I've noticed a pattern in which whenever I engage with anything on here to do with Trans issues I lose 2/3 followers, and that's fine, but to be honest I'd rather have the argument. To be clear, #IStandWithJKRowling , for the following reasons 1/

The argument is, at it's core, about "self ID"- that is a campaign to remove "gatekeepers" (such as medical professionals diagnosing Gender Dysphoria), from the process of changing gender/sex 2/

Now there are many other issues here around feminism, biology, language etc for which arguments are made by more articulate people than me, and I'll leave it to them.
My concern is about Steve. 3/

Steve is a male human, and Steve is a sex offender. I know " Steve" because I've worked with him over the last decades of my work in prisons. Steve will do ANYTHING, anything at all, to fulfill his desire to abuse, degrade, humiliate and control women and girls 4/

"Steve" is not Trans, by any definition that is commonly accepted. Steve should not be confused with Trans people. He is not them. But he wants you to think he is 5/

He want you to think this, because he loves power, and control, and sexual dominance of the unwilling. Steve is the guy who exposes himself to girls in the park. Steve is NOT Trans. But he knows what being able to say he is now a "Woman" will bring him. 6/

It brings him access to women's spaces. And (and this is key), this is not about access to assault, per se, this is about him exerting his power to make women uncomfortable. The flasher doesn't often assault- he gets his pleasure from the woman being forced into the experience

Steve gets aroused by the thought of penetrating women's private spaces.
Steve is not Trans, Steve is a sex offender. The argument is not about Trans women, the argument is about how to stop Steve, a sex offender, pretending to be a Trans woman. Self-ID is his route in

Plenty of Trans women, from @DebbieHayton to my best friend at school (who was trans before most of the kids tweeting about this were born), do NOT want to be associated with "Steve". They are not. Trans people are real, deserve our love and our acceptance. Keep "Steve" out.

I have worked with the most convincing, charming, intelligent people youve ever met. Many of them have committed crimes so horrific that staff need counselling after reading their file. They are not a myth, and when not in prison, they have Twitter accounts like the rest of us.

To be clear, if you comment but do not engage with the practical substance of the thread, I may be a little short with you, and then mute.

Apologies, but I've now had to mute this conversation due to the number of notifications so won't be able to hear any more replies.