I am a gender non-conforming woman: here is what my life is like
My experience as a gender non-conforming 37-year-old woman is that, since I was about eight, I have been regularly mistaken for a boy or man, and that a few times a year, these incidents are deeply embarrassing to me or involve someone being openly hostile.
For example, in 2022, when flying to the US, I was detained for an enhanced search because they did not believe that I was female, as stated in my passport. I was humiliated to the point of tears, not least because I had recently shaved my head for brain surgery for a tumour and had a prominent scar.
I have long lived in a world where I expect to be mistaken for a man and feel on edge as a result. My crimes? Being 5ft 8in, slim-ish, with short hair, an angular face, a deeper voice, and preferring loose clothing. Perhaps my walk is a little confident. The chromosomes remain XX.
This isn't about the trans or non-binary debate. The real issue is that in this country, we have an extremely reductive view of what even a biological woman should look like, sound like and dress like. To an extent, the challenge to binaries has unfortunately and bizarrely played a role in reducing the visual and social footprint of natal womanhood even further. I am regularly asked by well-meaners my pronouns too – something I find just as insulting.
The way I am is no statement, no protest, no challenge. It is simply how I have always been. Comfy, lazy, functional. Why should those be the preserve of men?Felicity HawksleyYork
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Daily Mail
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The 19-year-old 'fogey' who hasn't voted in a general election or had a serious girlfriend, but he's running a £400million budget as Britain's youngest council leader
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'I have to say, I don't love the carpet,' he admits, giving me a tour of his new fiefdom. 'It's giving library vibes. But I'm really not crying about it. I think it's good quality carpet so if it does the job, that's what matters. It doesn't matter about the colour or the age, as long as it does its job.' What a sensible soul George Finch seems, yet it's little wonder his appointment earlier in the summer caused abject horror in some quarters. Because George – the new wunderkind of the Reform party; his boss Nigel Farage's great hope for the future – is 19 and believed to be the youngest council leader in Britain. 'People are comparing me to William Pitt the Younger (who was PM at the age of 24) and Alexander the Great,' he says. 'I'm not saying that – I'm just George – but people do seem obsessed by the age thing.' It's a bit early to be talking about whether we are in the company of a future prime minister, but it's fair to say George's ascent has been extraordinary. This is a kid who hasn't yet voted in a general election (he wasn't old enough at the last one). He still lives with his parents, can't yet drive and tells me (and it's the only time he's tongue-tied) that he hasn't yet had a serious girlfriend. 'I mean I have had a girlfriend at school, but not…no. I've got a job to do. I've put a lot aside for this'. This time last year he was getting his A-level results and heading off to university to study politics and international relations. Local politics was more of a sideline – he'd been a youth councillor before winning the seat of Bedworth Central this year – but last month when his Reform party colleague Rob Howard stepped down as leader, citing ill health, George stepped up. It's a bit early to be talking about whether we are in the company of a future prime minister, but it's fair to say George's ascent has been extraordinary A vote last month confirmed his appointment. It's all been a whirlwind and technically he's still on his summer holiday from university. But can he resume his studies and still get to grips with potholes? He's not entirely sure, but is veering towards 'probably deferring or suspending my studies. 'I've spoken to the university, asked their advice, but they don't know what to do, which is hilarious'. As the mother of 19-year-old twins, I feel it's my civic duty to tell him that my mind is blown by his appointment. My twins are a couple of weeks older than him and have also just completed their first year at university. They are bright, capable and will hopefully go on to great things but very recent life experience (this week's, in fact) has taught me that they aren't yet ready to be left in charge of a non-stick frying pan. How on earth can George's mother sleep at night knowing he's in control of a £400 million budget? 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I looked at studying history at university but I couldn't just do the history I wanted to study. One of the courses I was looking at was about how people were LGBT during the Tudor period. What? That's a non-subject.' He cites a moment when some of his co-students at Leicester University were arrested after a Free Palestine demonstration. 'A few of them got arrested after vandalising property and the lecturer stood up and said we must get the university to write a letter to the police to get them freed. What? They'd just done criminal damage. 'Another girl was arranging a protest. I was thinking 'I just want to learn'.' His growing political awareness put him in direct conflict with many of his peers ('but not all. It's a myth that all students are to the Left'). What surprises me is that he doesn't seem remotely bothered about how he comes across to the younger generation. 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There is talk within the party of how he could stand at the next election but – ever the politician – he insists that 'once we get the education system sorted and go back to traditional values' he could go back to Plan A which was to be a history teacher. Surely he has his eye on Number 10? He refers me back to potholes, his immediate concern. 'We have 107 of them in Warwickshire,' he points out.
The Guardian
5 minutes ago
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Anti-racism and anti-immigration protesters in Falkirk face off outside asylum hotel
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