'Tennis club goes woke': Trans row after upmarket club dumps female membership option

23 March 2022, 21:58

An upmarket London tennis club has been branded "woke lefty loonies" after a transgender row exploded over their gender options when purchasing a membership.

Julia Stephenson was renewing her £300-per-year fees at Putney Lawn Tennis Club when she spotted the "female" option was no longer valid when it came to selecting members gender.

Taking to Twitter the enraged fitness goer share a picture of the options writing: "I am renewing my tennis club membership but am confused that my gender, 'female' is 'no longer valid'.

In the picture, the drop down menu can be seen with options for members' sex with the first option being 'Female (including trans woman)', there is also an option for 'Male (including trans man)', 'Non-binary' and 'Other', the final option is 'Female (no longer valid)'.

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In a second Tweet she added: "How many trans people do you think there are at Putney Lawn Tennis Club? There are NONE! Always suspected it was run by woke lefty loonies."

Claiming she has since cancelled her membership. 

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In response to the outrage, a spokesperson for Putney Lawns Tennis Club said: "It has been brought to our attention that there was a glitch in the third-party digital platform (Member Mojo) we use for our annual membership renewals.

"This happened after we made some recent minor amendments to our membership wording TRIANGLE to align with NHS guidelines, and we were unaware that the platform was also showing Female and Male categories as being invalid — something which is clearly untrue.

"We are disappointed that one of our off-peak members chose to share it on social media before the glitch could be investigated and corrected.

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"As result, this has led to many social media users with no connection to our club expressing unpleasant and negative views about the club and its elected committee.

"Putney Lawn Tennis Club is a successful and happy club which aims to be representative and inclusive for all people, and is a place where everyone is welcomed and respected."

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But Ms Stephenson said the statement was "rather patronising" and that she had "no idea why they bring NHS guidelines into it. It's a club not a hospital lol".

The row comes after Boris Johnson said during Prime Ministers Question time on Wednesday that the "basic facts of biology remain overwhelmingly important" when it comes to distinguishing between a man and a woman., after Conservative MP Angela Richardson (Guildford) raised the issue of "gender distress".

Ms Richardson asked the Prime Minister: "Will (he) agree to meet with me and other concerned colleagues to discuss how we can constructively support these young people who are experiencing gender distress?"

Mr Johnson replied: "I think that this is one of those issues that the whole House is coming to realise is one that requires extreme sensitivity, tact, love and care.

"We must recognise that when people want to make a transition in their lives, that they should be treated with the maximum possible generosity and respect, and we have systems in this country that allow that and have done for a long time, we should be very proud of it.

"I do want to say in addition that I think when it comes to distinguishing between a man and a woman, that the basic facts of biology remain overwhelmingly important."