And when I walk around Reykjavík, I see so many rainbow flags, so many progress pride flags.You know, there seems to be more progress pride flags than Icelandic flags.What message is that giving to children?There actually has been a huge debate around these flags just recently.I don't like them at all.Five years ago, people were attacking me for my views and that was the flag that they flew.So I see that flag in Iceland and I think that people who have attacked me have stood under that banner.So I'd rather you weren't flying them.Because they always talk about it as an inclusive flag, but it's definitely not inclusive to everybody.It's not inclusive to me.As a trans person coming to Iceland, I'd rather you weren't flying them.Fly your Icelandic flags, please.But it's very easy to take this idea that you have a gender identity.And this is what I was told and this is what it's very easy to believe.And it's quite, you know, it's a great idea.It's a great thing to believe that you have a female gender identity.And this means that this is explaining the struggles that you're suffering.But it's not your fault because this is just something that you have.So the transition, the social, the medical and the surgical transition, it's not your fault.It's a response to something which you have.So at the time, yeah, I thought I had a gender identity.But you don't today.It's nonsense.It's nonsense.It really is nonsense.And it explains nothing.It just explains it away, which is a very different thing.Okay, please elaborate a little bit on this.It is a psychological thing then.Yeah, and I was struggling with my body and I was struggling with it being male.And I was struggling with, you know, how my body looked.And to say that I have a gender identity is not, it's not explaining anything.It's adding a new unknown into the situation.And as a, I'm a science teacher.And as a science teacher.As a scientist, I know that if you start introducing new parameters into a situation,you're not actually explaining anything.All you're doing is adding more unknowns into the situation.But this concept of gender identity, it's, you know, it's tantalizing.It's great.It's great.But it's been very, very dangerous because people with, possibly with very differentpsychological conditions have grabbed this idea so that I, as a middle-aged man in my 40s,saying,that I had a female gender identity and I needed to transition, explain nothing.And then we have teenage girls who want to transition the other way.And we say, oh, it's because they've got a gender identity.And these conditions are just totally different.So we've, we've, we've invented something which is conflating probably very differentissues and people are getting hurt.The, the gay rights organization Stormwall in the UK in 2014,started a campaign on behalf of transgender people, as well as LGB people.And they had a trans campaign and they had some t-shirts made up that said,trans women are women, get over it.So I got my local print shop to make a t-shirt that said,trans women are men, get over it.And two political statements.Mine caused a bit of a furore.Yeah.But why did you feel it was important that you wore a t-shirt like that in public?Well, I wanted to make a point.Really?Because people are, I believe that people should be allowed to make political,political statements.If somebody wants to wear a t-shirt that says trans, trans women are women, get over it.I'm quite happy for them to wear that t-shirt.I'll take issue with it because I think that, that men ought to refer to people who arebiologically male and women, women ought to refer to people who are biologically female.But if they want, if they want to say something I think is wrong, then I think they have aright to do that.And let's debate these things.That was my view.So I, I, I, my,my t-shirt said the alternative view.But as you know, people take offense when you say trans women are men.Well, they did.And it caused all sorts of problems.I was investigated, I was investigated by the TUC, which is, at the time I was sittingon a TUC committee.So I was investigated by the TUC.But all I was doing was making, was making a political statement.And if my statement, if my t-shirt that said trans women are men get over it caused offense,uh, well, I didn't, I wasn't offended by the other, the statement, I just disagreedwith it.And can't we just disagree over political statements?But alas, we can't in this.No.They want to be seen to be kind.They want to be seen to be good people.Because this idea of gender identity, it's part of, it's almost like a religious movementthat's grown up.You know, it's, it's very much a faith-based movement.We have to believe in gender identity.We've got to believe that biological sex isn't, uh, is, e, e, isn't important.Uh.There's the creed, you know, trans women are women, trans men are men, uh, non-binaryidentities are valid.These are religious creeds.Yeah.And it's a heresy to object it.So we, we have heretics, people who, uh, uh, people who follow these religions becausethey want to be seen as good people, part of the group, uh, uh, on the inside.And I suspect this affects scientists as well as it affects everybody else.They want to be seen to be good people and this is what good people do.Yeah.Me personally, uh, I mean, this is just my opinion after following the debate.Uh.That, that, like this, uh, trans identity thing has become like the, the crown jewelof the whole woke, uh, movement, uh, you know, this is, and this is the peak, when you saynonsense, like the statement, like trans women are women, deal with it.It's because it's so obviously not, uh, uh, a fact that trans women are women.Well, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's part of the, uh, it's part of the creed.It's part of the religious dogma.Um.So.So.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.Uh.So.So.So.It gets really refreshing to hear an actual trans woman say these things out loud.Well, the fact is, you don't have to change sex to be comfortable with my body.I, you know, I was uncomfortable with my body, now I'm comfortable with my body.And I don't need to believe something that apparently isn't true.I haven't changed sex, I've just made changes.Uh.And those changes make me, make me more comfortable with who I am.Uh.Uh.So what's not to like about that?Well it was something where people felt that they had a psychological disorderand went to a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist assessed them and saidwe think the best way of you becoming comfortable with yourself is to transitionand that was under medical supervision.So that was very much a medical psychological basis of itwhich I think is helpful because there is something there.But it became a campaign of civil rights which was completely separate to that.So going back 20 years a transsexual was somebody who actually did something.They transitioned, they changed their body.Whereas the civil rights argument is a transgender personbecause the language is different.A transgender person is somebody who is something.So the verb is different.Transsexuals do, transgender people are.That brings us into this.Identity, what do you call it again?The thing about the law side of it where you can just decide to be,what's it called again?Self-identity laws.Self-identity or self-declaration.Yes, to be a man or a woman was simply making a statementwhich you either went to court and swore a statement before a judgeand then you changed your sex.You didn't have to have any medical treatment.You didn't have to have any surgery.You didn't even have to change the way you looked.And that's a nonsense.We're taking the rest of society for a ride.Why is it problematic or why do you regard that as nonsense?Because everybody knows the difference between men and women.We've always known this.The first farmers in Mesopotamia thousands of years agoknew the difference between men and womenand they knew which of their children would be able to defend their landand they knew which of their children would bear their grandchildren.People have known this.And then suddenly in the 21st century to come along and saythis doesn't matter.You don't overrule human instinct like that.Well, it's the external validationand it's imposing on other peoplehow to act and what words to say and how to behave.So prisons was the ultimate situationwhen male rapists could announce that they were now a womanand they were sent to a women's prisonwhich is just how did we get there?So in Scotland,they had a big debate and they had a political votein the Scottish Parliament back in the year now.It's four years ago, five years ago.And they decided that people could change their sexon a self-declaration basis.And at the same point,there was a male rapist being sent to a women's prisonand the first minister of Scotland couldn't bring himselfto call this out.She had to resign.Well, yeah, she resigned shortly afterwards.This was...This was...This was one of the issues that Nicola Sturgeon resigned over.There were some other difficulties at the time.But yes, to push through this law that said in Scotlanda woman was somebody who signed a piece of paperto say that I'm a womanand the same week a male rapist was sent to a women's prisonwas...And the public see thisand the public are not happy.But where did the movement begin to go wrong in your opinion?Is that when they let men into female...Prisons or...I think there was a change in that verbto do and to be.So when transsexuals were somebody who did somethingthey changed the way they looked,they changed their bodiesand people would...People didn't need to be compelled to use the other pronouns.It was just easier.So that was fine.But at some point it was said thatyou didn't need to transition.You didn't need to change anything.You didn't need to have any treatmentin order to demand that other people treat you differently.And because I am...I am trans.Not I've done something.I am trans.And that was...I think was the mistake.One of the things that we shouldn't be includingis the medical treatment of childrenwho are struggling with the idea of growing up.And children who fear becoming adults.And this has been especially an issue with girlswho see that growing up to be a womanis a different deal to the boys growing up to be a man.I'm not a woman.I was never a girl.So...I'm speaking in the third...I'm speaking as an observer here.But what's happened to childrenhas been shocking.And where children have been...Had their puberty stopped.They've been given cross-sex hormones.Some have had surgeries.When they're too young to have a tattoo.They're too young to buy a beer.But they can make these decisions about their lives.And you think this is absolute nonsense?Or...I...I...What shocks me is thatpeople are called...People are calling this out.People are calling it out now.And they're being ignored.And then we look back in historyat outrages in history.And we say things like,how did this happen?How did the...How did the...The ancient people in other timessacrifice children?You know,why did this happen?Weren't people calling it out?Well, what I see is something similar happening now.So children are becoming victims in this.Children too young to make decisions.As I said, to buy a beer.We wouldn't let a 17-year-old buy a beer in a bar.But you're allowing children even younger than thatto make these changes to their bodies.And the most shocking thing isthat there are people who have been calling this out for 10 years.And they've been told they're bad people for calling it out.We shouldn't be forcing sex stereotypes onto children.We shouldn't be saying,because you're a girl, you've got to wear this.And because you're a boy, you've got to wear that.And if a boy wants to grow his hair out,and wear gloves which are marketed at girls,then fine.But we shouldn't be under any illusions that he's a boy.Because otherwise what we're saying isthat boys have to do this and girls have to do this.It's regressive.But like you know,the thing is that medical professionals in this field,they say that if you don't transition this child,you're going to have a dead child.But the actual statisticians,the statistics don't actually back that up.That's an emotional statement that's made.It was a trans...Your son becomes a daughter or whatever.And we shouldn't be using thatas a way of emotionally blackmailing parents.Because...But that is the case.That's what they've been told.That's what they're being told.But they should be asking for the statistics on this.And the statistics aren't there.We should be allowing...We should be allowing children to...We shouldn't be forcing them into strict sex roles.But at the same point,we shouldn't be saying,if you want to...If a girl wants to cut her hair shortand wear trousers and wear clotheswhich are marketed to boys,we shouldn't be sayingthat means you're really a boybecause the implications there are that,well, you might need to change your body at this pointbefore it's too late.And it's not.You know, we should be...To be truly liberalist,to accept these childrenwho want to experiment with sex stereotypes,with how they present themselves.But if a child is in distressbecause of gender dysphoria...Well, why are they in distress?They weren't in distress 20 years ago.30 years ago, there was no distress.So what's causing this distress?People will say,yeah, there have always been children in distress.They just couldn't say anything.Well, when I was 5 years old,I was in distress about it.And when I was 10 years old...But because...It wasn't possibleto transition as a child.It was manageable.The problem comes in...The problem I think happens with childrenis when it is possibleor somebody says no to that.And I think it's easier to copeif it's not possible.If society says,you're just...If you wish to transition,wait until you're an adult,wait until your brain stops developingand then we can look into it,but you can't do it now.You can live with that.So what is your general positionon puberty blockers?I think it's an outrage.And I think it's somethingwhich future generations will come back and say,why was this...Why in the first...In the second and third decadesof the 21st century,why on earth were people doing this?Why on earth were peoplegiving these puberty blockers to children?These are off-label drugs,the drugs which were developedfor other rare conditions.And we're giving these to childrenand we've no idea of the long-term outcomes.Puberty as well as developingsecondary sex characteristicsalso causes bone development.So you're arresting bone...You're stopping bone developmentand also psychological development.It's clear for any teacherhow children developfrom ages of 11, 12 through to 15, 16,not just physically,but also mentally.What 15, 16...15-year-olds can do mentallythat 11- and 12-year-olds can't.So we're...It's an experiment on childrentoo young to give consent to this.And I think...It's horrific what we're doing.And if nobody was calling it out,that's one thing,but people are calling it outand those who are calling it outare being...Shamed.They're being shamed,they're being shouted at,they're being called bad peoplewho are transformed,you know,this is the termwhich is thrown at these people,whereas all they're saying is thatthis is not right.So how have you seenlike this whole thingwith J.K. Rowlingin the past years?She's been attacked viciouslyand this world-renownedchildren's book writer,she has been painted upas an evil witchsomehow,can you talk a little bit about this?Well, she's refused to go alongwith the belief systemand she's been quite open about itand very vocal about itand has been able to,you know,because she's independently wealthy,she can't easily be shamedand she's championed other peopleand I think she's very brave,she's courageousand my respect for her is huge.There's nothing I've seenfrom her which is transphobic.Nothing hateful?No, nothing.But she's not going to say somethingshe doesn't believeand she doesn't think that's rightjust because other peoplethink that she shouldand those are peoplethat we should be looking up to,people who do what's righteven if they come undera huge amount of criticism for it.On Iceland a little bit,Iceland is a smalland generally tolerant societybut it has adoptedmany of the same ideasabout gender identitythat emerged in Britainand the United States.What warning would you give countriesthat are only nowconfronting these questions?Well, what is the impact on children?Adults are of age,adults are responsiblefor the decisions they makebut what is the impact on children?To be promoting LGBTQ+,what's included in the plus?That's a question I sometimes ask.The LGBTQ+,activities, identities,what is the impact on children?What do children make of this?And to include children in thisbefore they're of age,I think we should be allowingchildren to grow upand find their own way in liferather than be foistingthese ideas on them.
