Transgender dispute splits Stonewall

Oct 25, 2019 by Andrew Symes

By Greg Hurst, The Times:

Prominent supporters have split from Stonewall, the gay rights charity, in protest over its transgender stance.

The breakaway group, called the LGB Alliance, was agreed at a meeting in London on Tuesday, where speakers included Simon Fanshawe and Miranda Yardley. It will launch early next year. The alliance describes its mission as “asserting the right of lesbians, bisexuals and gay men to define themselves as same-sex attracted”, saying: “Gender is a social construct.”

Supporters said the new group would counteract confusion between sex and gender, which they said is widespread in the public sector and elsewhere.

Mr Fanshawe, one of Stonewall’s co-founders in 1989, warned of the impending split in a letter to The Sunday Times last month.

He and 21 other signatories were concerned support for transgender policies, such as allowing primary school children to change their gender identity too quickly, are harming gay people and undermining women’s rights.

Stonewall published a response, saying it was inaccurate to portray the move as a split within the movement.

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See also: LGB Alliance group faces criticism for being transphobic, by Olivia Petter, Independent