Visitors from Nairn and the definition of a woman

Alison & Hugh came to stay with us for an overnight today, arriving at lunchtime when we had a buffet lunch in the cottage. It is always great to see them. The weather was lovely so we went for a stroll around the village, and later sat outside on the benches to have a drink in the warm sunshine. I used the Merlin App (which Cat showed me at the weekend) to identify the loud birdsong emanating from the trees across the lane; goldfinches, blackbirds and willow warblers among others. We were pleased to hear all about Alison and Hugh’s new grandson Hughie, who is the fifth Hugh in a row in his family, going back to his great great grandfather. We walked back into the village to the Caley Bistro for dinner, which was very good. James lit the fire when we got back to the cottage and we relaxed and had a good chat. 

In national news, last week judges at the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex and that transgender women do not fall within that legal definition under equality law. I am not a political animal however I can see both sides of this. In fact that is always my problem; the curse of seeing both sides means that it’s often very difficult to form a firm opinion on many issues! I don’t think that biological men should take part in women’s sport (where their innate male strength is too much of an advantage) and I think that biological women should be entitled to single sex places such as women’s refuges, women’s prisons, changing rooms and toilets. However I do support trans people’s rights and don’t want them to feel uncomfortable or excluded. It’s complicated because either one group or the other are inevitably going to feel hurt and disadvantaged. 

I’m not sure how the ruling is going to be implemented in daily life, however the Equality and Human Rights Commission has said it will publish a new statutory code of practice by the summer, so that it can offer advice to public bodies and organisations about how they may need to revise their policies. Hopefully all will become clearer.