universities and the NHS as well as thousands of private sector organisations. For every emperor running around in his gender-neutral new clothes, we will need a courageous villager to expose the nakedness. Perhaps the decline of Stonewall will inspire a few more brave voices.“