Letters: the cruelty of the Supreme Court trans ruling 

Cruel intentions

Sir: Rod Liddle (‘Let’s strike a blow for honesty’, 26 April) seems to have fallen into the same trap as most writers who support the Supreme Court’s ruling on the trans issue – which is to refuse to differentiate between those who have undergone a full gender reassignment, so that they effectively no longer have the same bodies they were born into, and those who simply put on a dress and call themselves a woman.

While it can clearly be argued that a man in a dress might pose a risk to women in single-sex spaces, it can hardly be suggested that a trans woman who has undergone full gender reassignment is in the same category, and should be refused access to women’s toilets and other similar places. To refuse to allow those who have taken irreversible surgical steps to live fully as the gender they have become is nothing less than cruel.

Nick Timmings

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Grief encounter

Sir: AI-generated avatars of historical figures mouthing 21st-century platitudes is indeed a dubious development (‘The ghastliness of the AI ghouls’, 26 April). Equally questionable are the companies offering grieving relatives a means of digitally ‘resurrecting’ a dead loved one as an avatar. For a price, the deceased’s digital history is ‘harvested’ and a speaking image provided. This has far-reaching implications. If a dead relative can be conjured up on a screen at the press of a button, it may assist the grieving process but may also distort or prolong it.

The Revd Larry Wright

Kings Norton, Birmingham

Iconic show

Sir: With regard to George Young’s piece on the exhibiting of Orthodox icons, the luminaries referred to in context of the petition to the British Museum in 2002 cannot be ignored (Arts, 19 April). Speaking as an Orthodox Christian, however, one cannot ignore the question of how ‘natural’ (or fitting) it is for icons to be housed in a museum. An icon is not simply an artefact, nor an object to be ‘admired’. Its reach is far beyond cultural or historic interest. As a window into the divine, icons kept in churches (or homes) as a focus for prayer. Orthodox Christians prostrate themselves before them, kiss them, pray in front of them. They are central in liturgical worship.

It is indeed an embarrassment for icons to be ‘languishing and inaccessible in a storage facility’, as Young writes. But while we may of course wish for them to be accessible, the idea of them being housed in an exhibition space for ‘viewing’ does not sit quite right either.

Ruth Nares

Ripe, E. Sussex

Unholy tablets

Sir: As the parent of a seven- and a three-year-old I am regularly struck by the lack of discipline among our parenting peers (‘Parent trap’, 26 April). Arthur Mann correctly points out that a diagnosis of behavioural conditions provides excellent cover for those uncomfortable in tackling their own ‘bad parenting’, but the use of screen time as a means for pacification really needs addressing first and foremost.

Jon Stanford

Shrewsbury, Shropshire

WI oh why?

Sir: I was surprised that Suzi Clark, a regular speaker to WI groups, has not discovered that WI members pay a membership fee of £51 per year – half of which is taken by the WI Association trustees with its expensive offices in London, leaving little for each individual club to spend on the hire of halls and speakers’ fees (Letters, 26 April). My branch’s committee spends much time fundraising to keep us out of debt. Denman College in Oxfordshire (set up pre-war by Lady Denman) provided somewhere for us to attend wonderful courses and events. It was, however, sold without any consultation with ordinary members. It is not known to what use the proceeds were put. If it were not for the wonderful friendships we enjoy, I would leave the WI.

Jean Inson

Strood WI, West Mersea, Essex

Stacked up

Sir: In response to Keith Appleyard (Letters, 19 April), I’m 72 and stack shelves at Sainsbury’s after a long career including banking, executive recruitment and social care. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve had as there’s no stress, it keeps me fit, and I enjoy helping customers. I’ve also published a book on writing CVs and developed alternative methods of finding a job. There are plenty of jobs out there, but the Jobcentre is probably the worst place to start.

Martin Darke

Gedling, Notts

Crazy results

Sir: It was interesting to read Roger Alton’s article about the great teams in the football Championship (Sport, 26 April). However, it reminds me that in the BBC match and results listings, major championship fixtures such as Leeds vs Middlesbrough, Burnley vs Blackburn, or Coventry vs West Brom would be considered less important than, say, Ross County vs Kilmarnock in the Scottish Prem, Brighton women vs Leicester women, or even a friendly between Iceland ladies and Luxembourg ladies. Despite Douglas Murray’s description of his treatment by BBC Newsnight in the same magazine, I can think of no better demonstration of what’s wrong with the BBC and the strange world it lives in.

Richard Owsley

Bristol

Out of office

Sir: Please pass on my thanks to Adrian Fry for his superb satire on office politics in Competition 3395 (19 April). I have just had dealings with APHA (part of Defra). Mr Fry’s brilliant entry made me laugh out loud.

Sue Mason

Long Sutton, Lincs