What does it mean to be a courageous woman in 2024?

Parachute jumps, helicopter sky running and hiding families from the Nazis seemed brave in 1984. But courage has taken on a whole new meaning for women in 2024.

Here are some people I thought were courageous in 1984:

• BBC Blue Peter presenter  Janet Ellis (for her 200,000 feet parachute jump) 

• Singer songwriter Bob Geldof for starting Band Aid and raising millions for Ethiopian children  

• TV Personality Anneka Rice - for being a ‘helicopter sky runner’ on the Channel 4 show Treasure Hunt

Granted, I was ten years old at the time.

But I’m pretty sure I also thought striking miners (along with police officers on the picket lines), war veterans and people who helped hide Jewish families during World War Two were courageous too. 

I was vaguely aware that sexism was a ‘thing’. And that some women made less money, found it harder to break into certain professions and/or get promoted at work than their male counterparts.

But I don’t remember feeling women needed to be courageous to speak up about these things - or any issues that affected them.

So if you’d told me I’d live to see a time where people would call women ‘courageous’ for saying one/more of these things: 

• I don’t want to share a toilet or changing room with a man

• Men can’t ovulate, have periods or have babies 

• I don’t think it’s right for men to compete in female sports categories 

… I wouldn’t have believed you. 

Nor would I have believed the reason it was considered courageous to say these things: because some people believed it was possible to change sex (despite scientific evidence to the contrary). And that there were more than two sexes (i.e. male and female). Because they’d seemingly decided that sex (biological reality) and gender (identity) were one and the same thing.

And not only did they expect you to believe them … and be complicit in their delusions. They’d also insult and abuse you for not going along with them - and incite others to join in. Which could result in the loss of your job/home. And/or threats of physical/sexual violence. 

But this is 2024 folks. 

And while I chose 1984 because that was the end of my first decade in the world … it’s difficult to ignore the irony.

Because the sex- based language we use to describe female bodies is under attack, as is our right to safe spaces - and even our right to voice our opinions on the matter. 

Like many women, however, I was slow to catch on. 

And, as someone who values inclusion and fairness, for the longest time, I did genuinely wonder if I’d missed something. 

Perhaps you’ve been wondering the same? 

But in a world where NHS nurses need a government petition - and legal action - to get a man out of their changing room, I’m more convinced than ever that we haven’t. 

And I can’t stay silent any longer. 

I’m conscious that many women don’t have the time/resources to stay up to speed with every development in this area (and other issues that relate to freedom of speech). And that many feel the same as I do - but are afraid of speaking up (out of fear of being called ‘bigoted’ and/or worse). 

I’m definitely not an expert. But I have done a LOT of research/reading over the last 12 months or so - and feel I may have valuable information and insights to share. 

And while I’m not entirely sure where I want this Substack to go, what I DO know is that it shouldn’t feel courageous to have conversations about these topics.  And yet it does. 

Which is how I know saying something is better than saying nothing.