Miraz Jordan

As a lifelong lesbian feminist one of the things I want most in the world is for people to stop telling me who I am and how I can be.

So I see it as a massive own-goal by a small but very vocal group of misguided feminists to push those in power to confine and restrict our lives. What all people should be doing, in my opinion, is pushing to open up our lives, to be able to self-determine.

This post occasioned by these recent events:

• Coalition directs Health NZ to stop saying 'pregnant people' | RNZ News:

  "It is important that we have clarity about the people we are referring to when talking about women's health. Sex-specific language ensures that women know what health services they are entitled to and can access these easily, especially for those women with English as a second language."

  "Clear language should be used in all documents and communications that refer to health issues specific to females."

  How insulting to women! As if a woman can't figure out "I'm a person, I'm pregnant, this info is for me". Or maybe women aren't considered to be 'people' …

• The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex; and Judges at the UK Supreme Court have unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.

All kinds of wrong!

For hundreds of years women in my parts of the world have fought to win me the right to vote, to have a career, to choose my own course in life, to wear the clothes I choose, to take part in public life, to borrow money, to love other women … so many choices in life.

These declarations and pronouncements are a huge step back and no feminists should be supporting them.