Janet Murray
@jan_murray • 41,438 subscribers
Freelance journalist | Writing on women, culture & public policy | Director @JournalismSEEN | Promoting accurate, impartial reporting on sex & gender
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I've been sitting on the evidence for this Girlguiding story since March. Even then, it took months to persuade a mainstream publication to cover this aspect of the investigation. For an independent journalist, pursuing a story like this without the backing of a national newspaper's legal team carries obvious risks. But I persisted because I believe there is a strong public interest in asking whether organisations entrusted with the care of girls are putting safeguarding first. This investigation involved months of conversations, verification and painstaking work. Unsurprisingly, some people have suggested that concerns about these issues are exaggerated. That is why I'm sharing some of the publicly available material I found online. To be absolutely clear, there is no suggestion that this individual has done anything wrong. Indeed one could argue he has also been failed by a system that affirmed and accepted him as a Girlguiding leader and later appointed him to a 16-person advisory committee - apparently without sufficient scrutiny of his suitability for the role. The greater failure, however, was towards the girls and women who should never have been expected to accept males in a single-sex organisation. I hope this story helps explain why many women believe this debate has never simply been about being "kind". It is about safeguarding, boundaries and whose interests are prioritised. I'm grateful to everyone who helped bring this story to light, including women who spoke to me privately and helped with research. And Graham Linehan who reminded me how important it was to tell this story. And I do think we should ask why it was so difficult to secure national coverage of a story that many people would regard as being firmly in the public interest.
Janet Murray1,053,707 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
Listen to this gay man explain why gender identity ideology can undermine the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight people. He argues that nobody should be pressured to include people in their dating pool if they don't align with their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be labelled homophobic, biphobic, transphobic - or anything else - simply for stating their sexual boundaries. He also explains how the steady expansion of gender identity categories can gradually erode social and safeguarding boundaries, shifting what people feel able to question or challenge. It wasn't so long ago that saying "trans women are women" or "women can have penises" would have been regarded as extraordinary. Today, those ideas are repeated by governments, public bodies and influential institutions. That's why language matters. It doesn't just describe reality. Over time, it shapes what society comes to accept. Which can, ultimately, be dangerous.
Janet Murray277,180 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Gotta love “inclusive” comedy. Everyone laughs - even when you’re not funny.
Janet Murray197,775 Aufrufe • vor 29 Tagen
This gentleman says he will continue to use women’s single-sex spaces in public settings. Despite knowing it is lawful and legitimate for service providers to exclude him. Why? Because he believes he is entitled to be there. And because he thinks minimum-wage staff will eventually get tired of challenging men like him and simply look the other way. Women know this pattern. Some men don’t accept “no”. They keep pushing boundaries, believing that if they persist for long enough, women will eventually give in. They know how difficult it can be for women to be taken seriously. They know how uncomfortable it is to keep objecting. And they rely on eventually wearing women down. Women warned this would happen. If men were told that calling themselves women gave them access to female spaces, some would push those boundaries as far as they could. This video - and I’ve seen many like it - shows some are still trying to wear women down. Even after the law clarified that service providers can lawfully exclude men from women’s single-sex spaces, they are openly saying they’ll ignore those boundaries. But respecting women’s boundaries shouldn’t be optional.
Janet Murray272,621 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
“If men can run in the women’s category, it’s a mixed-sex category.” Former Olympian Mara Yamauchi spells out the problem with parkrun’s current policy in this interview with Dawn Neesom on GB News Nobody is calling for trans people to be banned from parkrun. They are simply asking for one of its four categories to be reserved for women and girls, she says. Because when males are allowed to register as female, women lose placings and records - and the message is clear: men’s feelings matter more than women’s achievements.
Janet Murray15,740 Aufrufe • vor 5 Tagen
A heterosexual young woman is asked why she wouldn’t date a trans man. Her reaction is painful to watch. Because what you’re really watching is someone trying to navigate the pressure - particularly on younger people - to deny biological reality, while also trying desperately not to offend anyone. And this is ‘inclusion’. Apparently.
Janet Murray321,811 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten
This woman - who was in the audience at the BAFTAs on Sunday evening - takes a fair and compassionate stance on the guest with Tourette's shouting a racial slur at two black actors. She provides important context: the audience had been briefed about John Davidson’s Tourette’s and his vocal tics had already been evident earlier in the evening. She also articulates something we don’t hear often enough. Words can cause discomfort. They can hurt. And they can do so for many reasons. But that alone does not make someone “wrong” or prove ill intent. Nor does it justify destroying someone’s reputation. Sometimes we have to hold two truths at once - that harm can be felt and that intent and context still matter. And sometimes we have to set aside our own feelings and consider the needs and vulnerabilities of others. A principle worth remembering in many areas of public life.
Janet Murray340,647 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten
Former Green councillor Matthew Poulton speaking at the recent protests against Girlguiding’s ‘no boys’ policy. This is two minutes of a four minute speech. His microphone is held by what appears to be a guide leader - in uniform. Any parent watching this spectacle would surely think twice about enrolling a little girl or young woman in Girlguiding. Meanwhile the organisation allows this to continue.
Janet Murray239,537 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
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So Katie Hopkins got booted out of a pub during an England match. A crowd of men were chanting “out, out, out” - like something from a medieval town square. I don’t know all the details and perhaps more information will emerge. But if she was simply minding her own business and watching the football, did she deserve to be thrown out because the landlord disagrees with her views? People often talk about bullying and intolerance. So who’s the bully here?
Janet Murray130,754 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
I’ve always liked Dr Amir Khan. I follow him on TikTok - he seems warm, kind, and clearly adores his mum (“Mama Khan”) - which is usually the sign of a decent guy. But his recent debate with Piers Morgan on ITV's Lorraine show left me cold - and genuinely concerned from a safeguarding perspective. Because Khan - a practising GP: - Says he “identifies” as male (rather than simply is male) - Dodges the question about whether trans women (i.e. biological males) should use women’s toilets - Claims men - not trans women - are the problem when it comes to male violence towards women (seemingly unaware that trans women *are* male) Women cannot know which males pose a risk. So the rule has to be simple: all males stay out of women’s spaces. Women know this. Piers Morgan knows this. Yet Khan - a highly trained medically trained professional - seems unable to grasp this basic common sense. Many women prefer female doctors - particularly for 'women's' issues - but sometimes that just isn’t possible. Which means trust matters even more. But how can women trust a male doctor who can’t clearly say what a woman is - and who appears to think women’s sex-based rights and spaces are less important than men's feelings. Honestly? I’d much rather see a male GP who wasn’t half as “nice” as Khan - but at least knew what a woman was.
Janet Murray417,758 Aufrufe • vor 9 Monaten
Watch this smug political commentator get put in his place by GB News presenter Michelle Dewberry Who asked Samuel Sweek FOUR times whether it’s reasonable to expect women to get undressed “in front of a male”. Sweek visibly squirmed - unable to provide an answer - until finally telling Dewberry they would have to 'agree to disagree'. I mean what kind of numpty has to 'agree to disagree' on biological sex? 🫣
Janet Murray181,285 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
‘They just want the dignity of being confirmed in their sex … or their ‘adopted sex’, if you like.’ I wonder if this is the kind of person the BBC’s Nick Robinson had in mind when he made this comment during a recent BBC Radio 4 interview about the EHRC’s guidance on single-sex spaces. And I wonder whether he realises that, if people were entitled to have their ‘adopted sex’ recognised under equality law, women would be unable to exclude men like this from their changing rooms, toilets and even domestic violence refuges. I also wonder whether he would want that for his wife or daughter. Or feel it was ‘dignified.’
Janet Murray139,440 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten
From Sadiq Khan’s TikTok account this afternoon. Given that many women now regard the Progress Pride flag as representing an ideology that undermines women’s rights, I find this footage quite unsettling. Did anyone even question whether publishing footage of central London lined with row upon row of political flags might convey a message beyond simply “celebration”? Or is City Hall so ideologically captured that nobody even notices how this looks?
Janet Murray91,832 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
🚨 **CALLING ALL FEMALE NHS WORKERS** 🚨 If you’re a member of UNISON - UK's largest union , you might want to know what your union is campaigning for. In this video, UNISON’s general secretary Andrea Egan says the union wants the law changed so it is easier for men who identify as women to be legally recognised as women. This isn't about pronouns or paperwork. It is about whether women can expect spaces such as toilets, showers and changing rooms to remain for women only. We have already seen what happens when employers get this wrong. The Darlington Nurses had to take their NHS Trust to court after a male colleague who identified as a woman was allowed to use their changing room. Nurse Sandie Peggie was suspended and investigated after objecting to sharing a female changing room with a male doctor who identified as a woman. Both succeeded in significant parts of their legal cases - but legal action should never have been necessary. These were women simply asking to get changed at work without a man present. Egan also appears confused about the law. The new EHRC guidance covers services and public functions. Workplace toilets, showers and changing rooms are governed separately by the 1992 Workplace Regulations. Perhaps she is simply making a political point. But the absence of any acknowledgement of female workers’ rights to privacy and dignity is extraordinary for the leader of a union whose membership is overwhelmingly female. So if you’re a female healthcare worker paying UNISON membership fees, it’s worth knowing that your money may be helping fund campaigns that aim to weaken the rights of women and girls. If that doesn’t sit well with you, perhaps it’s time to ask whether UNISON is still the right union for you.
Janet Murray25,125 Aufrufe • vor 15 Tagen
A Muslim mother speaking about a book that Ladybird is promoting during Pride Month. The book is aimed at children as young as two years old and features two women - who appear to be a couple - with a baby, one of whom is wearing a hijab. Her comments echo what many parents - of any faith or none - would likely agree with: that some topics are simply too adult for very young children. She also states, quite openly, that while Muslims can of course live peacefully in a society where LGBTQ values are present, those values are not compatible with her faith. So many questions. But the one uppermost in my mind is this: will anyone dare to call this woman bigoted or transphobic? For being honest about what she believes is appropriate for young children. And for being honest about her faith. Or are such accusations reserved for other groups of people who express similar views? I’d also be very interested to hear what Zack Polanski has to say on this 🤔
Janet Murray118,830 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
When I was a child, if I’d asked my mum why Regan here said he was a woman when he was clearly a man, she’d probably have said he was confused or unwell. But she’d also have told me to be kind - and not to snigger about him with my friends. What she would not have done - under any circumstances - is tell me he was a woman. Because she understood something that now seems to have been forgotten: good safeguarding starts with giving children clear boundaries and an accurate understanding of the world around them. Telling a child that a physically male adult with a deep voice is literally a woman isn’t kindness. It’s confusing. And confusion does not help children develop healthy boundaries. Regan says he works with schoolchildren and is being celebrated by his employer for his involvement with Pride - which he describes as both a “protest” and a celebration. I also wonder whether Southern has considered the position of colleagues who hold different, but equally lawful beliefs about sex and gender. Should a public-facing employer be publicly endorsing one side of such a contested debate on its public Instagram account? Respecting people is one thing. But ‘kindness’ should never require us to deny reality or abandon common sense.
Janet Murray46,741 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat