Sunak's (quite frankly, random) comments from October concerning the discourse surrounding identity politics in primary schools was somewhat concerning, and his recent statements are becoming increasingly shamelessly transphobic.
"there is a difference between sex and gender, a concept Sunak seems to me conveniently failing to understand"
The Prime Minister's Thatcher-esque comments of "it shouldn't be controversial for parents to know what children are being taught in school about relationships" and that "patients should now when hospitals are talking about men or women" were quite honestly baffling. I'd like to just remind everyone in Britain that it is quite literally illegal for schools to not disclose what they are teaching children in primary schools, particularly about sex and relationships, so whatever controversy Sunak was discussing here just doesn't make any sense. If he needs it spelling out, no, drag queens are not teaching your local primary schools that biological sex does not exist. I hope that is simple enough for the PM to wrap his head around. Furthermore, patients do know when hospitals are talking about men and women, because there is a difference between sex and gender, a concept Sunak seems to me conveniently failing to understand.
The most recent instance of this transphobia occurred when Sunak joked that the leader of the opposition Labour Party could not define what a woman was, during a parliamentary exchange that the mother of Brianna Ghey (a 16-year-old transgender girl who was murdered in an attack last year) had been invited to watch. The two teenagers responsible for her death had been jailed the week prior to this, and a Labour lawmaker had invited Ghey's mother to watch the PM's weekly question-and-answer session in parliament. Sunak said, with Brianna's mother watching, that Kier Stamer had "defining a woman" on his list of broken promises, joking that it had been "only 99% of a U-turn".
"Nobody asked him to bring the human experience of transgender people into the conversation"
Since this, Sunak has (shockingly) refused to apologise for the remark, despite Brianna's father Peter Spooner urging the Prime Minister to acknowledge the pain caused by his comments and apologise. Rather than taking responsibility for his actions, Sunak has described the situation as "the worst of politics", arguing that linking his comments about Starmer's U-turns to Brianna's tragic death is "sad and wrong".
Perhaps if the Prime Minister does not wish to be criticised for hurting the trans community, he should not use their existence to mock others, whatever you think about Starmer's policies. If Sunak wishes to disparage the Labour leader's U-turns, he should simply point our the U-turns themselves. Nobody asked him to bring the human experience of transgender people into the conversation, he made that decision himself, and should take responsibility for doing so.
"The fact that we even have to use the phrase "trans rights are human rights" just highlights the problem"
The fact that we even have to use the phrase "trans rights are human rights" just highlights the problem in this country with gender identity discourse. Trans people are people, not a humorous anecdote for you to mock others with. If Sunak wishes to point out the hypocrisy of Starmer's actions, I'd suggest just doing that, rather than using marginalised groups in society as a tool for mockery.
