In a major about-turn, British education secretary Gillian Keegan has finally admitted what most ordinary people knew all along. She has said she will no longer use the phrase “trans women are women” after a major review found that treatments for children questioning their gender are based on “remarkably weak evidence.”
Keegan claimed that her understanding of the issue has “evolved” and she has “learnt a huge amount more about this complex and challenging subject.”
The Cass Review, conducted by leading paediatrician Dr Hillary Cass, found that studies are often “exaggerated or misrepresented” to support gender ideology. It also said that children who claim to be questioning their gender may need simply to be treated for mental health issues.
Cass also called for “extreme caution” before “transitioning” anyone under the age of 25, adding: “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender related distress.”
In a 2020 meeting in her Chichester constituency, Keegan told an LGBT group: “Trans women are women and trans people deserve equal and fair access to health care, safe spaces and opportunities, as well as to live their life with dignity.”
However, following the Cass report, Keegan told the Telegraph:
“Since becoming an MP and later a minister I have learnt a huge amount more about this complex and challenging subject.
“At the time of writing that response, I didn’t have any direct experience of this topic and took advice on how best to respond, given the complexities surrounding individual cases. Having now spoken to experts and professionals, like many, my understanding has evolved.
“I have since been crystal clear about my concerns that women are being erased in this debate, and have always been clear that women do not have, nor have ever had, a penis.”
Her change of heart comes after Wes Streeting, the Labour Party’s health spokesman, said he was wrong in the past to have said “trans women are women, get over it.” He told The Sun’s YouTube show ‘Never Mind the Ballots’: “Now I sort of sit and reflect and think actually, there are lots of complexities.”
The Labour Party has recently rowed back from plans to introduce self identification (‘self-ID’) for trans people if it wins the next election. Last year, party leader Sir Keir Starmer clarified his view that 99.9% of women “haven’t got a penis.” (He has yet to explain his estimate claiming that 342,100 women in the United Kingdom do have penises.)
However, social conservatives have voiced scepticism of Keegan’s apparent u-turn. Peter Whittle, director of the New Culture Forum, posted on X: “Politicians like Keegan should not be congratulated for changing their position. All this shows is that she mindlessly jumped on a bandwagon and has now jumped off.”
The Telegraph also says that civil service officials are concerned Keegan is not doing enough to tackle radical trans ideologues in the education sector. In December, her department published draft trans guidelines for schools which said children should only be allowed to change their own gender pronouns in rare circumstances.
Critics argued that the guidance did not go far enough and could easily be ignored by teachers and trans activists.
