Chase on the Case

Historically and currently, pubs, clubs and bars have been places that have welcomed a diverse range of people. In doing so, they have made adjustments to cope with a variety of different peoples’ needs. If we consider that the hospitality industry is more than just the licensed retail sector and includes hotels with spas, gyms and swimming pools, theme parks and leisure centres, then the vast scale of adjustments becomes apparent. Many of these adjustments are mandated by law, for example food safety and health and safety law; alcohol and entertainment licensing laws, are just three examples. With the advent of new law in Scotland that supports self-ID for trans people, and the political furore created as a result of the UK government’s blocking of Royal Assent for this Bill, the issue of how hospitality venues should deal with trans people has become more prominent. Firstly, let’s look at the size of this minority. The national census produced information on the number of people in...

A simple guide to terminology to aid people engaging in the debate about sex and gender Sex Sex in humans (and all other mammals) is determined at conception, and observed at birth by medical professionals, and often before birth at the 20-week scan. The term ‘sex’ refers to a person’s biological sex – female or male. A female is a person with a XX chromosome, female genitalia, and who, upon maturity, can usually produce large gametes – eggs. A male is a person with an XY chromosome, male genitalia, and who, upon maturity can usually produce small gametes – sperm. Sex is not a spectrum. Like all mammals, reproduction is predicated on a binary model where males impregnate females. Humans cannot change sex. In very rare cases (< 0.02%) there may be some doubt as to which sex a new-born baby is. In these cases, further investigation may be required to see if the child has a DSD (difference, or disorder, of sex development). This investigation will also establish the child’s sex, since...

  Introduction On 06 January Propel Opinion – a hospitality industry blog - published an article written by me titled ‘Enough is Enough’. The article was ‘gender critical’ and tackled gender ideology and transgender issues. My article criticised a belief system. It was NOT an attack on trans people.   The article sharply divided opinion among Propel’s readership and within hours of publication Paul Charity, the publisher, was threatened by commercial sponsors withdrawing their support and felt his business was under existential threat. Later that day he made a public apology to his subscribers and to part company with me as an author. He made a further public apology three days later. I had provided articles for 10 years – some 259 of them – but article 260 cancelled all that and was later taken down.   You can read my account of how I was cancelled and the original article by putting the following link into your Google search bar:   https://sex-matte...

So, by way of introduction, I’m Paul Chase and my background is in operating clubs and bars and also a large hospitality-based training company that I retired from three years ago. Around 2005 I started writing articles on alcohol policy and public health, wrote two books on the subject of Temperance, and gained wide recognition as the leading industry commentator on alcohol and associated issues. For 10 years I wrote a fortnightly column for the hospitality blog Propel Opinion, and during this time they published 259 of my articles without demur. Then, on Friday 6 January 2023 I wrote article number 260, and all hell broke loose. The article was titled ‘Enough is enough’ and addressed the issue of transgender ideology. What prompted me to write on this subject was the Scottish Parliament passing a law that enabled anyone to change their legal sex by self-declaration after living for three months in their preferred gender, and without a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. This has obvious...

  So, this is an article about the transgender issue and trans ideology. A lot of my friends advised me not to touch this issue with a bargepole, because it has become so toxic that rational discussion between people of different viewpoints has become extremely difficult. The issue of how to treat transgender customers in hospitality venues is not a new one, but has come to prominence again recently with the Scottish Parliament voting in favour of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. This Bill enables anyone aged 18 or older to change their legal sex by self-declaration provided they have lived in their preferred gender for three months or more (six months or more if you are 16 or 17), and without a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. This Bill has yet to receive Royal Assent. The UK Conservative government has said it might block this legislation, although the Labour opposition supports this reform and would introduce it, if elected to government. It is startling how much...