Is it a crime to say ‘women don’t have penises’? | 19 August 2018

Is it now a crime to say “women don’t have penises”? A police force and a City mayor seem to think it might be. They are promising to investigate women who say so. That question arises because some women are putting up stickers in public places bearing those words. Some of those stickers are pink and shaped like penises. The point being made is that some people believe that if you have a penis, you’re not a woman. Other people believe that some women have penises. It is perfectly possible to be recognised in law as a trans woman while retaining fully-functional male genitals, and some estimates suggest the majority of those describe themselves as trans women still have their male anatomy intact. This is the bedrock of the dispute between trans rights advocates and feminists. To the latter, biology trumps language: it doesn’t matter what you call yourself or what you think you are, if you have a penis, you are a potential threat to women.