Julie Bindel on Rosie Duffield:

Despite having seen the punishment inflicted on women like me who speak out about our sex-based rights, Duffield nevertheless braved the shark-infested waters this summer by daring to agree with Piers Morgan on Twitter that only women have cervixes. Had anyone told me a decade ago it would be seen as either risky or brave to point out the realities of female biology I would have laughed. Since then Duffield has continued to receive endless attacks and threats against her life.

It’s so bizarre, isn’t it. Eagles have wings; bears don’t. Flowers have petals; horses don’t. Trees have roots; butterflies don’t. Women have cervixes; men don’t. Men have testicles; women don’t. None of that is political; none of it should be a reason to attack and threaten women.

Every single MP, regardless of where they stand on the transgender debate, should speak up in support of Duffield, because to do so is to speak out against the appalling and toxic misogyny which is currently engulfing women. I strongly suspect that many of Duffield’s colleagues agree with her and are appalled at her treatment. But this is clearly not enough for them to risk being bumped from good positions on the front bench. They need to have a long, hard think about who would stand up for them if they happened to say something deemed unacceptable to the mob. They should exercise compassion rather than cowardice.

But they’ve been trained to think it’s men who say they are women who really need compassion, not mere women who just are women. Women who just are women are boring and privileged both, which is why we’ve been ordered to redirect our solidarity to men who want to force everyone to agree that they’re women.