A trans-identified male has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer for a prominent women’s health charity in England, prompting outrage from women’s rights advocates. Endometriosis South Coast announced on social media yesterday that “Steph” Richards had been hired as their new Chief Executive Officer.
According to the World Health Organization, endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This tissue thickens, breaks down, and bleeds with each period, but, as the blood has no way to leave the body, it becomes trapped. It is often associated with fertility complications and severe pain, and sometimes requires surgical intervention. By definition, endometriosis can only impact females, and it is estimated that more than 10% of women are affected.
But despite it being a sex-specific disease, the Portsmouth-based charity Endometriosis South Coast boasted appointing a male to its top role.
Richards, 71, is a women’s officer with the UK’s Labour Party and, earlier this year, received the Inspirational Women of Portsmouth Awards (Elder) 2023. He has repeatedly come under fire on social media for attacking women who express criticisms of gender ideology, with his most recent controversy occurring in October after he posting that he had accosted a woman in public for wearing a t-shirt displaying the dictionary definition of the word “lesbian.”
“I saw a woman wearing an ‘Adult Human Female’ T-shirt today. Now, I am always willing to discuss trans and women’s rights, so I went up to her, told her I was a trans woman and asked if we could talk,” Richards posted on X on October 14. He then went on to shame the woman for refusing to engage with him in public and attempting to keep her distance from him.
“She REFUSED, even though she was with 2 mates. So much for ‘no debate,'” Richards complained.
Women’s rights advocates quickly called Richards out for harassing a woman, later revealed to be academic Julia Long, in public.
Following Richards’ appointment to the role with Endometriosis South Coast, many began dredging up other disturbing comments he has made on social media over the years in which Richards appears to show a genuine disdain for respecting women’s single-sex spaces.
In 2021, Richards wrote: “See me in the changing room, see me in the loo, see me in the supermarket buying flowers. See me in the swimming pool, see me in the pub, see me on the sports field taking part in games. See you in hell if you are a #TERF – nothing will stop me strutting my stuff!”
“TERF” is an acronym standing for “trans exclusionary radical feminist,” but is often applied to any individual who opposes the belief that males can self-identify as women. The term is sometimes accompanied by threats of violence.
Some have also now identified Richards as having protested a women’s rights conference, shouting down women who were attending Europe’s largest feminist conference, FiLia.
On his blog, Translucent, Richards has criticized women’s organizations for campaigning for women’s single sex spaces in healthcare settings.
In his latest post, Richards said that hospital wards had been “weaponized” by some with a “trans-exclusionary” agenda. He continued: “Often referred to as ‘single-sex hospital wards.’ Other alleged issues involve prisons, refuges, changing rooms, and even toilets, now all becoming a matter of public discussion.”
Richards argued that when trans-identified males are placed on women’s hospital wards they are not a problem and privacy is still afforded to female patients because “that’s what bed curtains are for.” He has also advocated for men to be allowed to self-identify into women’s sports, and for male convicts to be housed in women’s prisons.
Further writings on his blog reveal that Richards was fascinated by the idea of wearing women’s clothing from a young age, and came out as a cross-dresser to his ex-wife after decades of marriage. He described it as “fun” to fantasize about being her “sister.” The apartment that they lived in with their children also reportedly became a place where other men would come to cross-dress in secret.
His wife eventually left him and later passed from cancer.
When writing about “why” he is transgender, Richards theorizes that he wasn’t exposed to enough testosterone in the womb and leaving him with a “female brain,” a concept which has been widely debunked by researchers.
Richards is also a proponent of the use of puberty blockers to chemically castrate children who believe they are the opposite sex to prevent them from developing secondary sex characteristics. Richards has argued that childhood, as well as womanhood and manhood, is a social construct.
Among his more egregious comments, Richards told a survivor of alleged child sexual exploitation to “grow up” after he began speaking publicly about his experience with staff at a prominent LGBT charity.
Sam Cowie previously spoke to Reduxx last year about his experience at LGBT Youth Scotland, revealing the organization had a culture of predatory adults preying on underage members. Cowie told Reduxx he was “groomed” by older men at the charity, who would provide him with special privileges, cigarettes, and alcohol.
On X, Richards responded to one of Cowie’s posts about LGBT Youth Scotland, telling him “no one groomed you” and to “grow up. The reply has since been deleted.
Since announcing Richards’ appointment, Endometriosis South West has received an outpouring of criticism. At the time of this writing, the charity’s post announcing their new CEO has only 133 ‘likes’ compared to a 1.3k quotes and comments of an overwhelmingly negative sentiment.
Many women who suffer from endometriosis have voiced their disapproval at Richards’ appointment to the role.
“This time last year I was just out of hospital having nearly died from a complete bowel obstruction as a result of untreated endometriosis. By appointing this woman hating man you are mocking every single woman who has and is suffering from this bastard condition,” one woman wrote, responding to the charity on X.
“As a woman who suffered with endometriosis for decades, I simply cannot fathom why you’d think this appointment is appropriate,” wrote another.
In their announcement, the charity also posted a graphic of Richards which included a quote from a woman alongside his photo. As a result, many have criticized the charity for seeming to deliberately mislead people into thinking the quote should be attributed to Richards.
They later posted a correction explaining the quote did not come from Richards, but from a “person the charity supports.”
The issue of gender ideology guiding policy at Endometriosis South West appears to be a longstanding issue.
According to their website, endometriosis “does not discriminate” and impacts “one in 10 people,” using gender-neutral language to refer to females impacted by the disease.
The charity was founded in 2019 by Jodie Hughes, who appeared on The GenderGP podcast in 2021 in an episode entitled “endometriosis doesn’t just affect women.” During the interview, Hughes argues that because “trans men and non-binary people” can also have endometriosis, it is incorrect to classify it as a women’s issue. Hughes was interviewed by Gender GP founder Helen Webberley.
Webberley has been investigated by the UK’s General Medical Council (GMC) for running an illegal gender identity clinic with her husband, and providing hormones to children as young as 12 years old. One child that was illegally provided with cross-sex hormones by Webberley, Jayden Lowe, went on to commit suicide.
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