Meghan Murphy used to be adored by the social justice crowd. An up-and-coming young feminist, she could do no wrong until she went a bridge too far; believing that declaring yourself a woman, does not make you so..Meghan Murphy believes that there are biological sexes; that minor children should not be given hormone replacements and puberty blockers; that men are not women by simply declaring themselves to be so. Most radically, she believes that women (biological women) have a right to their own spaces, like bathrooms and changerooms..These are her ‘controversial’ positions, denounced by Toronto Mayor John Tory, along with an assortment of trans activists and anti-free speech protestors when she presented a talk in that city on October 29..On November 2nd, she was back in her hometown of Vancouver and once again found difficulty securing a venue. Moving from Simon Fraser University’s downtown campus to the Pan Pacific Hotel at the last minute presented little problem, much to the chagrin of the protestors..“It was awesome. I’m so proud of the event we put on. We actually sold 100 more tickets. I think 300 people in total attended,” said Murphy, when I caught up to her a few days later.. Jessica YanivJessica Yaniv (source: Twitter) .Murphy is a journalist and founder of feministcurrent.com. More recently she has been in the news for presenting talks on gender identity and the media bias that informs the debate (or more accurately, shuts it down)..When it comes to the mainstream corporate media, Murphy doesn’t mince words. “I think they’re cowards. Reporters, editors, they’re all afraid of losing their jobs. So they toe the party line. Until recently, they didn’t even acknowledge there was a debate. They presented it as a few transphobic bigots on one side and the rest as progressive, enlightened people.”.She specifically targeted Bill C-16, the bill that enshrined gender identity into Canadian law and arguably makes it illegal to mis-pronoun someone. Murphy was at the forefront in challenging that bill..“I went to the Senate to speak against it. No one else really said anything. People didn’t understand what this law was going to mean, everyone was just sort of, it’s for trans rights, what’s the big deal? How could anyone disagree with this legislation?”.With Bill C-16 in place, men are allowed into women’s prisons to serve their terms. Murphy recounted tales of female prisoners who have been assaulted by these men..More famously is Jonathan (or Jessica) Yaniv who made international headlines for insisting female beauticians give him a bikini wax despite having male genitalia. His insistence that these women wax his bits even went all the way to the BC Human Rights Tribunal..“He found a way to get money from these women – many of them immigrant women –who lost money because of him and at least one lost her business.”.Bill C-16 and the federal Liberal’s approach to gender identity in general hasn’t given any rights to trans people they didn’t already have says Murphy. There already is anti-discrimination legislation in place. But, as she notes, it has taken rights away from women to have female-exclusive spaces such as rape crisis centres, transition houses, or just everyday female domains such as washrooms and change rooms. . Jessica Yaniv-2Jessica Yanic (source: TwitteR) .She also feels children are falling prey to a trans trend..“Yes, this has become a social trend. One with potentially tragic ramifications. The schools go along with it. The teachers lie to them [children], telling them if they take these drugs and hormones they’ll be happy and everyone will accept them. We don’t know the long-term effects of these drugs, but we do know they prevent a body from developing properly. These kids aren’t equipped to make these decisions, they don’t know if they want to have children, they could be in danger of increased cancer risk. They don’t even talk to their parents. It’s just cool and trendy and schools are actually encouraging it.” .The gender identity business is also proving harmful to girls and women in sport. Men who were mediocre athletes can now declare themselves to be women, and dominate the field. .“This is so awful. So unfair. Girls just can’t win against a dude. It’s totally unfair. Feminists fought for fair competition for years, for girls and women to have their own competitions. Now, all of a sudden that’s gone, because any man who says he’s a woman can compete, win and get scholarships. It’s a total joke.”.It should be obvious that men, who are generally larger framed, have greater muscle mass and lung capacity should not be competing with women. But holding that old-fashioned view has the formerly ballyhooed feminist Murphy, vilified as a bigot. .“I was appalled that mayor John Tory wanted to shut us down, saying the [Toronto Public] library isn’t the place for these types of talks. That’s exactly what public institutions are for. It should also be happening in academic institutions. For him to apply pressure to shut down a conversation on women’s rights is just so gross, shocking and awful, it’s completely out of line for a mayor, who should know how democracy works.”.Murphy adds that her detractors never want to engage and debate with her. Just silence her. .“Honestly, the reason activists won’t engage is because they’d have to agree with me. What I’m saying is a very reasonable concern for women only spaces. I’m not a scary person, so it’s easier for them not to listen and instead turn me into a villainous monster.”. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .Accordingly, when Murphy gave her talk in Vancouver, there had to be a sizable police presence, security for the venue itself, and Murphy’s own personal bodyguards..Biological men threatening and silencing a feminist for speaking up for woman’s rights appears to be acceptable now. .Vickery Bowles, the Toronto librarian who gave Murphy’s talk the go ahead has since been attacked online and in the media..“This is appalling,” says Murphy, “It’s free speech, it’s what libraries are for. It’s especially appalling that some of the people calling her a fascist are writers.”.Murphy adds that some women have spoken up against Bill C-16 and the human rights abuses it has encouraged, but several have lost their jobs for doing so. “I wish more people would speak up, but I also understand they don’t want to become criminally unemployable.”.Still, she remains optimistic that there will be a pushback against this legislation and others like it, but she knows it won’t come from the current government..“The Liberals won’t back this up. In fact, they’re doubling down, and the NDP are fully on board.”.So, for the foreseeable future any man who declares himself a woman legally has access to the lady’s room. And to declare yourself against it, is to invite condemnation as a bigot and a fascist. Somewhere, the struggle for women’s rights took a strange turn.
