I did a bit of totting up, and - as of two hours ago, anyway - we've raised around £1700 for the comprehensive poll on gender issues and GRA reform. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. To feel really confident about going ahead, probably £5500 would be the ideal figure - that's based on prices I've been quoted in the past and takes into account fundraiser fees (GoFundMe no longer make a direct deduction, but their payment processer does still take a modest percentage). However, if we fall anywhere between around £1000-£2000 short of that, I may still be able to make the poll happen if I shop around between firms and limit the number of questions. Either way, though, we still have some distance to travel. For the time being I'm still using the Scot Goes Pop general fundraiser for 2021 to raise the money - that makes it harder for people to tell how much is required, so to give you a rough idea, an earmarked £5500 for the poll will have been reached when the running total on the fundraiser stands at a little over £13,000. But, as stated above, I may be able to go ahead with less than that.
I'm bemused by the suggestions in some quarters that an exercise in testing public opinion is in itself "transphobic". I'd suggest that reveals rather a lot about the ideology of the people who say these things, because it appears to be incompatible with free speech or tolerance of alternative views. That, really, is my own concern in a nutshell. I'm a bloke, I'm not steeped in gender critical feminism by any means, but nevertheless I do worry that we're hurtling into an Orwellian world where language and thought is policed by the state. (And if anyone thinks that's a hysterical exaggeration, two words for you: Marion Millar.)
As for the other objection - "what does this have to do with independence?", the obvious reply is that not everything we do has to be about independence, as the SNP government have been helpfully demonstrating in the four years since they "called an independence referendum" in 2017. However, the reality is that GRA reform has become a considerable problem for the independence movement - it's led to a breakaway from the SNP once, it has the potential to do so again. If high-quality polling evidence can increase the pressure on the SNP leadership to dial down somewhat on the GRA issue, it would be a good step towards re-unifying the movement.
Although the fundraising drive still has a way to go, feel free to make suggestions for poll questions in the comments section below - we might as well be ready for when the funds are there. And if you'd like to donate to make the poll happen, please click HERE.
My question:
ReplyDeleteIs a 'fully intact' man (without a GRC), who wears a dress 2 days per week, entitled to call himself a 'woman?
That could be an excellent question. Something like "should this person be entitled to call themselves a woman?" followed by a list of descriptions e.g. post-op transwoman with/without GRC, pre-op with no GRC on/off hormones, no surgery or hormones, no intention to get surgery or hormones, only presents as female part-time, convicted sex offender. I think it could be pretty useful to get a better picture of what most people actually find reasonable.
DeleteI've often said that women turn into men when they get convicted of a sex offence
DeleteWhat about Hinge and Bracket? Or Stanley Baxter, Dick Emery or Kenny Everett's characters like Cupid Stunt. I like them all so I don't want snippy rural post-mistresses gossiping about them if they want to go to a paddling pool, like in Lochearnhead. I think that makes my point.
ReplyDeleteThat manky public toilet in Lochearnhead is a national disgrace. Needed it many a time en route to the mountains, and it just keeps getting worse. The putative local busybodies have no excuse! Priorities!
Delete(Can’t say I know what the women’s half is like, but they share a roof so it won’t be pleasant either…)
I'll donate again James to help you reach that target
ReplyDelete"what does this have to do with independence?" - I think it has some resonance with a number of people. It was, probably, a significant factor in the self-immolation of Wings Over Scotland.
ReplyDelete"If the GRA is implemented as it stands, will it make you more or less likely to vote SNP in the future?"
ReplyDelete