by Dora Moutot, The Free Press
I went on television to debate what makes a woman a woman. Four years later, I have a criminal conviction and face new charges that could put me in prison.
In 2022, I went on a French television show to debate what makes a woman a woman. For expressing my opinion, I have been convicted as a criminal.
The show was Quelle Époque!, a popular talk show, and across from me sat Marie Cau, France’s first transgender mayor. I argued that self-identification laws were potentially dangerous to women. I cited cases of men identifying as trans women who were transferred to women’s prisons, and later committed acts of sexual violence against female inmates. “I’m not saying that all trans people do this—far from it,” I said, “but, as women, we have no choice but to be wary of people with penises.”
When the moderator then asked whether I considered Cau to be a woman, I said that Cau “is a man, a transfeminine man.”
I never could have predicted what would happen next.