Mick Hartley

Meanwhile, in Ireland:

The Government’s new Science Advisor believes that biological males “are women” if they identify as transgender women.

On Tuesday this week, Professor Aoife McLysaght, Chair of Evolutionary Genetics in Trinity College Dublin, was appointed to the role of Government Science Advisor….

Notably, Professor McLysaght has repeatedly affirmed that “transwomen are women” – i.e. that biological males who identify as women are the gender they identify as.

“I am a biologist, and I’m pretty sure that whatever you can think of, there exists both an example and a counter-example somewhere in nature,” McLysaght said in a 2020 social media post.

Exactly. Scientists in evolutionary genetics are generally intelligent people who understand biology and know that changing sex is an impossibility – but there are counter-examples.

In 2022, responding to a proposed US law that would seek to prevent transgender biological males from competing in women’s sports, McLysaght described the proposal as a “brutal manifestation of transphobia.”

“1. Transwomen are women. 2. The origin of sex-differentiated sports is not to protect women’s sports but to marginalise them. 3. This law is a brutal manifestation of transphobia”, she said….

Responding to a now-deleted post featuring a headline from the UK that read “Women-only facilities will be protected,” McLysaght said “What does it mean to ‘protect’ women-only facilities? Who decides who gets in, and on what basis? Hairstyle? Clothing? This is bullshit designed to hurt trans people and hurts us all.”…

In a statement on the appointment this week, Science Minister Patrick O’Donovan said he was grateful to have Professor McLysaght advising the government on scientific issues, because it is “essential” that the government has “the best scientific evidence available” when addressing modern challenges, “fully informed by quality science advice.”

Ah, that old Irish sense of humour….