A plea for understanding to all the #BeKind male blue ticks eg @jonronson @billybragg @frankieboyle

I'm surprised you haven't asked yourselves why there has been such an increase in the amount of #terfs on Twitter? But I think I know what is going through your heads. Thread.

When you think of trans rights activism (TRA) and transgender people, you're probably thinking mostly of transsexuals. The old school kind. The kind who still exist but are becoming increasingly horrified by the actions of TRAs.

For years they went about their lives trying to assimilate as the sex they identified with and were increasingly finding acceptance. Most countries have laws to allow for medical transition and legal changes to certification etc for those with gender dysphoria

But then things changed and a vocal minority of TRAs started discussing concepts such as "the cotton ceiling" (genital preferences) and challenging the fundamentals of biology, that transwomen *are* women etc.

The rhetoric of TRAs was starting to become offensive to women, gay people and people with DSDs (developmental sex disorders/"intersex"). Their demands were also starting to affect the rights women fought for. Also gay people and disabled people etc are becoming affected.

These demands have become the focus of what we're now fighting about which I don't think you have grasped: self ID legislation. Not the rights of transsexuals to transition and be accepted in society with equal human rights. Self ID.

Self ID means that you don't have to have gender dysphoria to register as the opposite sex. You don't need to have transitioned, to have taken any hormones or had any surgery. Anyone can self ID.

This means women will no longer have a right to compete in sports against each other fairly; for safe spaces like rape crisis centres; to appear on boards and panels etc as representatives of the female sex, to fulfill quotas.

This means gay people are feeling increasingly under pressure to challenge their own concept of their rights to be same sex attracted for fear of being labelled transphobic.

And we are seeing concerning numbers of children being encouraged to challenge their own sense of identity and to start down a very challenging path of lifelong medication and surgery without fully understanding what gender identity is.

Many of these children are autistic. More still are gender non-conforming kids who would otherwise grow up to be gay. We have a duty to protect children and for proper safeguarding measures to be followed.

All of this, and a lot more, is why you are seeing so many gender critical feminists and their allies appearing in various media. Our goal is not to erase trans people or deny their rights. We are defending hard won rights from the absurdity of self ID.

I'm not sure I can highlight enough how disingenuous it is that you are all painting this debate as women vs transwomen. Nor how much of a disservice you are doing to those of us who are gender critical but also horrified by transphobia.

Ask yourselves why it is that women are the focus of this in the first place? Why are women being painted as transphobes and violent bigots when it is the vast majority of men who are committing violent acts and refusing to accept gender non-conformity in the first place?

There are many transsexuals questioning the increasingly absurd rhetoric of the TRAs. They are subjected to a lot of hatred within their own communities. Also people of colour and those with DSDs are used as part of their logical fallacies.

If you're not willing to stand up for all these people being negatively affected, including transsexuals, I'd politely ask you not to wade into a debate which you obviously have little understanding of. Or else make clear that you don't think the rights of others matter as much?