Dr Beth Upton: entitled male? Yes. Victim of a cult? Also yes.
A doctor talking utter nonsense about biology might seem funny, but in fact, it's a deadly serious sign of a much wider problem.
Many of us watch the tribunal of Sandie Peggie unfold in awe: in awe of the bravery of the woman at the centre of it all, Sandy Peggie; and at the same time in awe of the sheer lunacy of the situation we find ourselves in. Never could we have conceived of such a push back against women’s rights than this new topsy turvy version of reality, in which a woman can object to the presence of a man in her changing room and not only find herself disciplined by her employer for doing so, but also portrayed as bigoted and unkind during the subsequent tribunal. The aggressor - a male invading a female space - becomes the victim, and the victim - the woman objecting to the presence of that male - becomes the aggressor.
This classic example of DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) is well captured by this cartoonist (link to twitter, shared with permission)
As well as this full scale display of male entitlement, there is also a jaw dropping amount of denial of biological reality on show in the tribunal, made more incredible by the fact it’s coming from an NHS doctor, who surely should know their cervix from their prostate. And I’d like to argue that this makes Upton a victim, too.
For example, Upton stated yesterday that he is ‘not male’.
And, furthermore, that he is female.
Upton told the tribunal: “The term biologically female or biologically male is completely nebulous. It has no defined or agreed meaning in science, as far as I’m aware.
“I’m not a robot, so I am biological and my identity is female. Without wanting to appeal to the dictionary too much, I’m biologically female.”
This argument, that being made of flesh and blood = biological and that therefore if you are made of human and ‘identify’ as female, you are therefore a ‘biological female’, has been made before by India Willoughby, who is a father of one.
Who can forget India’s ‘Let that penetrate’ moment…
Willoughby’s behaviour is immediately recognisable, especially by women, as classic, textbook male entitlement. But let’s not forget that Willoughby is also high on his own supply: he genuinely believes he’s a biological female, just like Upton.