A Facebook post asking readers ‘what is a woman’ has provoked a furious reaction.
On April 16, the ‘Save Hoylake Beach’ Facebook page, a group which wants Wirral Council to manage Hoylake beach to ensure it is sandy, recommended some questions voters should ask candidates in the upcoming local elections.
The post read: “When they come for your votes, as they will over the next few weeks, here are two suggested questions for those who want them: 1) Do you believe Hoylake needs its beach back? 2) What is a woman?”
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Many readers reacted strongly to the post. One person said: “Don’t stop at transphobia! Why don’t you ask them to bring back stoning and witch trials while you’re at it? This is absolutely vile.”
While another person said: “What absolutely despicable transphobia! Utterly, utterly vile.” Along similar lines, another added: “Simply wow. You’ve managed to post something which is totally irrelevant and hateful in equal proportions. Bravo indeed.”
There were some who reacted differently. One person said: “Hoylake must have its beach back.”
In 2019, Wirral Council stopped all management of Hoylake beach after it was criticised for spraying glyphosate on it. The policy has remained since then and a major debate has opened up locally between those who want raking to be restored to make the beach sandy, which includes Save Hoylake Beach, and those who want the beach left to nature.
Speaking to the ECHO, a spokesperson for Save Hoylake Beach said: “This [the beach management decision] is a party political decision and [the Liverpool Echo] has never given our end of the story a fair crack of the whip.
“There are thousands of people who don’t want the beach to be in the mess it is in now.” On the Facebook post specifically, the spokesperson said: “If [the Labour Party] can’t look after the beach properly and can’t define what a woman is how can you trust them to run the council?
“The Labour Party doesn’t stand up for 51% of people.” The spokesperson also denied the post was transphobic and added: “I am not transphobic, but I do happen to support women.
“All I said was ask people who knock on your door about the beach and can you define a woman? I think those are fair enough questions.”
