8) So yes, gender and social identities matter as much for who we are as biology.

7) ... (although obviously I have the vast privileges that come with being cisgender, straight, white, not socioeconomically deprived).

6) In my own experience of identity, gender, shaping my own body as I wanted it, to express my own sense of identity, and being somewhat gender non-conforming - I feel I connect in several key ways with some of the experiences of trans women...

5) I'm used to being a somewhat isolated outsider. I also don't have children (by choice). And I don't automatically connect to some of the most common experiences of cis women.

4) I've worked in engineering and physics my whole career - and I'm a female powerlifter, with an unusually muscular physique for a woman that I built myself (I'm "naturally" of a very skinny slight build).

3) Similarly, an athletic muscular woman is ubiquitously mocked for being "a man" or "unfeminine", "undesirable" - her biology does nothing to protect her from being called "a man".

2) Their biology is irrelevant there, and can't protect them from rejection by the patriarchy and from being the target of a form of misogyny.

1) We all know men can "lose their man-card" in an instant by any number of routes - wearing the "wrong" clothes, expressing certain emotions, even being vegan (apparently) 🤦‍♀️ or of course, not being heterosexual.

This is a good resource on Reform UK:

hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/u...

4) Support organisations such as @standuptoracismuk.bsky.social who are fighting the rise of Reform UK (by volunteering, helping deliver leaflets, donating, sharing their posts)

Your thoughts?

3) Contact our local MPs to put pressure on them to get our government to make real change for people who badly need it, before it's too late.

Let me know what you think. I think we must:

1) Vote in these local elections to keep Reform UK out,

2) Raise awareness of the dangers, and the strength of far-right support as indicated by the polls,

This is an important chance to vote - since Reform UK supporters are motivated and the polls suggest Reform UK will win a lot of seats.

They are a far-right racist party - but a large portion of their supporters are not racist, but desperate and are not seeing a viable alternative.

Reform UK are well-organised, and well-funded. It would be a huge mistake for us not to take them very seriously.

A month from now, there are local council elections. Reform UK have put forward many candidates even in liberal left-leaning areas.

Abso-fkn-lutely. Fighting for rights is a choice they can literally put out of their mind, rather than it being inescapable on the daily.