The inaugural Hodge Awards!
Another The Word is Woman special.
I’ve been compiling The Word is Woman - a catalogue of examples of the erasure of women from language and life - since August 2023, and there have been nearly seventy editions.
But in the past ten days, normal service has been somewhat disrupted by the seismic Supreme Court judgement; certainly a difficult moment in history to ignore when you write a weekly newsletter about the meaning of the word ‘woman’.
It does feel like the usual posts about vagina owners, egg producers, and bleeders have slowed a little, but don’t worry, they’ve only been temporarily replaced with a different iteration of the same madness, as all those who believe in the Cult of Insane Paradoxes reel at the shock of a grown-up telling them, “No”.
So this week I thought we might explore some of the more batshit responses by means of an awards ceremony. Yes, dear friends, I present to you, the inaugural and prestigious, and potentially the first and last: Hodge Awards.
Kindly sponsored by the Good Law Project, the Hodge Award nominees are those hair-brained folx who have this week been proudly declaring their intent to flout the Supreme Court judgement. Organisations and individuals who are basically saying, ‘We’d rather be sued than consider the needs of women over the feelings of men’.
So without further ado, let the awards commence!
And the nominations are…
The London Marathon…
who have pledged to continue allowing males to compete in the women’s category in the mass participation race this weekend, in spite of the judgement.
Bristol Old Vic Theatre…
who will ‘continue to welcome everyone to use the facilities that are most appropriate for them’, in other words let men in the Ladies if that’s where they fancy taking a leak. #ComeOnIn, fellas!
The Project PT…
an Oxford based Gym who have stated that, “Trans women are women. A legal ruling does not change that fact or erase real lived experiences.” Err…it does in the showers.
Abby Traynor, CEO of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland…
who has stated on Linkedin that it was ‘business as usual’ at her centre and that they would continue to support ‘all women’ - including the male ones. After some push back she wrote a follow up post in which she said, “Yesterday I guess I (somewhat naively!) assumed that there would be few people who had an objection to us continuing to help trans and non binary vulnerable survivors of sexual abuse, when it's been part of RCTN's core offer for many years - seems I was wrong!”
The penny drops slowly, but at least it drops.
The charity Refuge…
another domestic violence organisation, have also stated that they will continue to support male people in spite of the ruling.
Dawn Butler MP….
who stated in this interview for Sky news that, “trans women should, in my opinion, still continue to use women’s bathrooms”, despite being clearly told by her fellow guest, ‘that’s not what the law says’.
The Thackray Museum of Medicine….
who put out a statement in which they claimed that ‘sex and gender are a spectrum’ and this is ‘supported by science’.
Their building and facilities will remain ‘open to all’.
They cite their ‘friends at the Vagina Museum’, who have also got their crayons out for a ‘what about men’ statement. Whilst they don’t overtly say anything about toilets, you can bet your knickers that you won’t have to have a vagina to use the Ladies.
The Vagina Museum…
The Black Box…
a music venue in Belfast who ‘will not accept warped feminist ideology that excludes, punishes or abandons.’
The Clock Tower Sanctuary…
A Brighton based day centre for the homeless who state on LinkedIn that, “Practically speaking, this ruling will not change how we run our services. Trans women will always be welcome in our women’s group…”
And the final somewhat unlikely nominee is
Dorset Museum and Art Gallery…
who are happy for visitors to ‘use the facilities that align with their gender identity’.
Not sure what Hardy would have made of all that.
Well, that brings us to the end of the nominations! What an absolute shower!
It’s tempting to say ‘there are no winners’, just as Lord Hodge himself implied, but of course, that would be a cop out. So I’m going to give the first ever Hodge Award to…
The London Marathon!
for a decision that impacts on the biggest number of women in the most public way, live on TV, right whilst the ruling is still fresh in all of our minds! Even one male person in the female category will mean that every single woman he beats in that category drops a place. So cheers, London Marathon, and all the other nominees, who have so clearly demonstrated your disregard for us.
Thanks for reading! Please consider subscribing so that you never miss a post. You can subscribe for free, and I absolutely love getting more free subscribers! If you can afford it (it’s £6.50 a month and £55 for a full year) then a paid sub help support me to keep writing. Substack is a new model of reading in which you get to pay money directly to the writer, rather than to the newspaper or advertiser. Have you noticed how lovely this advert free space is?! (well, apart from this one!) It’s only a very small amount a month but each subscription adds up to mean that writers like me can get paid for our time. But paid or unpaid, I love having new people join my community here on substack. Thank you.
I’ve written four books, would you like one?
Keeping hope alive…in a little corner of Los Angeles, in a cross-fit gym in Van Nuys, the owner and coaches call out different weight requirements for men and for women, daily, using those words multiple times per class. There are no objections. I would have never imagined these words would sound as sweet and wholesome as they do. In these little pockets of the world, life is still based in reality. 💕
A great article with stiff competition for the prize!
Plenty of hare-brained stupidity,