This is a great piece. Highlights from the 13 dietitians:

“To people who are curious about my approach, I explain that weight does not dictate health, and there is no way of predicting what someone’s healthiest weight is. Even if we could, 95–97% of purposeful weight loss attempts fail. Instead, I help my clients build sustainable habits that aren’t built on restriction, and let their body settle at whatever size it’s supposed to be.”

“I started reading the scientific literature and going to conferences, and the evidence for HAES and intuitive eating was undeniable. I came to realize that practicing within this anti-diet paradigm was the only way to help clients truly, fully recover.”

“With all of the research we have supporting the negative physiological and psychological effects of dieting and pursuit of weight loss, I find it unethical to approach nutrition counseling with the old diet/weight-loss paradigm.”

“… our society requires that we be a certain size and at a certain level of health. I work with clients to dismantle that for themselves and to become aware of behaviors that are no longer working for them. Weight is not the issue — whether or not the body loses weight is up to the body, not up to the client or me, for that matter.”

“Now my nutrition therapy is rooted in evidence-based science as well as almost 20 years of clinical observation. I help people move toward health using only weight inclusive and non-diet theories and interventions. That means I don’t use the scale as a measure of progress because for most people it keeps the focus off health and promotes unhealthy attitudes toward body image and self-worth.”

“I provide education on the harmful effects of counting calories, points, macros, weight, steps, etc., and help them move away from quantifying health. In the beginning I have to debunk incorrect nutrition information and provide them with a model of eating that is adequate and balanced. I also help them redefine what ‘health’ is. Our culture essentially defines health by size and appearance. So we have to rewrite all of that and think of it as much more multifaceted.”

If you have been on twitter today you have probably seen everyone talking about this tweet by JK Rowling:

JK Rowling has posted TERFy things before but this is the most explicit. She is referring to an employment tribunal that was brought forward by a woman, Maya Forstater, who had not had her contract renewed due to being repeatedly transphobic (including repeatedly and purposefully mispronouning a person who uses they/them pronouns).

Rowling’s tweet is spreading misinformation about the employment tribunal:  The case wasn’t about whether you can or cannot say sex is real. Maya Forstater’s case was about whether discriminating against trans people is a legally protected right (not about her own employment) as she admits here:

The money for the case (around £80k) was raised through transphobic platforms such as Mums net.

Here is where the good news bit comes in: Forstater’s case was not successful. This means transphobes just paid £80k of their own money to give trans people more rights!  LMFAO! This case law/new precedent has strengthened legal protections for trans people in England!

The judge in the case ruled that TERF/’Gender critical’ views are “incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others” and that TERFs do not have the right to ignore a trans persons gender

That refusing to respect someone’s gender and use their pronouns is an “approach not worthy of respect in a democratic society”

and concludes that being transphobic is not a political belief protected by equality laws

This is fantastic news and something really positive for trans people in England and Wales! I know calling our Rowling for being a Terf is important but losing this positive context is harmful. As trans people we are inundated with bad news and hateful views - today is a good day, something good has happened at last, lets share and celebrate that as the relentless bad news is killing us.