Adult Human Female Documentary includes interviews with a number of women (and one man) who are concerned about the conflict of rights between women and transgender people in light of recent legal and social developments, particularly proposals to amend the Gender Recognition Act to allow for a GRC without a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (which have been dropped in England and Wales but remain in Scotland). The most noteworthy of these is the proposal in England and Wales (since dropped) and Scotland (still on the table) to allow a person to receive a Gender Recognition Certificate, and hence a new legal sex, simply by self-definition.
The goal is to simplify the process for those who are put off by the paperwork involved in obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate but who are clearly entitled to one.
The problem is that this benevolence now includes persons who do not have a Gender Recognition Certificate, not because they never applied but would otherwise qualify, but because they do not qualify under the current criteria. The last 10 years have shown us that it is nearly impossible for service providers to differentiate between the two, not least because they have been educated that asking is disrespectful or illegal. This may have worked in the past when the only guys seeking feminine services were a small, isolated group of transsexuals. Self-definition, which extends to a far larger community, has superseded that delicately calibrated compromise.
Interviews with women in the Adult Human Female film argue, in the most modest terms, that this constitutes a conflict of rights.
The interviewees all hold a left-wing stance on the subject. They examine the impact on women as a group rather than as individuals. What effect would it have on women as a class if single sex becomes mixed sex? In particular, vulnerable women in prison, refugee camps, and crisis situations.
The filmmakers do not rule out the idea that trans persons may also require crisis support and highlight the importance of maintaining trans support services. One issue that has been raised but not resolved is that at the time of the GRA’s introduction, it was only ever envisioned that persons who suffered from severe gender dysphoria and had surgery would be considered legal (rather than biological) women. Parliament simply did not anticipate that this easily recognisable and discrete category would extend to include what Prof Phoenix described as a “gossamer” of cross-dressers, demi-girls, and anyone else who claims to feel female – unavoidably including men who do not suffer gender dysphoria.