Stonewall backlash
A few years ago, a former journalist speculated that the debate over transgender had the potential to break Stonewall. Based on a flurry of recent news stories, it now seems their words were strangely prophetic.
A once well-disciplined campaign group is under fire over its approach to trans rights and its treatment of those who dare to disagree.
It’s hard to exaggerate the staggering influence Stonewall has had. Founded in May 1989 to protest Section 28, which forbid local authorities from promoting homosexuality, it has campaigned very effectively on a variety of causes.
But now the organisation is in hot water over some dodgy advice about ‘gender’. In its obsession with pronouns and the correct way to market lavatories, it’s got tangled up in an increasingly toxic war of words between trans rights and feminism.
In recent advice sent to groups like the Ministry of Justice and MI6, Stonewall suggested the word ‘mother’ was not ‘inclusive’ and therefore should not be used by the various bodies it advises. Instead, a mum should be called a ‘parent who has given birth’. It’s all part of a cultural, language orientated revolution. Biological females are called ‘menstruators’. There’s no breastfeeding, but ‘chestfeeding’.
As a result of its latest, Orwellian attempt to police language, government minister Liz Truss said government departments should quit its diversity scheme. Even Channel 4, with its strong liberal bias, has pulled out. The Ministry of Justice is not renewing its membership and this month, a number of universities also quit the scheme.
It’s a classic example of what happens when a largely successful (judging solely by earthly standards) campaign group desperately seeks new ways of staying relevant. In its desperation, the charity has latched on to the trans agenda. It just might cause its downfall. Even one of its founders, the writer Matthew Parris, said recently that Stonewall didn’t need to get ‘tangled up in the trans issue’. Instead, the group’s CEO recently compared criticism of trans ideology with anti-Semitism.
What should we say in response to all this? It’s highly tempting to ignore it all and just get on with our lives. I do sometimes think that the culture wars are primarily being played out on social media and wise Christians will steer clear. But then you read about cases like that of The Revd Dr Bernard Randall who was reported to Prevent for a sermon on identity politics, and you realise there’s something deeply sinister about cancel culture and its deliberate policy of supressing those with the ‘wrong’ views.
Moreover, it’s a generational challenge the church cannot and must not run away from. Younger people are more likely to view cancel culture as a social justice ‘weapon’. Cancelling certain phrases and avoiding any form of ‘cultural appropriation’ will be their new normal. The church needs God’s own wisdom to discern the times, to disciple God’s people and to guard to church from error on any side.
The story of Stonewall surely also reminds us of a great Biblical principle. God will allow sin to spread for a time. But He will not allow it to go unchallenged forever. Yes, the ultimate judgment is not yet upon us. But God judges nations, people and institutions in this life, too and He is not mocked.
Groups like the one I work for have a role to play, working with policy makers, seeking to bring a Biblical perspective to laws and legislation. But my own conviction remains unchanged. Our deepest and most desperate need is for heaven-initiated revival. Like the prophet Isaiah, we need to plead with God to rend the heavens, come down and do what He alone can do.
James Mildred is the Communications Manager for CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) www.care.org.uk
