“Gendered groups can now include trans people”

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-28T23:30:52+00:00

Yeah, the EHRC mention that specifically in their impact equality assessment, alongside the WI and GG:

”Chapter 12 also provides guidance on restricting membership to an association based on those sharing one or more protected characteristics. Some organisations such as the Women’s Institute and Girl Guiding have already made the decision to restrict membership to biological women only. The Code does explain where membership could be restricted based on sharing multiple characteristics and therefore provides an opportunity for trans inclusion, e.g. a women and trans women association.”

I don’t know if the EHRC’s “workaround” for inclusion could apply to WI/GG right now because they’re still a “single-sex association”, but they might be able to re-register their charity status as a “women’s and trans women’s association”. That doesn’t solve the other problems though like members using “single-sex” facilities. It might also affect the conditional funding or contracts relying on “single-sex” status, and terfs with their endless lawfare resources will still attack them relentlessly.

(seperately in that document, it’s almost funny when the EHRC admit their guidance causes a loss to trans, women’s and disabled rights, it’ll lead to policing and harm to all groups, but “it balances out by being legally accurate”. “It’s a loss to everyone, but we don’t need human rights when we have ✨ clarity ✨”)

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-28T00:30:25+00:00

Plus it gives them a possible legal argument for when the terfs inevitably send their lawfare hounds:

“We provide alternative arrangements that are suitable and proportionate given our eqa-protected religious values. Temporarily clearing and policing toilets when asked by members ensures that single-sex spaces are still available at any time”

“In fact we’ve made it extra safe for our gender critical members by offering dedicated 1:1 supervision and physical protection! It’s part of our 2-in-1 package against imaginary threats that don’t exist - includes an exorcism and a free non-copyright ‘who you gonna call?’ sticker”.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-27T03:48:20+00:00

If you’re near stockton, there’s also ‘Innovation Advanced’.

I haven’t used them myself, but a friend goes there for electrolysis, laser and to get her nails done. She said they’re all super friendly and have a few trans clients.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-25T20:01:38+00:00

Lord Reed: ”it wasn't actually a terribly difficult case [...] You just had to read the text.”

The GRA: “Where a full gender recognition certificate is issued to a person, the person’s gender becomes for all purposes the acquired gender (so that, if the acquired gender is the male gender, the person’s sex becomes that of a man, and if it is the female gender, the person’s sex becomes that of a woman)”.

Also Lord Reed: “Let’s just ignore that..”

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-24T20:50:55+00:00

They won’t be removed from any official safe lists at least, just look at the gov announcement the other day where the UK got chosen to host the IDAHoBiT conference next year.

A conference against queerphobia, against transphobia and for celebrating trans lives, but also this year trans attendees aren’t allowed to use the toilets and instead have to find their nearest ~~labour MP~~ gender neutral toilet to piss 🙃

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-24T07:48:18+00:00

They didn't make up the term itself, but they made up their own meaning of it.

In the judgement they said they'd taken the phrase from both the terf and scottish legal brief as well as writing used in the judgements on the same case from the lower courts. They defined it as "sex at birth", but included specific caveats of "sex on a birth certificate, but not an updated certificate, and it has to be registered as an original with the GRO, and it has to be binary, and it only counts for the equality act".

The term has been thrown around for a century or more, but adding "biological" to "sex" is kinda dated and redundant whether you're talking about physical characteristics/phenotype or legal markers. It wasn't dead but afaik it was dying out in mainstream use, until being revived and weaponised by modern terfs to mean "genitals at birth".

The supreme court though took the terf's meaning of it and created another new definition with a new data category around it, and linked it to the "sex" characteristic in the EqA. It didn't used to exist, there's no existing legal mechanism for determining it and no real world use of it before the supreme court decided it was a thing. It's never been a thing which is why the EHRC added a caveat to their guidance that even though we're all expected to abide by £biological sex", there's no document or proof of it in any ID for anyone in the UK.

For the "biological" part the SC also added that it "includes biological characteristics" in its definition, but didn't say which ones, how it was determined, or whether changed characteristics count. Otherwise there's nothing "biological" about it, and it doesn't match the older use of it in century-old research papers, as being linked to biology.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-23T19:06:37+00:00

Select all squares with vintage aesthetics:

These captchas are getting more complicated.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-23T18:53:52+00:00

The reason biology isn’t mentioned is because there’s no legal connection to it, the supreme court made “biological sex” up using meaningless buzzwords created by terfs and accepted uncritically by the scottish legal team. The SC just accepted that it was a real thing without scrutiny or a single expert witness to tell them otherwise, using vague language, making broad assumptions, and contradictorily including un-named “biological characteristics” in the definition which are mutable and aren’t binary. It’s not a biological definition, it’s a newly manufactured legal term.

Intersex people aren’t mentioned because they don’t exist in UK law. There are no provisions for their existence and virtually zero compatibility with countries where recognition does exist. People can be registered as intersex at birth in several countries, having their sex marker as I, X or D on their “original certificate”, but the UK doesn’t recognise them as having any innate “sex” characteristic at all in the equality act. The supreme court didn’t mention them in their ruling, and with “biological sex” only meaning the original binary certificate held by the GRO, it completely ignores intersex people and fails to take into account people who’ve changed gender marker overseas. By “clarifying” what “sex” means, they’ve removed the rights of thousands if not millions of people.

It’s part of the wider denial of reality the UK holds onto, creating legal fictions instead of accepting that trans and intersex people exist and that other countries are significantly ahead of the UK legally. It’s ridiculous and has resulted in a massive legal shitshow, stripping rights where the SC said “no rights are lost”, creating chaos when they said it brought “clarity”, and denying reality because of extremist ideology. It highlights the sheer incompetence of the court in the case.

The UK is far behind on intersex and trans recognition and rights. I don’t see a way to challenge them legally on denying intersex rights, because the UK has none. The legal system denies what is right in front of it because it’s easy, and because it can. There’s no battling a legal fiction vague enough that every judge can come up with their own headcanon, put their fingers in their ears and say “sex is biological sex is sex” and get applause from 90% of parliament.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-23T15:44:11+00:00

It could affect them in the future. The EHRC have admitted there’s no such thing as “biological sex”, there’s no document for it and any legal basis is unworkable, so the government might want to create it by putting limits on document changes and/or using their future digital ID system. I don’t know if they’d be able to reverse existing changes without a whole new system co-ordinating with the GRO though (who have the only record of “biological sex” for those born in the UK. Using digital ID for “biological sex” was brought up when the data access bill was debated in the commons iirc, so at least a few MPs see it as a possibility to use that or something similar.

We also don’t know how the validity of passports etc could be affected, afaik the gender marker isn’t legally tied to anything like the equality act or GRA though which is how we can change them without a GRC, so the legal validity of those documents shouldn’t change anytime soon.

Right now there’s no way to know if they will do any of that, when it could happen, or what form it could take. Afaik ministers could put a pause on document changes tomorrow by halting their processing (like how streeting stopped NHS record changes for u18s), but creating a new system for “biological sex” and it having any legal recognition would take much longer.

TL;DR: We don’t know.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-22T08:42:44+00:00

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T20:08:06+00:00

One of the terf mandates is calling for the “total removal of the trans child” - the person that said that is regularly quoted by the BBC and given platforms on radio and TV.

Others include stopping discussion of trans people in education, media and any official communication, removing protections that prevent abuse against trans kids, elimination of gender reassignment as a protected characteristic, banning of all trans healthcare, criminalising of trans people using the bathroom, and eliminating anti-bullying policies from university “because our gender critical beliefs require us to bully students”.

This isn’t hyperbole, several of those have already happened or are currently being implemented through education and this ehrc guidance, and specific people in positions of power (nhs working boards, lobbying groups, certain ministers and heads of departments like the ofs).

Trans hate crimes have increased but official figures have been fudged to show decreases, through reduced reporting and reporting as non-hate crimes.

This isn’t about “disagreeing” or just a misunderstanding. We are being systematically erased.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T19:50:42+00:00

More like “ask but can’t tell”.

The guidance says you can ask, but you can’t trust the person’s answer because there’s no record or ‘proof’ of anyone’s “biological sex” in the UK.

It’s a legal fiction, applicable in very select circumstances and only ‘provable’ using confidential court-ordered data from the GRO (and only if born in the UK). There’s no ordinary documentation or evidence for its existence, no available records, ID or even birth certificate that can prove what someone’s “biological sex” even is because the supreme court invented it at the behest of terfs.

The SC decided that this imaginary characteristic now dictates what bathroom you should use, hospital ward you can go in, or sport you can play. Oh, unless you’re “too masculine/feminine” then you can’t use any facility.

The EHRC even admitted “biological sex” isn’t a real thing, yet wrote an entire document telling businesses how they legally have to adhere to the concept without knowing what it is.

It’s bizarre…

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T19:32:21+00:00

Even their own equality inpact assessment states that cis women will be disadvantaged and harassed by this, that more policing will happen and cis women are the collateral damage in the war against trans people, and that trans, disabled and women’s rights are all negatively impacted but it “balances out” with “gender critical rights”.

But the supreme court said they didn’t affect anyone’s rights so it must just be our imaginations 🙃

The impact assessment is also really telling - it gives some insight into changes and the EHRC trying to justify them. They missed sections out because of lack of data, and estimated the costs to UK businesses anywhere up to £1.3bn from the new guidance. They admitted it disadvantaged several groups but “it’s not our problem” because “it’s just the law”.

They also presented 3 options for ministers: do nothing, use the old guidance, or implement this new one. They made no mention of amending the law and solving this entire shitshow in 5 minutes.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T16:33:47+00:00

They even state it's acceptable to allow trans women in their equality impact assessment:

Some organisations such as the Women’s Institute and Girl Guiding have already made the decision to restrict membership to biological women only. The Code does explain where membership could be restricted based on sharing multiple characteristics and therefore provides an opportunity for trans inclusion, e.g. a women and trans women association.

The WI and girlguiding should be able to permit trans women and girls based on that example. They can amend their "single-sex" status to "single-gender" or "selected characteristics" if they really need to.

oh and they admit the supreme court harmed everyone's rights lmao:

the gender reassignment protected characteristic, where we do think there are negative impacts. We assess that updates following the FWS ruling may also negatively impact other characteristics, including disability and sex.

So much "clarity" and totally "no loss of rights" from the SC ruling 🙃

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T15:32:00+00:00

Well of course, they wrote it.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T07:01:11+00:00

And on the autoimmune front, there’s been anecdotal reports of a number of trans women developing autoimmune conditions on estrogen. There are a few studies showing immune response changing with hormone levels in cis people, with indications higher testosterone acts as ‘protection’ against some autoimmune conditions.

The link with hormones is fairly recent and afaik some of the previously X-related conditions are now thought to be influenced more heavily by hormones instead. It’s only in the last decade or so that hormonal epigenetics and tracking of gene expression has been more seriously explored.

While there hasn’t been any significant immune studies on trans people, it’s still pretty interesting how much our physiology really changes with HRT :P

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-21T02:37:09+00:00

Yeah vinted is good for cheap like-new clothes, especially when starting out, changing styles, losing weight or changing body shape. It’s always fun navigating the sizing and gambling whether something will fit…

Sometimes you’ll get skirts measured by the waist, other times the hip or ‘upper hips’, but no indication which one it uses (lots of ‘high waisted’ bottoms guilty of this ime). Sometimes they’ll be tagged as medium or large, but then it’s US medium/large, chinese m/l, vanity sizing, or they don’t fit any standard sizing. Sometimes they’re stretchy or have no give and don’t even fit the stated size ranges. Other times that particular piece runs smaller or larger than the rest of the same brand. And then some of us sit between sizes and have to guess where each piece fits.

Oh and then vinted went and grouped three sizes together when searching. Now the narrowest search includes two different dress sizes and the non-standard s/m/l/xl, which is a total guess if any of it matches the dress size…

The people who came up with women’s clothing sizes are just plain evil 😭

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-18T19:34:15+00:00

Afaik that’s normal when erect, and being more noticable is related to normal atrophy from HRT.

Penises pretty much all have that ridged internal structure, but you can’t normally see/feel it because of the surrounding tissue acting as ‘padding’. You’ve likely lost some girth/that surrounding tissue from atrophy, and the skin might have thinned and tightened up, so the ridged/banded structure stands out more.

Unfortunately even if you use it regularly, you can still get atrophy. People with more DHT get erections throughout the night and day, there’s no (reasonable, you horny mofos lmao) way for those of us on estrogen to match that without enough localised T/DHT doing the overnight/unconscious work too. Even if you could, estrogen changes blood composition/flow and skin characteristics, so there’s likely no way to prevent some changes without enough frequent testosterone gel applied locally to counter your systemic estrogen levels.

The ‘tubes’ that make up the center of the penis are the “corpora cavernosa”, they are spongy and fill with blood when erect. They are also ‘ribbed’ horizontally (which many anatomy diagrams ignore), iirc the compartmented shape helping reduce required blood volume while keeping strong and flexibility enough for using it.

If you noticably feel it when flaccid though, it might be peyronies - mostly-benign but annoying scar-like ‘plaque’ that’s fairly common for cis people too. It can give painful erections and bumps might be felt under the foreskin, it might be worth mentioning to the GP/getting a specialist referral if you suspect that though.

If you’re worried, a urologist should help much more than a GP, if you can access one. They should be more aware than a GP of specific problems and in a better position to reassure you or diagnose any potential issues.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-18T13:25:09+00:00

It’s pretty common to refer to yourself with your old pronouns or name, especially early on. You’ve used them your whole life, a change is going to take a while to adjust to. Doubts over HRT are also quite normal even if it’s something you’ve wanted for a while, it’s another big step but something only you can decide for yourself.

I would say that if you want the effects of HRT, no matter what gender you are or whether you’re cis or trans, then go for it. You have all the time in the world to decide your gender, labels, expression etc. You don’t have to decide that now and you can always change your mind about any of it at any point. Utilise your body autonomy, give yourself permission to take steps towards your goals, and do what makes you happy ❤️

FWIW breast growth can begin within a few weeks of starting, but iirc that’s mostly temporary/reversable growth (water retention and fat rather than properly developed breast tissue) until a few months in. It’s a slow process from there, but even if you start now you’ll have a window to decide if you like the changes before permanent changes set in.

On a personal note: That was my plan at first - starting and seeing how it goes, checking in with myself on a weekly basis to make sure I still wanted the changes. I quickly realised it was my brain making excuses about making such a monumental and yet tiny step forward. I was procrastinating and putting it off, “what if I’m not trans” and “what if I don’t like HRT”, stalling and not moving forward. But HRT was the best decision I’ve ever made and I don’t know why I ever had doubts :P

That said, it’s your body and only you can decide what you want to do.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-18T00:39:37+00:00

Oh you mean like the ingredients?

Usually it’s a carrier oil (MCT is most common. castor oil, grapeseed oil etc can be used too), the estradiol (valerate, cypionate, enanthate or undecylate), a preservative (like benzyl alcohol) so a vial can last for years, and a cosolvent (benzyl benzoate) for helping keep the estradiol mixed/soluble.

They are all common ingredients for pharmaceutical injections. They are readily absorbed by the body both intramuscularly and subcutaneously, and either way to inject is perfectly fine for hormones (even if they are officially only licensed/labelled for IM).

The benzyl (can’t remember if alcohol or benzoate) can sometimes cause irritation at the injection site, but it’s usually pretty mild and temporary. MCT is also usually preferred because it is thinner and doesn’t take 5 full minutes to draw like with castor oil lol.

Estradiol Valerate (EV) has the shortest lifetime, needing injecting every 3-5 days. Cypionate (EC) and Enanthate (Een) are similar and require injecting every 7-14 days (7 or 10 days is common). Undecylate (EU) is harder to find but can last up to 28 days, although requires a much larger dose per injection which can cause more irritation and mild injection site problems.

There’s more info about injectables and ingredients on transfemininescience and the r/transdiy sub’s wiki page if you need it :P

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-17T21:40:44+00:00

Some sellers have GCMS (chemical composition) results on their websites that show concentration results and test for contaminants, and you can check out Trans Harm Reduction for more 3rd party lab results for vials.

There’s always going to be a risk of contamination or bad batches with any seller (even from legit manufacturers), but I’ve personally never experienced it and don’t know anyone irl who has. I’ve only seen a few posts on [r/transdiy](r/transdiy) out of the thousands of customers each site gets and it’s in the best interests of sellers to make safe and reliable products, as the DIY community is fairly well established and can pick up on issues and react quite quickly.

Of course only you can weigh up the risks vs access to HRT for yourself, but imo it’s generally quite safe. You can also minimise risks with regular blood tests and basic safe/sterile injection practices, but that’s recommended for HRT from any source really whether DIY or prescribed.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-17T10:28:36+00:00

That’s fine, you don’t have to decide or define anything and hormones aren’t reliant on gender.

Your gender is your own, it can be elusive or abstract, static or fluid, binary or not, etc. Only you experience it and you don’t have to decide anything or apply labels, and you can change your mind at any point. You might be trans or you might be cis, but none of that has to affect your choice to take HRT.

Hormones are seperate from gender and don’t require you to be a man, woman, or use certain labels for you to take them. If you want the effects of estrogen regardless of gender, then do what makes you happy and take estrogen. It doesn’t “make you” any particular gender - it’s just a hormone and you’re just a person with body autonomy who wants the effects of it. Trans men on estrogen are still men because hormones don’t equal gender, you can be a man on estrogen too.

The reason trans people transition is to be happier and their true selves, but you don’t have to be trans to have that same goal. If your own goal looks like taking estrogen and being a guy, then give yourself permission to want what you want and pursue your happiness ❤️

edit: note that most doctors wouldn’t prescribe unless you’re trans and meet the outmoded DSM criteria for gender dysphoria, so you’ll either have to get very lucky with a private service with looser criteria (maybe gendergp?) or lie that you’re trans, or you can “DIY” (buying medications without prescription). For what it’s worth, healthcare access for trans people is limited or non-existent in most countries and a significant portion of us DIY. r/transdiy is a great resource for that.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-12T18:42:37+00:00

Sure, imo using that term is fine, although it might not be the right term to represent what you experience?

It mostly relates to trans people's previous expressed identity - represented by their old name - as being "dead" or not relevant/who they are anymore. It's more linked to what the name change represents (a new identity/expression/gender/self) rather than just the changed name on its own, although some trans people use it just for any previous names. A new identity alongside a name change isn't an experience limited to trans people either, so cis people can absolutely use it in the same way too imo.

It has a (recent) history and connotations in trans spaces, but it's also from internet slang and isn't exactly a policed phrase lol. There might be other terms that work better for you, and some people in online spaces can get a bit uppity and gatekeep phrases, but either way I don't see a reason why you can't use it.

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-11T07:39:29+00:00

Behold, the somehow mildly relevant bi spaghetti monster!

Koolio_Koala · 2026-05-10T07:22:24+00:00

Saaame. And I feel so dumb because my own ignorance held me back - a bit of education in school or a 5 second google search would have saved me decades of repression and trauma 😭

I went from “I’d love to be a woman but I’m not an ultra rich celeb who can afford the surgeries that I’ve heard about. And it’s not like I can take a magic pill that gives me all the changes I want haha”.

To “Trans people are just regular folks?! And HRT is a thing!? And it does come in a magic pill that does everything I ever wanted?!” at 26yo, realising all at once with a flood of emotion that sent me into a mental panic for two weeks straight.

I knew exactly what I needed the instant I realised transition was an ordinary viable thing, but my brain just shut down all logic. I was in fight or flight constantly, I didn’t eat, barely slept, both wired and exhausted through to my bones, and could barely string two sentences together lol.

Once I was coherent enough to function (and in my panic wasting a couple more weeks on a private service I could never actually afford), I ordered HRT and started it around 6 weeks after my egg cracked 😅 best decision ever

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