The feminist blogger behind a controversial billboard defining ‘woman’ as ‘adult human female’ was blasted by viewers when she insisted trans women do not fit the criteria on This Morning.
Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, 44, made headlines this week with her poster, which bore the definition of a woman – ‘adult human female.’
It was erected in Liverpool to coincide with the Labour Party conference but was removed when Dr Adrian Harrop, 31, who is not transgender, complained to billboard company Primesight that it would serve to make transgender women feel unsafe.
Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, 44, made headlines this week with her poster, which bore the definition of a woman – ‘adult human female.’ She faced widespread criticism when she defended the billboard, and her views, in a debate on This Morning today, pictured
Viewers accused Kellie-Jay of being transphobic and blasted her views as ‘hateful and nasty’. Others shared their support for transgender activist India Willoughby in their tweets
Kellie-Jay faced widespread criticism when she appeared on This Morning to defend the billboard, and her views, in a debate with transgender activist India Willoughby, who transitioned three years ago.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘Kelly is vile what gives her the right to judge anymore and tell anyone who there should live as. Transgender go through enough without vile people like that airing what they think is right.’
Another added: ‘Kelly on #ThisMorning is literally disgusting. How dare you attack the transgender community like that. Everyone deserves to be who they want to be. Vile woman.’
Speaking to India, Kellie-Jay insisted she did not considered trans women to be women and argued they should ‘live as men instead’.
Kellie-Jay was behind this controversial billboard defining ‘woman’ as ‘adult human female’ which was erected in Liverpool to coincide with the Labour Party conference. It was removed when Dr Adrian Harrop, 31, complained it would make transgender women feel unsafe
Dozens of women spoke out against Kellie-Jay, making clear she did not speak for them or feminists. Others urged her ‘not to spread a message of hatred’
She said: ‘I really don’t think you can change sex in any meaningful way. Every cell in the human body has the DNA code as to what sex you are. India obviously looks like a woman but I don’t see India as a woman.’
Kellie-Jay argued that transgender women being legally recognised as women impeaches the rights and freedom of people born female.
She said: ‘We seem to be losing the word woman… I just thought the essence of this debate, and what we’re losing, is the word ‘woman’ to mean adult human female.
‘When you decide that men can come into women’s space… It’s no longer women’s space.’
Kellie-Jay told transgender activist India Willoughby, left, who transitioned three years ago, that she did not consider her to be a woman
Kellie-Jay claimed she had received support in the wake of the billboard furore but the vast majority of tweets on the debate were negative towards her and her views
Presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford supported India as she tried to explain that she transitioned because she was a woman born in the wrong body.
‘I have something called gender dysphoria,’ she said. ‘The only way I could feel normal was transitioning… I’m living as me.’
But Kellie-Jay hit back saying: ‘I’m saying men cannot be women.’
Kellie-Jay, who is part of the pressure group Standing for Women, said the criticism she had faced in the wake of the billboard was ‘absurd’.
When pushed on whether she was transphobic, she responded: ‘I don’t know what transphobia means… The fact that it’s deemed transphobic absolutely highlights the absurdity of what’s going on.’
She added she had received ‘enormous’ support for the campaign in the aftermath of the billboard furore.