iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Much 2 think about. Thanks LinkedIn.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If you live in Qld/NSW this is your equivalent of Crossfire with William Buckley Jr

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. I'll delete this if he wins.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The Trump 2025 executive order wasn't that sophisticated though.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A short passage from the introduction.

Although it is replete with appeals to the ‘manifestly obvious’10 nature of its conclusions
and to the need for an interpretive approach that is ‘constant and predictable’,11 the Court’s
conclusions were revisionary. The Court’s conclusion was that in enacting EA 2010 Parliament
intended to make it so that the usual effects of legal gender recognition would not apply for the
purposes of discrimination law. The Court concluded, moreover, that Parliament had elected to
do this only by implication in an anti-discrimination statute that otherwise expressly recognises
the rights of trans people.
12 The effect of this interpretation is to reassign, sub silentio, the
meaning of ‘sex’ in provisions of legislation that on their plain and ordinary meaning protect
the rights of those who have or will complete a process of changing their sex.13 The Court
completed this process of semantic reassignment without acknowledging that the problem of
determining when this change of sex is completed for the purposes of discrimination law was
one of the principal legal mischiefs that fell to be addressed by the GRA 2004.14

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Another choice passage from Midge if anyone is tempted to think I'm being unfair.

The fact that the homosexuals’ flight from women was accompanied by a good deal of female imitation pointed neither to sympathy with nor flattery of the female principle. For that aspect of the female being imitated through homosexuality, in dress, manner, and even in some of the attention to domestic detail, was femininity in its unformed and unrealized condition: in other words, girlishness. Now, girlishness is femaleness before it has incorporated the possibilities, and the dangers, of reproduction. Women who sustain this condition into their adult lives are expressing hatred for their destined role as the messengers of mortality—it being women who principally teach the lesson that to be human is to be born, to grow old, and to die. And men who seek to appropriate the advantages of girlishness—i.e., homosexuals—are most of all expressing their refusal to receive that message. It was homosexuality that Simone de Beauvoir succeeded in describing so brilliantly when she wrote in her famous woman-hating book, The Second Sex:

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is sub-s 7D(1) and sub-s 7D(2). Giggle were arguing they should be read as permitting discrimination against trans women.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I mean not really. I guess it makes its own ideology fairly easy to see, but it's full of sleights of hand. gidmk.substack.com/p/the-cass-r...

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

'being surrounded by homosexuals put our very existence as women on the line'

Still others professed feelings that were a confusion of private fondness and public bewilderment. Though they knew in their heads that it was the case, deep down they could not really credit the idea that homosexuality was an abiding and serious way of life: given the proper conditions, an effective course of therapy, say (or the right woman?), it would go away.

For all of us, though, whether we acknowledged it or not, being surrounded by homosexuals put our very existence as women on the line. Nobody, not even the most energetically tolerant liberals among us, claimed to be indifferent. Nor did I ever hear an expression of pity for the plight of homosexuals.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

People often make the comparison with left-handedness, but I think the effect of no-fault divorce on divorce rates is also an interesting comparator. (This is for Australia, the spike is introduction of no-fault divorce.)

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

While I'm complaining about the UK Supreme Court, I don't think this at all a 'neutral' way to describe 'gender critical' beliefs (or to describe the views of their opponents). supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2...

Ms Bailey believes that a woman is defined by her sex. She disagrees with the beliefs of those who say that a woman is defined by her gender, and it is for the individual to identify. This is sometimes referred to as a “gender critical” belief. The ET found that Ms Bailey’s beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010 (“EA 2010”).

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Since Helen Dale has piled on to Jason Arday for being a fabulist (and indulged in some oh so subtle innuendo) I am just going to say that I think she should be quiet on this one.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Finally, the evidence on the difficulties faced by intersex people in changing sex markers on their birth certificate is unsurprising but useful. I think there is a clear argument that this infringes Art 8 of the ECHR.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

This is a really interesting set of results. A couple of things jump out, one of which is the difficulties intersex people experience accessing public facilities (this is timely given the EHRC Code of Practice).

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

This is the key point. And the great thing about it is that it doesn't depend on liberal judicial instincts at all. It is just straightforward statutory interpretation, an immediate corollary of the Court's reasoning in FWS.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Here is Oxford Professor John Finnis after Neil Gorsuch got caught dead to rights for some (much more minor) plagiarism. My response at the time was the same as yours now: if this is "normal" I'm worried for the discipline. Anyway, we agree so I'm not sure what I'm saying.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It's not quite this straightforward but this is an important point that was neglected in the GLP case. It can't have been the intention to prohibit trans inclusive provision by a legislative sidewind.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Even in their most recent polling, they only offer three options when I suspect lots of people think e.g. "well of course Suzie at work can use the ladies but I have concerns about self-id".

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Yep this is it, and this is in the second paragraph.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Anyway, here's Lord Nicholls in Bellinger v Bellinger (just about the most conservative of the turn of the century decisions on sex reassignment).

31. Recognition of gender reassignment will involve some blurring of the normally accepted biological distinction between male and female. Some blurring already exists, unavoidably, in the case of inter-sexual persons. When assessing the gender of inter-sexual persons, matters taken into account include self-perception and style of upbringing and living. Recognition of gender reassignment will involve further blurring. It will mean that in law a person who, unlike an inter-sexual person, had all the biological characteristics of one sex at birth may subsequently be treated as a member of the opposite sex.

15. In Australia Chisholm J reached a similar conclusion in Re Kevin (validity of marriage of transsexual) [2001] Fam CA 1074, a case decided after the decision of the Court of Appeal in the present case. Chisholm J's extensive judgment contains a powerful critique of the existing law and a useful review of international developments. Having regard to the view I take of this case, it is not necessary for me to elaborate on his views. Suffice to say, his conclusion was that there is no 'formulaic solution' to determining the sex of an individual for the purpose of the law of marriage. All relevant matters need to be considered, including the person's life experiences and self-perception. Post-operative transsexual people will normally be members of their reassigned sex.

13. The decision in Corbett has attracted much criticism, from the medical profession and elsewhere. The criteria for designating a person as male or female are complex. It is too 'reductionistic' to have regard only to the three Corbett factors of chromosomes, gonads and genitalia. This approach ignores 'the compelling significance of the psychological status of the person as a man or a woman'. Further, the application of the Corbett approach leads to a substantially different outcome in the cases of a post-operative inter-sexual person and a post-operative transsexual person, even though, post-operatively, the bodies of the two individuals may be remarkably similar.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I'm crowdsourcing this. I get "intersex is offensive and you should use DSD" a lot from gender critical people. As far as I can tell it isn't true. Does anyone know where it came from?

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I gather this guy is a respected journalist in the UK. He just posted this on a trans woman's linkedin post. I don't think he knows her personally. What is happening to people?

You are welcome to come and piss in the men's. It's our job to make you feel welcome. Men who think they are women is a male problem. It is it very typical of trans-identifying men not to care about women's feelings. That's okay so long as you don't start encroaching on their spaces. Start a campaign to piss in the men's and make it men's job to make it safe for you. I will support it.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

This is wrong, for a start. Her biological sex will be a question of fact not determined by her certificate.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Like Rach, I take the statistical claim here to relate to trans women in particular. Personally, I can't think of any reason why trans men should be excluded. But in any case I can't see any statistical argument for trans men's exclusion in play.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Well they had to resolve the case one way or other, but they didn't have to buy into the idea of a strict "biological" demarcation. Here's Lord Fraser in re: race in Mandala v Dowell-Lee.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Because the conditions for it to be wrongful aren't met. So e.g. on Schauer's approach the groups in question are different because cis people aren't stigmatized and trans people are.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

A comment on my LinkedIn yesterday, in response to a post of mine that mentioned trans women breastfeeding.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

I posted this on LinkedIn, partly because I have students on there that aren't on here and I wanted them to see it. I'm going to try to post less about this and be more useful to the world. I'll stay on here, because I learn so much from you all.

I was deeply saddened to see the content of the EHRC's revised code of practice, which the equalities minister laid before Parliament last week.

A few months ago I wrote the below blog post for the UKCLA, arguing against the EHRC's interpretation of the code. As with all blog posts, my arguments were abbreviated and there are points that I would already frame differently. But I am proud of writing it.

https://lnkd.in/gjDAhQCA

There are many things wrong with the code, but I will mention just one. In FWS the Supreme Court acknowledged that trans men and women can be the victims of sex discrimination and harassment in their acquired sex. It is incoherent and unprincipled to interpret the Equality Act as recognising that trans women can be the victims of misogynist harassment and violence, while also prohibiting them from receiving services that allow them the care and companionship of other women with similar experiences.

I also want to express my concerns about the changing environment for students at British universities. I feel a duty to speak out on this on behalf of my own trans, non-binary and intersex students. Some of them would no doubt have considered travelling to the UK for postgraduate studies. I fear that many of them will now have to add the UK to a growing list of countries where they will be excluded and stigmatised for living as they always have.

It should go without saying, but I write this on my own behalf and not on behalf of my employer.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

You'd think so. But I'd tentatively suggest that many of the people who've pushed hardest for the current situation in the UK aren't motivated by a genuine concern for toilet accessibility.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

It's worth citing what the ECtHR actually said in Goodwin (not the judgment as some anti-trans lawyers remember it), not only because it still has authority, but because it is still true.

While it also remains the case that a transsexual cannot acquire all the biological characteristics of the assigned sex (Sheffield and Horsham, cited above, p. 2028, § 56), the Court notes that with increasingly sophisticated surgery and types of hormonal treatments, the principal unchanging biological aspect of gender identity is the chromosomal element. It is known however that chromosomal anomalies may arise naturally (for example, in cases of intersex conditions where the biological criteria at birth are not congruent) and in those cases, some persons have to be assigned to one sex or the other as seems most appropriate in the circumstances of the individual case. It is not apparent to the Court that the chromosomal element, amongst all the others, must inevitably take on decisive significance for the purposes of legal attribution of gender identity for transsexuals (see the dissenting opinion of Thorpe LJ in Bellinger v. Bellinger cited in paragraph 52 above; and the judgment of Chisholm J in the Australian case, Re Kevin, cited in paragraph

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Paragraph 2 of the Giggle v Tickle judgment.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

But here is e.g. the Equal Treatment Bench Book overview for religion.

Adjustments to the court process
11. A requirement of a religion may mean proceedings need to be conducted in a certain way,
eg breaks, adjusted hours and order of witnesses, to allow for fasting and its impact on
metabolism, the need to undertake prayer during the day, Sabbaths starting at sunset, and
religious holy days; or following a bereavement, where a religious faith encourages swift
funeral ceremonies and extended periods of mourning.
12. Many religious faiths incorporate elements of fasting, to a greater or lesser extent. A fasting
day is sometimes so holy that it is also not permitted to work or come into court (eg Yom
Kippur).
13. In all cases it is important to demonstrate respect for religious differences:
• Show understanding of any issues regarding times when a religious person cannot attend
court, eg because of an important holy day, or because they need time off or facilities to
pray. For more detail, see appendix D (Glossary of religions).
• Take care to get a person’s name right. For details, see “Names and naming systems”.
• Show understanding regarding correct practice on taking the oath. Witnesses/jurors
should not be pressurised into taking an oath on the wrong religious book. They should
be offered the choice of taking a religious oath without the religious book or affirming if
they prefer. The important point is that they feel bound by the oath or affirmation. For
details, see appendix D (Glossary of religions).
• Avoid making any unnecessary objections regarding dress code. (See “Religious dress
and wearing the veil” below.)
• Consider changing the order in which witnesses are called or timings of hearings/breaks
to accommodate faiths that observe their weekly Sabbath from sunset (or before) on
Friday until sunset on Saturday (the period where work/activity is not permitted).
If a person is fasting, it is helpful to understand the following:
• Periods of fasting can often be for many hours and for lengthy periods,…

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Yes. No one serious denies this (not even Judith Butler as far as I know). The real question is why does all this matter? I like John Dupre's way of putting things in his "Sex, Gender and Essence".

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

No that's incorrect. In cases that fall outside of the Corbett criteria sex is a multi-factorial determination that takes into account, among other things, the sex in which you were raised and psychological factors. See Bellinger v Bellinger. (And Michael Foran agrees with me it seems.)

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Because she changed her legal sex. The rest of us aren't bound by your obtuse metaphysics..

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Today I read this correspondence Harry Benjamin sent after Ormrod J's decision in Corbett. "Science without humanism is an ugly distortion of science". He discusses the "panic" of his trans patients.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

There are so many funny things about this but I like: (1) Unherd! (2) Women are baby robot females (apparently)

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Granted this is private correspondence, but in my experience people talk this way about trans and non-binary academics in UK academia all the time. There is an appalling double standard here.

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Rob Mullins @robertmullins.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I've been having fun in the posting mines. Earning my stripes.🫡

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