AFAB/AMAB – Assigned female at birth/assigned male at birth. This is used by proponents of GI to imply that medical professionals allocate a sex to a baby at birth rather than being able to observe an infant’s sex. This expression is appropriated from people with DSDs whose sex is sometimes not immediately apparent at birth. It also uses sex to refer to gender identity which GI proponents argue cannot be ascertained until the person makes their gender identity known to others.  

Affirmation model – The affirmation model of ‘transgender’ care is where any child expressing confusion about their gender is encouraged to pursue a new identity, and put on a path to medical intervention. Transgender Trend (https://www.transgendertrend.com/)  describes it thus: “The ‘gender affirmative model,’ or ‘affirmation,’ is an experimental approach towards children and young people with gender dysphoria.  It is not a model which has been informed and developed through clinical research and evidence but one which has been promoted by transgender lobby groups and activists. The established global model of care for children with gender dysphoria is a ‘watch and wait’ approach which may include two other models which are sometimes distinguished separately: ‘developmental’ and ‘exploratary’. None of these models steers a child towards any pre-determined outcome, but all recognise developmental change as an intrinsic part of childhood and adolescence.” https://www.transgendertrend.com/gender-affirmative-affirmation-approach/ 

AGP/Autogynephile – A man with autogynephilia.  

Autogynephilia – A paraphilia whereby a man, usually heterosexual, is sexually aroused by the thought of himself as a woman.

Bottom surgery – Cosmetic surgery to alter the male genitals to look like female genitals and vice versa. 

CAFCASS – Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (UK).

CAMHS – Child and adolescent mental health services. 

Captured – Fully compliant with gender identity ideology. 

Children and young people – The age when a person is considered an adult and regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible varies across the globe. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ‘a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.’

cis – Proponents of GI use the prefix ‘cis’ to refer to a person whose ‘gender identity’ corresponds to their sex. ‘Cisgender’ is deemed to be the opposite of ‘transgender’. The idea that everyone has a ‘gender identity’, or a self that aligns with sex role stereotypes, is contested.    

CJS – Criminal Justice System (UK).

Cotton ceiling – A term used to refer to the barrier heterosexual men who claim to be women face when trying to have sexual relations with lesbians. It refers metaphorically to the underwear of lesbians. 

CQC – Care Quality Commission (UK).

CSA – Child sexual abuse.

DA – Domestic abuse.

DEI – Diversity, equity, inclusion. 

Dentons – a legal firm that has advised gender ideology lobbyists on how to progress embedding GI into societies.

De-transitioner – someone who has taken steps towards appearing physically and presenting themselves socially as the opposite sex but ceases to do so and presents once again as their true sex. A de-transitioner may have had varying levels of medical interventions.  

DSD – Disorder of sexual development (sometimes, inaccurately, called intersex).

DSM – Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – published by the American Psychiatric Association – a widely used manual of classifications of mental disorders. 

EA 2010 – The UK Equality Act 2010, applies to England, Scotland and Wales but not to Northern Ireland. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of certain protected characteristics. 

EDI – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Equal Treatment Bench Book (UK) – Guidance for how courts should treat individuals appearing in court including how ‘trans’ people should be treated. “The Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB) aims to increase awareness and understanding of the different circumstances of people appearing in courts and tribunals. It helps enable effective communication and suggests steps which should increase participation by all parties.” (See https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/diversity/equal-treatment-bench-book/) 

ERCC – Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre.

Femininity/masculinity – sex role stereotypes attributed to women/sex role stereotypes attributed to men. 

Forced teaming – “Forced teaming is a term employed by those who work on abuse, grooming and predation. It was originally coined by Gavin De Becker in his work The Gift of Fear … The predator will create the idea that there is a shared goal, or an attitude of we are all in this together, we are allies, in order to disarm, gain trust and manipulate his target.”   (by Dr Em, see https://uncommongroundmedia.com/forced-teaming-feminism-lgb-and-trans-rights/) 

Gender – Gender refers to “the roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society at a given time considers appropriate for men and women… These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes.’’ (Gender Equality Glossary, UN Women).

Gender dysphoria/GD – Gender dysphoria is a term used to refer to unease that a person may have because of what they perceive as a mismatch between their sex and their ‘gender identity’.  see Mental Health, Mental Distress and Gender Dysphoria

Gender Identity – Gender identity is understood by gender identity ideology advocates to mean a person’s sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the gender associated with the person’s sex. There is no objective evidence that anyone has a gender identity. 

Gender Identity Ideology (GII)/ Gender Ideology (GI) – The belief that everyone has a gender identity and this identity is the correct way to categorise men and women, that sex is a social construct, is not dimorphic and cannot be used to categorise men and women. The ideology seeks to replace sex with gender identity throughout our institutions and culture as the way to categorise men and women.    

Girldick or ladydick – A term used by GI advocates for the penis of a man who claims to be a woman. 

GNC – Gender non-conforming. 

GRC/GRA – Gender recognition certificate (UK)/Gender Recognition Act (UK) 2004.

HSTS – Homosexual transexual.  

ICD – International Classification of Diseases (published by World Health Organisation).

IPSO – Independent Press Standards Organisation (UK).

IPV – Intimate partner violence.

MAP – Minor attracted person, a rebranding of paedophilia. 

Memorandum of understanding – a document of agreement between two or more parties on any specific issue.

Mental health – see Mental Health, Mental Distress and Gender Dysphoria

Moral injury – “Moral injury is understood to be the strong cognitive and emotional response that can occur following events that violate a person’s moral or ethical code…” see https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00113-9/fulltext

MtF/FtM – Male to female/Female to male ‘transgendered’.

MVAWG – Male violence against women and girls.

NB – Nonbinary, people who do not consider themselves to have a solely masculine or feminine gender identity. 

OFCOM – Office of Communications (UK).

PCOS – Polycystic Overy Syndrome.

Peak Trans – When someone who has been accepting of, or indifferent to/unaware of, the transgender narrative reaches a point where they see flaws in the ideology and cannot accept it.

PHSE – Personal, social, health and economic education (including relationship or relationship and sex education). 

PIE – Paedophile Information Exchange.

ROGD – Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.

SAHM – Stay at home mum.

Second wave feminism/radical feminism – feminism of 70s and 80s that, among many other things, identified gender as the vehicle used to oppress women. 

Sex – Defined by the United Nations as “the physical and biological characteristics that distinguish males from females.’’ (Gender Equality Glossary, UN Women)

Shinigami Eyes – An online browser addon that highlights women who are GI non-compliant so that they can be blocked online.

SOGIESC – The Council of Europe Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Unit. 

Spousal Consent Clause – In order to obtain a full GRC, married applicants must have the agreement of their spouse. If an applicant’s spouse does not agree, the applicant may be awarded an “interim” GRC, which can be used by either party as grounds to annul the marriage. Sometime misleadingly referred to as ‘spousal veto.’ 

SRHR – (World Health Organisation) Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. 

SRS – Sex reassignment surgery. 

SSA – Same sex attraction.

Stonewall – Leading UK Charity for LGBTQI+ rights but now focusing on, and acting as, a ‘trans’ lobby group.  

Stonewall Law – The law as Stonewall would like it to be rather than the law as it actually is.

SUFW – Speak up for Women see: https://www.speakupforwomen.nz/ 

T – testosterone.

TERF – Trans exclusionary radical feminist – a term of contempt used to refer to a feminist who defines a woman according to her sex and not according to an identification with sex role stereotypes, i.e. gender.  Many women who reject gender identity ideology have adopted the term in a good-humoured way and now refer to themselves as TERFS with pride.  

TiM/TiF – Trans identified male (a man who claims to be a woman)/Trans identified female (a woman who claims to be a man).

Top surgery – Irreversible double mastectomy for women/breast implants for men.

TRA/MRA – Tran’s Rights Activist/Men’s Rights Activist.

Trans – ‘transgender’. 

Trans identified males/trans identified females – men who claim to be women/ women who claim to be men.

Transgender man – A woman who claims to be a man.

Transgender woman – A man who claims to be a woman.  

Transwidow – A woman whose partner claims to be the opposite sex.

True trans – The idea that some people truly are ‘trans’, often by virtue of experiencing gender dysphoria and/or having extensive medical interventions.

TW/TM – ‘Transwoman/Transman’ – A ‘transwoman’ is a man who claims to be a woman/a ‘transman’ is a woman who claims to be a man. No medical procedure is required for either men or women to make these claims and to have them accepted under trans identity ideology.   

TWAW/TMAM – ‘Trans women are women/trans men are men’, chants frequently used by supporters of GI.

VAWG – Violence Against Women and Girls.

Wheesht – Scottish expression meaning to be quiet.    

WHRC – Women’s Human Rights Campaign – now WDI (Women’s Declaration International).

WoLF – Women’s Liberation Front (USA).

WPATH – World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Mental Health, Mental Distress and Gender Dysphoria

As the WiT survey is interested in the mental health impact of GI on women who do not accept the ideology, I will make reference to what is widely understood as a social model of mental health/mental distress. It is appropriate to consider the social causes of mental distress, especially in view of the fact that GI is often accounted for as a necessary response to a diagnosable mental health condition: gender dysphoria.

The term mental health suggests mental distress is comparable to physical health. Mental distress can range from extreme states involving an altered relationship with reality or/and prolonged and debilitating difficulties, sometimes leading to suicide, through to emotional pain which would be recognised as a reasonable response to an identifiable stressor. The former experiences are usually deemed to be pathological and the latter to be problems of living which we all experience. However, this distinction is contested by some who work within the field of mental health, those who have been treated for mental health problems and/or those who have a political interest in how and why we arrive at our understandings of mental distress. 

Despite decades of trying to identify biological causes of functional mental health problems, scientists have struggled to locate any that are agreed upon and still there is no definitive biological test to diagnose even the most profound states. Furthermore, despite pharmaceutical companies selling more and more drugs to alleviate mental distress, actual cures have not materialised. Nonetheless there continues to be a widespread belief that there is something that can be likened to, or actually is, a biological cause of what is often referred to as mental illness. 

This is not to say that some people do not have experiences of distress which are extreme and can perhaps be described as altered states of consciousness, what is contested is the cause of this distress and how it should be addressed. 

It must be remembered that psychiatry is part of the medical profession and therefore focuses on the medical causes of mental distress, although in practice many psychiatrists accept a combination of medical and social causes of distress. However there are social causes that society does not want to acknowledge, such as patriarchy.        

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is one of the two main books used in many countries to diagnose mental disorders, the other being the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) published by the World Health Organisation. 

James Davies’ book “Cracked”, 2013, exposed the unscientific methods used to arrive at the disorders that are included in the DSM.

There is, however, much debate about whether levels of distress that are viewed as pathological and given a psychiatric diagnosis are really better understood as problems of living, albeit ones that are difficult to cope with and can be exceptional, such as those that result from significant child abuse.  

The pathologizing of mental distress decontextualises, mystifies and depoliticises it. If we did not make the distinction between what we might call the problems of living and diagnosable mental illnesses, we might be forced to consider what the problems of living are that can lead a person to the extreme states we can see in psychoses and/or suicidality. By ignoring the social and cultural causes that can bring about mental distress and locating the origins within the discrete individual, society is absolved of any duty to address societal causes.

Similarly, critics of many types of psychotherapy have observed the inward looking and individualistic nature of therapy that urges clients to change themselves rather than the societal conditions that have caused the distress. Of course one cannot turn the clock back and undo what has happened to the individual in the past and it is therefore incumbent on them to find ways of overcoming their distress; many people do find psychotherapy helpful. Nonetheless psychotherapy can often fail to consider the distress within wider societal contexts. By understanding the social and cultural causes of mental distress and family difficulties that may have germinated the distress, society is in a position to make changes to stop such distress occurring in the future, but in order to do this, there has to be a political will to do so. 

Given the overwhelming drive to enforce sex role stereotypes on children through instructing them, often in schools, that they can choose their gender, which is conflated with sex, it is hardly surprising that children are confused about their ‘gender’, i.e. sex. In this way, gender dysphoria is socially formed. Since the sex role stereotypes allocated to women and girls are viewed less favourably, it is to be expected that girls are likely to be less accepting of the gendered traits allocated to them.      

The motivation for conducting this survey is that many women appear to have now been removed to a position of pariah for rejecting what is a very extreme, anti-woman ideology. As GI is being embedded into all areas of our societies, it is mooted that women who dissent from the ideology are now dealing with additional and significant problems of living that did not exist until recently and that are entirely socially and culturally constructed.     

In the very first page of Chapter 1 of Janice Raymond’s book, “Doublethink: A Feminist Challenge To Transgenderism” she writes, “Amputating a healthy penis or breasts, being dependent on cross-sex hormones, and often embarking on secondary surgical journeys to alter voice or appearance, is a walking tribute to the power of patriarchal definitions of masculinity and femininity, which teach all of us that in a gender-defined culture it is easier to change your body than to change your society.”

The DSM-5 lists gender dysphoria as a mental health condition whereby someone feels that their sexed body does not align with something that is invisible and inexplicable to others, their ‘gender identity’. It might well add that the person is confused by the aggressive marketing of gender identity ideology (or even that the DSM committee members themselves are). But the DSM does not acknowledge cultural influences in this way, the problem is individualised, mystified, depoliticised and decontextualised by a psychiatric diagnosis.

By treating the distress caused by discomfort with sex role stereotypes as a problem of the individual, rather than as a problem of socially enforced roles, the DSM dismisses in its entirety the feminism of the mid to late 20th century which rejected gender as a hierarchy used to oppress women. The very existence of this diagnosis is evidence of the contempt in which the profession of psychiatry holds the feminist analysis of women’s oppression.  

One survey respondent writes, “I am a second wave feminist from the 70’s and have spent most of my 72 years working to show gender sex stereotyping for what it is and to break it down. It is the cornerstone of patriarchy, and it is a vital component that keeps it in place.”

In promoting the DSM-5, the APA writes of the inclusion of gender dysphoria, ‘DSM-5 aims to avoid stigma and ensure clinical care for individuals who see and feel themselves to be a different gender than their assigned gender. It replaces the diagnostic name “gender identity disorder” with “gender dysphoria,” as well as makes other important clarifications in the criteria. It is important to note that gender nonconformity is not in itself a mental disorder. The critical element of gender dysphoria is the presence of clinically significant distress associated with the condition.’

It is questionable whether the distress is associated with this condition but rather that this ‘condition’ is being associated with any distress regardless of its cause. Gender dysphoria may be offered as a diagnostic hook on which to hang unrelated distress or distress associated with the extreme promotion of sex role stereotypes that we now see, often in connection with the burgeoning pornography industry. (The experience of gender dysphoria by autogynephilic men is outside the scope of this report, other than to say that changing the definitions of women and men cannot be justified by any distress or frustration experienced by men who have a paraphilia). 

I will comment on the phrase “… feels themselves to be a different gender than their assigned gender.” With perhaps the exception of a very small number of individuals born with a disorder of sexual development (DSD), no one is assigned a sex, their sex is observed at birth, but it is reasonable to argue that one is assigned a gender at birth by virtue of babies being given a boy’s or girl’s name and gender specific toys and clothes… but gender is not sex.  The APA takes advantage of the widespread confusion around the difference between the words sex and gender by using gender when it means, or rather alludes to, sex, effectively promoting GI by using the same dissembling language of GI lobbyists. Having first decontextualised gender distress from the societal causes, the source of the distress is then relocated to within the individual and is subsumed into the world of mental illness. The DSM-5 then incorporates the societal context of the distress, i.e. the aggressive marketing and normalisation of GI, into its own marketing of the diagnosis of gender dysphoria.   

Where does this now leave us when we seek to identify the mental health issues and any implications for women as gender identity is being imposed onto them? What criteria should be used to speak of the mental health of women who reject or question GI? One respondent observed that the survey should have made a clearer distinction between mental health and mental wellbeing. This is a reasonable point.

The survey seeks to identify the ways in which GI and its promotion might create problems of living for women who reject the ideology.

The UK national charity Mind, defines the following features of mental wellbeing:

“Mental wellbeing is how we respond to life’s ups and downs. In this simple mental wellbeing definition lies deeper meaning and implication for our lives. It includes how a person thinks, handles emotion (emotional wellness), and acts.

This important part of who we are has multiple meanings. These traits—which are all actually skills we can practice and develop—are all part of mental wellbeing:

• Self-acceptance

• Sense of self as part of something greater

• Sense of self as independent rather than dependent on others for identity or happiness

• Knowing and using our unique character strengths

• Accurate perception of reality, knowing that we can’t mind-read and that our thoughts aren’t always true

• Desire for continued growth

• Thriving in the face of adversity (emotional resilience)

• Having and pursuing interests

• Knowing and remaining true to values

• Maintaining emotionally healthy relationships

• Optimism (hope—the mindset that things can improve)

• Happiness that comes from within rather than being dependent on external conditions

• Determination

• Action (in contrast to a passive mindset and lifestyle, waiting for things to get better)”

The World Health Organisation (WHO), describes mental health thus:

“Concepts in mental health …

• Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.

• Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.

• Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. People with mental health conditions are more likely to experience lower levels of mental well-being, but this is not always or necessarily the case.

Determinants of mental health …

• Throughout our lives, multiple individual, social and structural determinants may combine to protect or undermine our mental health and shift our position on the mental health continuum.

• Individual psychological and biological factors such as emotional skills, substance use and genetics can make people more vulnerable to mental health problems.

• Exposure to unfavourable social, economic, geopolitical and environmental circumstances – including poverty, violence, inequality and environmental deprivation – also increases people’s risk of experiencing mental health conditions.

• Risks can manifest themselves at all stages of life, but those that occur during developmentally sensitive periods, especially early childhood, are particularly detrimental. For example, harsh parenting and physical punishment is known to undermine child health and bullying is a leading risk factor for mental health conditions.

• Protective factors similarly occur throughout our lives and serve to strengthen resilience. They include our individual social and emotional skills and attributes as well as positive social interactions, quality education, decent work, safe neighbourhoods and community cohesion, among others.

• Mental health risks and protective factors can be found in society at different scales. Local threats heighten risk for individuals, families and communities. Global threats heighten risk for whole populations and include economic downturns, disease outbreaks, humanitarian emergencies and forced displacement and the growing climate crisis.

• Each single risk and protective factor has only limited predictive strength. Most people do not develop a mental health condition despite exposure to a risk factor and many people with no known risk factor still develop a mental health condition. Nonetheless, the interacting determinants of mental health serve to enhance or undermine mental health.”

Both the definitions of mental wellbeing by Mind and of mental health by the World Health Organisation can be used as measures against which to gauge whether the conditions of life for women who are non-compliant with gender identity ideology undermine the mental wellbeing and mental health of these women.