US is ‘behind UK’ on trans debate: ‘ALL the left have embraced it!’

US author Robert Jensen has argued that the US is "behind the UK" when it comes to trans issues.

In early July 2014, MonkeyWrench Books collective cut all ties with Jensen over his article reviewing two feminist books that critiqued transgender identity.

He is an outspoken critic on the matter and said to Jacob-Rees Mogg on GBN America that "the left have embraced" it in America.

Speaking to GBNA, he said: "The first radical feminist critique of the ideology of the trans movement came in the late 1970s by an extraordinary feminist philosopher who's done work on violence and prostitution.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Robert Jensen

"I think feminists did lead the way in this debate. In this case, I think the UK is far ahead of the US because of the debate over what it means for instance, for a male to claim to be female and therefore claim access to women's spaces.

"That debate is much more interesting in the UK than in the US.

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"Unfortunately, my left-liberal comrades have all pretty much embraced the trans idea, and I think that's to the detriment of girls and women.

"I think it's to the detriment of basic intellectual life. I think there are a lot of problems with the claims the trans movement makes.

"I have been cancelled many times. I've been pushed out of spaces."

He explained: "I started writing about the trans issue ten years ago, and I pointed out that the trans argument is intellectually incoherent. It's not just that I don't understand it, it's impossible to make sense of it.

Transgender flag

"I think that it is anti-feminist politics because it undermines the safety and rights of girls and women.

"It is also inconsistent with what I call an ecological worldview, a way of understanding the human body.

"For my troubles, I have lost many friends, I have been pushed out of organisations, I have had speaking invitations withdrawn.

"I am not whining, I am not asking people to feel sorry for me. I am fine. My concern is how this affects other people. People see these actions being taken against me and they self censor."

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Robert Jensen

Jensen cited the Cass Review, which is an independent report into gender identity services for under-18s, commissioned by NHS England.

Led by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, the landmark document said children have been "let down" by the lack of reliable evidence on medicine for those questioning their gender.

It called for gender services for young people to match the standards of other NHS care.

Dr Cass said clinicians had been worried about having "no guidance, no evidence, no training" and that the "toxicity" of the debate around gender meant professionals were "afraid" to discuss their views openly.