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Should "women-only" spaces be open to anyone identifying as female?
Perspective
All Votes
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Women-only spaces should strive to include all women.
Pros
Cons
Reducing womanhood to one's genitalia or chromosomes is insulting to all women. Women who have undergone hysterectomy or mastectomy are just as entitled to identify as women.
Trans women are women. They are human beings whose gender is female.
The purpose of women's only spaces is to provide safety for all women.
Not including transgender women sends a message that these women are not real women.
People identifying as female being forced to use men's spaces because of their physical appearance can harm their mental as well as their physical health, like
adverse effects from trying to avoid going to the bathroom
or being
verbally or physically assaulted by people for trying to use the "wrong" bathroom
.
Every woman has a unique experience. Welcoming all women is beneficial and can teach others about the different obstacles that women encounter.
Many women-only spaces are focused on a particular issue that is specifically intended for a niche female audience.
If trans women are granted access to women only spaces, many
religious women
will de facto be excluded from accessing services in women only spaces.