Solidariaeth efo'r bobl draws sy'n atgoffa pobl at record Helen Mary Jones ar faterion traws.

Solidarity with the trans people who are reminding people of Helen Mary Jones's record on trans issues.

Just one specific thing to draw people's attention to... 1/12

In March, as a Plaid Cymru AM, HMJ asked the Welsh Government to review its language to talk about 'sex' instead of 'gender', e.g. talking about 'sex equality' and the 'sex pay gap' instead.

Source: https://record.assembly.wales/Plenary/5565#C171336 2/12

One justification she gives is firstly that it is more legally accurate.

This is incorrect: the Equality Act uses the words sex and gender interchangeably, and indeed explicitly refers to the 'gender pay gap' (see S78), as do the Wales Specific Duties.

3/12

She also argues that it prevents confusion with the 'important but distinct agenda around protecting and promoting the rights of people who identify as trans'.

Sounds like a dogwhistle to me!

4/12

So what's really going on here?

Trans people know that there has been a nasty campaign organised by anti-trans folk for public authorities to replace the word gender with the word sex, to pave the way to exclude trans people from gender-specific spaces and services. 5/12

Their argument is that even if our 'gender' is valid, our 'sex' is fixed, and the law and public services should treat us as our 'sex' instead.

This is not the law, and this would enable substantial discrimination against trans people in society at large. 6/12

HMJ has tried to make the same point at all-party parliamentary groups and with Welsh women's charities, who have strongly defended trans-inclusive feminism.

https://wenwales.org.uk/statement-response-announcement-uk-government-consultation-reform-gender-recognition-act/ 7/12

And yet HMJ claims to be supportive of trans people, while doing all this behind the scenes, or cloaked in language that aims to disguise what she's up to.

Trans people see through it.

Frankly, the party needs to wise up. 8/12

Keeping HMJ as a spokesperson is a clear challenge to @Adamprice's integrity as the first openly gay leader of a political party:

Will he remember the T in LGBT?

9/12

At least with Leanne as leader, we knew where we stood.
https://www.leannerhondda.wales/inclusive_feminism 10/12

Of course, transphobia is a substantial issue in the other political parties in Wales, including in Labour.

But as a spokesperson, HMJ is a senior politician. People are right to single this out as it goes to the heart of questions about the party's leadership. 11/12

And if Plaid continue to fudge the issue, it could go the way of the SNP, nominally in favour of trans rights while full of politicians actively and viciously campaigning against us.

https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/14813/snp-leadership-urged-do-more-protect-trans-rights-snp19-conference 12/12