It is “not acceptable” for a trans woman to be asked whether she has a penis or not, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has said.
Ms Rayner said it could be appropriate for a trans man to be asked whether he might be pregnant ahead of medical treatment, following reports that some NHS trusts are now including the question for all patients regardless of their gender.
But she said that discussions relating to an individual’s genitalia are causing “real damage” to vulnerable individuals and are “debasing” the debate around trans rights, and should not be allowed on social media.
The row over gender was reignited on Monday when Sir Keir Starmer declined to say during a radio interview whether a woman can have a penis.
The Labour leader has been accused by author JK Rowling of failing to defend women’s rights over access to single-sex spaces by trans women who retain male genitals.
Asked on Sky News whether it was possible for a women to have a penis, Ms Rayner replied: “This really upsets me, because I think about a young person who’s struggling at the moment, who’s struggling with their identity.
“When we’re having a social media [discussion] or a debate around what genitalia someone’s got, I think it really debases the serious issues that people face in their lives. I think we should be taking it off social media, taking it away from commentators.”
Ms Rayner said it could be appropriate for a medical professional to ask a trans man if he was pregnant.
“If a man was born with the reproductive [organs] because they were born as a female, and they’ve transitioned to a male, then if they’re getting medical support because they could be pregnant, then that might be a question that is asked as part of that, in those circumstances,” she said.
“But it wouldn’t be a reasonable question for me to say ‘Have you got a penis or not?’ because that’s not acceptable. So when we debase it into what genitalia someone may or may not have, I think that’s a really unhelpful way of looking at the debate, to be honest.
“It’s doing real damage to people, and it’s scaring women who think it’s about men coming into women-only spaces, which is not... that’s not the case. And it’s also not supporting people going through transition, who need support.”
Ms Rayner insisted that there were protections in place for women in vulnerable situations, and that it was essential to provide the right help and support for young people facing a crisis of identity.
“When we debase it to what genitalia you’ve got, I think all that does is damage people, and it doesn’t help us go forward on some of the real issues that people are facing,” she said.
“It shouldn’t be debased into a debate that’s been held in the media by people who are not qualified to discuss some of these very sensitive issues.”
Ms Rayner added: “I think we should be protecting women’s spaces. Of course we should. And we should be supporting people who are going through transition. And that’s always been the case, as there are laws in our country that protect people.”
And she told interviewer Kay Burley: “I think, just to make it about what genitalia someone may have... nobody would ask me or you whether we were a man, or what genitalia we have.”
