Women’s Rights — What Is a Woman?

According to its website, International Women’s Day (marked this past Tuesday) is a celebration of the global “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” The theme for this year’s platitudinal musings — #BreaktheBias — was supposed to be imagining a “diverse, equitable and inclusive” world that’s free from “bias, stereotypes and discrimination.” I have a suggestion for next year’s theme: #WhatIsAWoman?

“What is a woman?” is the question that Anneliese Dodds, the U.K.’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, was unable to answer on BBC Woman’s Hour on International Women’s Day. The presenter, Emma Barnett, gave Dodds multiple chances to answer on behalf of the Labour Party. But after rambling about people who have gone through gender transition “who want to be defined as a woman,” the best Dodds could come up with was, “It does depend what the context is surely.”

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Madeleine Kearns

Madeleine Kearns is a former staff writer at National Review.

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According to its website, International Women’s Day (marked this past Tuesday) is a celebration of the global “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” The theme for this year’s platitudinal musings — #BreaktheBias — was supposed to be imagining a “diverse, equitable and inclusive” world that’s free from “bias, stereotypes and discrimination.” I have a suggestion for next year’s theme: #WhatIsAWoman?

“What is a woman?” is the question that Anneliese Dodds, the U.K.’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, was unable to answer on BBC Woman’s Hour on International Women’s Day. The presenter, Emma Barnett, gave Dodds multiple chances to answer on behalf of the Labour Party. But after rambling about people who have gone through gender transition “who want to be defined as a woman,” the best Dodds could come up with was, “It does depend what the context is surely.”