Jeremy Corbyn has a new enemy: Mumsnet

I have learned a lot since writing about gender laws here last week. I’ve learned that if you ever want to flood your Twitter timeline with people arguing about something, writing an article about gender laws is a good way to do it.

I’ve learned that some people do indeed get very angry about this stuff, though not always the people you’d expect. The prickliest communication I had wasn’t from a Trans-Rights Activist or a Radical Feminist. It was from a parliamentarian. And overall, I’ve had nothing like the venom I’ve seen directed at other hacks who’ve written about this in similar ways; for some reason or another, people are less horrible to me about this than they are to Janice Turner and Helen Lewis.

I’ve learned that there are some brilliant, learned and compassionate people out there, who come at this from all angles.  One (purely anecdotal) observation is that the diversity of opinions within the trans-gender population is not remotely reflected in the bit of this conversation most visible at Westminster. The trans community’s opinions are not as homogenous as some reporting and discussion suggest.  So here’s a tip for hacks covering this: don’t just book Paris Lees or talk about Lilly Madigan.  Ask Kristina Harrison what she thinks. Or Tara Hewitt.  Or lots of other people.  The same goes for the ‘radical’ feminist side of this: there’s more to it than Germaine Greer.  (Though for some media outlets that really should know better, having any voice from that side of the conversation at all would be an improvement.)

Which brings me to the most politically pressing thing I’ve learned. Mumsnet is angry. And here’s something I already knew. When Mumsnet is angry, someone in politics is in trouble.

Now, I don’t know how many Spectator readers are also Mumsnetters, but those who aren’t might just assume that site is all middle-class mummies twittering about yoga and little Sophie’s Mandarin lessons.