A Labour MP has revealed his contempt for those who believe in the reality of biological sex, calling them “swivel-eyed” and “not very well”.
Tim Roca, an openly gay backbencher, made the comments during an event called ‘Queering Academia’, hosted by the University of Westminster.
He also called the Supreme Court’s judgment upholding the definition of the word ‘woman’ as “depressing”, and criticised the outgoing Head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for enforcing the ruling.
‘Swivel-eyed’
In video footage given to The Telegraph by gender-critical psychotherapist James Esses, Roca said the UK is following the US’s example in the way it discusses hot-button issues, and said public debate needs to be “based on rationalism and compassion – and actually as we know, the facts”.
He continued: “What we can’t be, is we can’t look like the alternative version of the transphobes. The best argument against them is a conversation with them, because they look swivel-eyed and honestly, they’re not very well people, I don’t think, the ones that I’ve met.”
He also claimed that during his election campaign the “anti-trans voices” were the most “toxic” people he dealt with, claiming he was heckled and had “stuff thrown at me”.
Party dissent
In April, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the terms ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. In the aftermath, the EHRC published guidance stating that people should not be allowed to use facilities designated for the use of the opposite biological sex, regardless of how they identify.
Roca said: “I challenged the equalities watchdog after that very depressing Supreme Court judgment”, adding: “The EHRC is clearly led by somebody who is not a friend of our community. In my view, I want to make sure the next head of the EHRC is somebody who is a friend of our community.
“And I’ve got colleagues in Parliament who are working really, really hard on that. But challenging the EHRC interim guidance, which is appalling, was really, really important.”
While Sir Keir Starmer said in April that the judgment brought “real clarity”, Roca disputed this, saying it had instead “caused fear and incredible uncertainty and…undermined protections” for trans people.
‘Shocking’
Roca’s comments have been widely criticised, with James Esses saying: “For an elected member of Parliament to speak with such disdain for the Supreme Court, the Chair of the EHRC, and those across society concerned about the impact of gender ideology on women’s rights and child safeguarding, is shocking.”
In a comment piece for The Telegraph, journalist Jo Bartosch said: “Let’s be clear: by ‘transphobes’ Roca doesn’t mean violent thugs who want to crucify cross dressers. He means you. He means the average British voter who believes that biological sex exists.
“The parents alarmed that teachers are telling their daughters they are ‘born in the wrong body’ if they like playing with trucks. The people campaigning to stop male sex offenders from being housed in female prisons. The detransitioners left scarred by medical experiments masquerading as care.”
“To Roca,” she added, “all of them – all of us – are unhinged.”
‘Common sense has resurfaced’
She highlighted that Roca is not the first MP to parrot gender ideology or disparage those fighting to preserve women’s right to safety and privacy, but said that thanks to the efforts of gender-critics, “common sense has resurfaced, and it is sweeping through the nation”.
She concluded: “The public can see clearly who the real ‘swivel-eyed’ loons are: those who lock male rapists in women’s prisons, who drug confused children, and earnestly believe you can be born in the wrong body.”
Landmark ruling: Supreme Court upholds ordinary definition of ‘woman’
EHRC interim guidance: ‘Toilets are restricted to biological sex, not self-ID’