A column by Eilis O’Hanlon in our Opinion section last week, headlined ‘Women must be free to speak without fear of trans backlash’, generated an exceptional reader response — enough to fill our regular Letters page several times over. Rather than exclude other subjects from consideration from that page, we have chosen to publish a selection of the responses to the column here. Most have been edited to allow for as many contributions as possible.
Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, some letter writers asked for their personal details to be withheld, either fully or partly.
It is notable that the overwhelming majority of letters are strongly supportive of the views expressed by Eilis O’Hanlon. Had we received more letters critical of the column, we would of course have published a selection of these in the interests of balance. What is on the page, however, is strongly representative of the views received.
Alan English, Editor
Sir —A huge thank you to Eilis O’Hanlon. I am a working-class, middle-aged woman who is very concerned about what I see as the attempted erasure of the word ‘woman’ from Irish legislation.
I have fought and marched for women’s rights all my life, and also campaigned for marriage equality and to Repeal the Eighth. On social media, which I have now left because of the toxic atmosphere, I’ve been called a dinosaur, a bigot, transphobic and hateful, all for respectfully asking questions and attempting discussion. I have never been called anything close to these things in all my years, and it is extremely hurtful to say the least.
Women must be allowed to speak, and we must be listened to.
Mo Lynch, Dublin 8
Sir — Why is there a need to erase “woman” from the 1994 Maternity Protection Act and replace it with the word “person”?
It’s a dishonest framing to describe this as encouraging “inclusivity”. Women are the only persons who can become mothers, even if a tiny number of women choose to identify in some other way. Removing our name excludes and dehumanises us.
Eilis O’Hanlon’s piece is right on the nail: we are being asked to accept that gender is a choice as fact or be pilloried for promoting hate speech. Women are rightly upset. This is an attempt to force a change in language which we should be able to discuss.
Jill Nesbitt, Bray, Co Wicklow
Sir — The whole Liveline controversy has shown we need more debate on the subject. A polite discussion on public radio has been transformed into an alleged right-wing attempt to deny the existence of trans identified people and incite transphobia.
The demands of the trans lobby do affect the rights of women, and women should be allowed to voice their opinions. In a democracy, every voice is entitled to be heard without fear of the venomous backlash we have seen.
We need much more coverage of this.
Julia Anderson, Greystones, Co Wicklow
Sir — I work in academia and I do not subscribe to gender identity theory. I have been public about my concerns for a number of years and have tried, at various times, to stop raising my voice because I am very aware of the potential risks that come with speaking up. In recent weeks, I have been more vocal. I am doing this with the support of a large group of women from all across Ireland.
I see “diversity and inclusion training” as euphemistic language for the inculcation of gender identity theory. I attended one of these “training” workshops last year and am aware of what is being “taught” by NGOs in our education sector. These workshops are often linked to the Athena Swan Charter, in which all Irish higher education institutions must participate in order to be eligible for research funding.
While these workshops are branded as being about inclusivity and diversity, I see an increasing orthodoxy in third level which concerns me. The focus is on diversity in terms of identities while viewpoint diversity is being sacrificed on the ideological pyre.
These are quotes from people who work in academia but who wish to remain anonymous as they are too fearful to speak up publicly:
Ann: “I would describe our current situation as “state capture” with an imposed groupthink. To question the policies is to place oneself on a black list. Those in precarious employment (many academics) are not in a financial position to risk the guaranteed career fallout of critiquing the truly shocking situation we are in.”
Rosaleen: “Gender ideology is the prevailing dogma so my life was easier before I started to question it. Now I fear being outed as a “TERF”, being isolated from my colleagues, thus lowering my chances of peer review.”
Sharon: “There is increasing pressure to put pronouns in email signatures. Forms now seek my gender identity, not my sex or sexual orientation.”
Betty: “The Orwellian analogy is very common. People tell me they are afraid to speak openly about their concerns; gender identity theory is taboo.”
Colette Colfer, Co Waterford
Sir — I am writing in 100pc support of Eilis O’Hanlon’s article. I find myself increasingly bewildered by how our society has been taken over by an ideology that insists that we must suspend all critical thinking and MUST believe that a fully intact male is a woman. And similarly, that a fully intact woman who might be pregnant is in fact a man having a baby. This is all counter to what most non-Twitter users believe.
I have been left-leaning in my politics all my life. I was pro-choice since I was a teen in the 1980s and canvassed on pro-repeal side a few years ago. I was strongly for marriage equality. I have not been a Catholic in over 30 years, and it really frustrates me when some politicians and trans-activists allege that anyone who has any concerns around gender ideology is a bigoted captive to Catholic theology. Nothing is further from the truth in my case.
I have no issues with trans people. I assisted such a young person five years ago to get a job. I wish anyone well in living how they wish, and believing whatever they wish to believe.
I listened to the Liveline debate. I heard a rational, calm discussion around mainly the erasure of the term woman in our legislation and possible implications of that.
Some loud and very vocal voices on Twitter get an awful lot of attention, but they really, really do not represent the kind, compassionate, liberal women in my social circles who are entitled to the space to air their concerns. None of us condones hateful speech, but many of us have questions and cannot raise them in our professional environments.
I was so thankful the Sunday Independent was willing to publish Eilis’s article.
Name and address with editor
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The column by Eilis O’Hanlon in last week’s ‘Sunday Independent’
Sir — Eilis O’Hanlon’s article highlighting the trans lobby’s attempts at shutting down free speech and open debate should be a warning to all of us about what is going on in the background at what are considered trustworthy institutions. The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) is the one that worries me most, having seen the insanity that has been going on in the US with kids being encouraged towards transition behind the backs of their parents.
Bernard Cawley, Tuam, Co Galway
Sir — I welcome Eilis O’Hanlon’s article. I remember, as a child at mass, trying so hard to believe that the bread and the wine became the body and blood of Christ because I knew what was demanded of me. But I just couldn’t convince myself: I am not a believer. In 2022, it is acceptable, thankfully, to be an atheist. However, at a governmental and NGO level, gender ideology has become mandatory, written into law in the 2015 Gender Recognition Act. In Ireland, “God” has been replaced with the demand that we all subscribe to an ideology that dictates that imagined identities supersede biological reality.
There are many of us who will continue to raise the alarm about the exponential growth in young people going down a path of irreversible damage under the guidance of adults telling them they can “change sex”.
Anyone who thinks this doesn’t impact them is wrong. What we are seeing here is going to make it into hate-speech legislation. Words that cause offence are being reframed as hate. It is not hate to define females as a sex class that does not include males. Please join the dots to where this is heading.
Sarah, full name and address with editor
Sir — I am and have always been a left-leaning feminist. I abhor the tactics used to silence me and women like me by depicting us as fascist, right-wing bigots. It is astounding to me that our entire political class, and particularly the left, in Ireland have fallen for this transgender agenda. It is as far from a grassroots movement as it is possible to be — it is top-down, nurtured by multinational corporations, fostered by the powerful.
Traditionally, it would have been the left that challenged such movements and its failure to do so has now left swathes of women politically homeless. We are organising though and we will not be silent any longer.
Thank you for inviting our views. I felt I must add my voice in support of Ms O’Hanlon.
Sasha Jackson, Dublin 8
Sir — I’m a post-primary teacher and I’m afraid to talk about gender ideology in school and among friends in case I out myself as gender critical, thus possibly losing my job.
A lot of teachers are very concerned about the recent rise in students identifying as trans. It seems to be a social contagion that has gripped this generation and presents challenges for me in being able to speak frankly about it. My school is almost exclusively white and upper middle-class. We’ve had a disproportionate amount of teenage girls (only) identifying as trans.
Gender ideology is a child safeguarding issue. Parents are being kept in the dark by the actions of well-funded lobby groups who regularly send “resources” to schools advising teachers on how best to deal with trans children “coming out”. According to a recent post on the Voice for Teachers Facebook page, a significant number of Irish teachers are not informing parents if children “out” themselves in school, but will affirm the child’s new identity, name, pronouns, and so on, and carry on as if this is normal practice and none of the parents’ business.
Most teachers take their child protection roles very seriously and a lot of us are frightened right now.
Name and address with editor
Sir — I see that, once again, Eilis O’Hanlon has been given a voice to dismiss transgender identity. Her articles are, to say the least, unfair in their suspicions and irrational fear and a danger to a vulnerable group of Irish citizens. Her aim is to simply divide us, to cause unnecessary alarm, to further isolate our community.
The Gender Recognition Bill was a 20-plus year fight all the way to European court.
I’m all up for inclusive, respectful language but alas Liveline turned into something other than this. I applaud Dublin Pride’s stance with RTÉ and I believe it will lead to a better relationship between the LGBTQI community and RTÉ.
Trans people are not a danger to anyone. I am not a young person and have been fighting for equality and decency a long time. To the trans, non-binary, intersex community I send love and acceptance. This barrage of media will abate and a way forward will be found for all.
Lynda, Dublin 5
Sir — Brendan O’Connor interviewed a nice young transman called Jacob on RTÉ radio last week. There has a been a steady drip-feed of positive stories in the Irish media about such young transpeople. What is not being reported are the numbers of young people who are convinced they are trans but then change their minds.
I am the mother of one of these children. She identified as a boy for three years and put herself and our family though hell. During this time, well-meaning adults, psychologists and even her GP all affirmed her new identity, making it even harder for us, her parents, to advise caution. She is autistic and has ADHD and is a lesbian. I believed she was being influenced by her peers and social media. She changed her mind and so did several of her trans friends. Children who change their minds are not being heard.
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Sir — While I respect everyone’s desire to be called by the terms they prefer, I expect reciprocal consideration for the terms that I, and most women, prefer to be called by: “women” and “mothers” — not the pick-and-mix terms of “persons” or “birthing parents”.
The NGOs and civil servants who believe in gender ideology were not elected by the Irish people, and do not have a mandate to embed the terms of this new ideology into our legislation. I do not consent to my taxes being used to pay for my erasure in language and law.
Aideen Behan, Terenure, Dublin
Sir — I would like to commend Eilis O’Hanlon as being one of the few journalists in Ireland courageous enough to write about how gender ideology theory has impacted Irish society. For too long, the media has been shying away from this topic for fear of offending what we are continually told is a “marginalised community”. Well, I can’t think of any other marginalised community that is endorsed by government in the form of a national inclusion strategy and that has undue and unaccountable influence in numerous NGOs. Maybe instead of defining what the word “woman” means, we should really be looking at redefining what the word “marginalised” means.
Andrea King, Ongar, Dublin 15
Sir -—I wish to commend the Sunday Independent for doing the Irish public a service in publishing such an informative opinion piece, which has been badly needed for a long time now. This issue has far-reaching significance for the wider public in terms of health, both mental and physical and for social cohesion.
PJ Howard
Sir — I unequivocally support Eilis O’Hanlon’s position. I teach in the women’s prison, the Dóchas Centre, and work with the most vulnerable women in our society on a daily basis. I have watched in dismay and disbelief as sexual assaults on women in women’s prisons across America and England by men who self-ID as women have escalated.
It is imperative that people are free to speak about the issues Eilis O’Hanlon discusses, issues which are affecting policies and language across all sectors of our country and which are directly impacting on women’s lives today.
Una Gildea, Dublin
Sir — I am writing in support of Eilis O’Hanlon’s bravery in extracting the truth from hyperbole and propaganda. The conniptions being had in the press and online are an attempt to divert attention away from women’s questions and concerns. It took a long time for women to bring these issues to light and we will continue to do so. The attempt to collapse a wide range of concerns and problems into “questioning trans people’s right to exist” is transparent by daylight. The cat is out of the bag. You can call it a bad, transphobic cat, you can intimate that Putin would love a cat like that but rational people will start to wonder what’s your problem with cats.
Geraldine Halpin, Dublin 7
Sir — I’m writing in support of your journalist Eilis O’Hanlon. It seems that very few people are aware of the presence of gender self-identification ideology in Irish legislation. Politicians, probably ignorant of the inevitable unforeseen consequences, allowed this legislation through parliament unquestioned in the slipstream of the hugely popular marriage equality legislation.
I only recently became aware of it myself. Inspired by my wife and daughter, I have tried to educate myself. My main concerns centre around the extent to which this subjective ideology is introduced to young schoolgoers as fact.
A huge frustration has been the cowardice of the general media to cover this controversial issue. Any debate is considered transphobic. We really need our journalists and public representatives to ensure the public at large is fully informed about the implications of gender self-identification ideology.
My best wishes go to those, of all perspectives, who are willing to engage rationally and respectfully with the goal of achieving a fair and just outcome for all.
Joe Kealy, Dublin 6W
Sir — I’m writing to offer my full and unequivocal support to Eilis O’Hanlon and also to you for publishing it. Orwell said: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” And so it is. Most media here in Ireland and in other jurisdictions have shown great reluctance/cowardice in getting to grips with this subject.
Helen O’Driscoll, Glin, Co Limerick
Sir — Gender identity theory has been given undue prominence in policy-making and public life. I grew up in the Soviet Union. I am old enough to recognise the tell-tale signs of a single ideology taking over public discourse.
A rigid ideology not able to withstand any level of scrutiny has to be protected at all costs. Hence, a set of “enemies” outside of the enlightened following is invented and accused of wanting to destroy the new brighter future for the human race.
As a result, people self-censor in their professional and private lives. No one wants to be chucked out of society or lose friends. Not everyone has strength to weather what may follow if they stand up for their beliefs. Besides, what does it matter, some may think — those are only words, let’s be kind.
Except those words lead to unintended consequences like mixed sex toilets where women and girls are not afforded privacy that they need, or mixed sex sport where extraordinary female athletes lose their medals to mediocre males.
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Sir — The necessity for debate on how gender identity legislation impacts women was made clear by the plan to remove the word woman from maternity legislation.
I hope that the hyperbolic reaction against women who had the temerity to express an opinion, and Liveline for letting them speak on air, does not lead to RTÉ shrinking away from further balanced debate on this issue.
Orla Ni Chomhrai, Knocknacarra, Co Galway
Sir — I would like to thank Eilis O’Hanlon for her critical scrutiny of the commotion over Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme. I also want to thank you for encouraging your readers to share their thoughts about one of the most momentous yet least freely discussed social and political issues of our time.
Citizens across liberal Western democracies are rapidly waking up to legislative changes that are nothing short of radical. Existing equality law is being overwritten to prioritise the protection of self-declared, largely indefinable “identities” over the material reality of sex.
Wherever you look in Europe and beyond, these new laws were brought in below the radar of public scrutiny, slyly tagged on to popular social justice causes and implemented without any impact assessment, without consulting women’s advocacy groups or other relevant bodies and, crucially, without the type of broad societal discourse that such profound policy shifts warrant in a democracy.
As a German in Ireland, I can confirm that similar scenarios are playing out in Germany right now. There, media outlets with integrity are finally starting to facilitate a conversation about the conflict of rights when it comes to sports, female-only spaces and child safeguarding. These conflicts can no longer be denied by politicians and their unelected influencers.
Every media poll and comment section I have seen confirms that the public is firmly in favour of policies based on material reality, while extending support and compassion to those who feel compelled to opt out of it.
Petra Kindler, Waterford city
Sir — What is a woman? A woman is an adult human female.
E Bolger, Dublin 9
Sir — I agree that writers like Eilis O’Hanlon are routinely and inaccurately accused of transphobia or of debating the right of trans people to exist, thereby conveniently shutting down difficult conversations.
We all have to live together in society and everyone’s concerns should be listened to. We can’t avoid these difficult conversations forever. The sooner we have them the better for us all.
Amanda Harris, Kilpedder, Co Wicklow
Sir — I wish to commend Eilis O’Hanlon’s reasonable and coherent article. It is not the first time she has stuck her head above the parapet on this topic.
It appears that self-identification is to be accepted as a fact: “Because I say so, therefore I am.” Society, and particularly biological females, are expected to fully conform, on the diktat of a small minority, ignoring biology and scientific fact. The agenda to eliminate the word “woman” from the lexicon is deeply hurtful to biological females.
Jo O’Donovan, Ballon, Co Carlow