The one thing that bothers me about the GRR debate and fall out is this – why Scotland? When 18 countries comprising 350 million people have done this without the attendant fuss, why have we secured such a poisonous debate here? How has a modest proposal to make the life conditions of one of the most vulnerable and marginal communities in our society managed to secure thousands of negative articles in the main stream media and evoked such visceral disapproval and opprobrium on social media. 

Gender reform is something that nearly all the main political parties support. Where it is true that the Conservatives oppose it, this was something they supported only a few years ago, and there remains amongst their ranks supporters for reform. It could actually be said that Gender Reform is about the closest thing to a political consensus in Scotland we have experienced in the history of our Parliament. Scotland is also one of the most socially liberal nations in Europe having pioneered a number of ground breaking social and health initiatives. We would seem to be almost the ideal nation to introduce such a reform.

Just now Scotland is the global epicentre of the debate about gender reform. Having passed a bill by a clear majority in the Scottish Parliament it was immediately blocked by the UK Government making the issue constitutional as well as social. On top of that the case of the rapist Isla Bryson emerged taking the debate to another stratosphere entirely. It seemed that everything that could conspire to create a perfect toxic storm came together, all at once. We are now at the stage where there seems to be a front page headline on a daily basis and gender reform as an issue dominates our political discourse., This has gone from something that relatively few people really cared about into something that, according to some, has the capacity to derail the whole campaign for Scottish independence!

So how did we get to this stage and what on earth has it got to do with Scottish independence? 

Well, the short answer to the latter is absolutely nothing. A variety of Governments of all political persuasions have taken similar legislation through their respective parliaments. If Labour had somehow secured power in Scotland it would be a Scottish Labour Government bringing this reform forward.

In Scotland, like everywhere else in the world, there are opponents of progressive gender reform, church groups, social conservatives and influential groups of gender critical feminists are found amongst the ranks of opposition in a variety of countries. Knowing that this would be controversial legislation the Government embarked upon a series of consultations inviting all those with a view to participate. The result was that a consensus emerged amongst all the groups traditionally associated with supporting women and advocating for human rights. The result of this six year process is that gender reform is now perhaps the most consulted piece of legislation ever passed in the Scottish Parliament. 

I first became aware of this debate when I saw increasing references to it on independence social media and on Indy blogs. I observed how a few determined voices appeared to seize upon this as an agenda item and I watched as they successfully managed to conflate it with an impatience about Scottish independence. The web site Wings Over Scotland, for example, had built up a huge audience from the Scottish independence campaign and it churned out article after article designed to appeal to the more baser instincts in the debate whilst being increasingly critical of progress made on independence. This was just one of many. Together, they occupied territory ceded by the mainstream independence campaign, and left largely unchallenged, these sites quickly prospered to the extent that there are now a series of independence parties who have opposition to gender reform as their main policy objective. 

And trans people are an easy target. Generally unsupported and few in number, trans people have found themselves on the sharp end of a barrage of scorn and derision. Being trans right now must be a truly frightening experience and the increase in attacks on, and abuse of, trans people is a grim consequence of the tone of the debate. 

Then then there is the sheer level of misinformation. We are told that Gender Recognition Reform is responsible for everything from men in women’s toilets to rapists in prisons. It has apparently been able to do all of this without even being introduced and blocked by the UK Government! 

There are many of us who have seen this all before. As a child of the 60s who cut my teeth in the campaigns around ‘gay rights ‘in the late 70s and early 80s I recognise almost intuitively the features of this debate. The characterisation of a whole group as ‘predators’, the othering, the invention of threats and the successive exaggerations. The portrayal of those supporters of reform as militants, deviant and violent. It was almost as if those opposed to reform went back to the early 80s and found the rule book on how this is done.

But there are also honest opponents of reform. There are those who passionately believe in women’s rights who see gender reform as a threat and who profoundly believe in biological sex above all else. There are those who have raised genuine concerns and have honestly sought to engage meaningfully in the debate. Perhaps we missed the opportunity for nuance in the debate amongst the tendency for knee jerk polarisation and the quick division into opposing camps. I think all of us can conclude that this is a debate that we have not done well. 

So will it have a long term influence on our mainstream politics? That is unlikely. I suspect that once the lurid headlines go so will people’s interest. Most people honestly believe in letting people live their best lives, in the manner they think best.

Like most people I don’t consider this the defining issue of the day. I have never put out any press release on the issue. It has never been on any of my electoral materials and I barely mention it on social media. My view is quite simple. I support equality for all and will always support measures that make life better for those vulnerable and on the margins of our community.

The cause of Scottish independence will go and it will stand or fall on whether we can convince enough of our fellow Scots that independence is the best future for our country. At the end of the day that is all that matters in this debate.