Labour Heartlands written by Paul Knaggs.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man stands as a testament to Renaissance ideals – a masterpiece that melds art, science, and philosophy. 

Within its elegant lines, we see humanity perfectly balanced between the divine circle and the earthly square, a microcosm of the universe itself. This vision, grounded in both philosophical reflection and scientific observation, placed humans as integral, rational beings within the cosmic order.

Yet today, in a world increasingly unmoored from such certainties, we find ourselves adrift in a sea of subjective realities. The once-clear lines of biology and identity blur into a haze of individual perception. No longer do we simply state, “I think, therefore I am.” Instead, a new mantra emerges: “I am whatever I think I am.” This shift raises a profound question: Must society – and more pressingly, our laws – bend to accommodate every subjective fantasy, regardless of biological fact?

This is no mere philosophical musing. it is now a pressing legal issue. As we speak, the highest court in the UK prepares to grapple with a question that would never have baffled Leonardo and his contemporaries: “What is a woman?” 

Continue reading @ Labour Heartlands.

Gender And The Law ⍟ The Vitruvian Woman On Trial

Labour Heartlands written by Paul Knaggs.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man stands as a testament to Renaissance ideals – a masterpiece that melds art, science, and philosophy. 

Within its elegant lines, we see humanity perfectly balanced between the divine circle and the earthly square, a microcosm of the universe itself. This vision, grounded in both philosophical reflection and scientific observation, placed humans as integral, rational beings within the cosmic order.

Yet today, in a world increasingly unmoored from such certainties, we find ourselves adrift in a sea of subjective realities. The once-clear lines of biology and identity blur into a haze of individual perception. No longer do we simply state, “I think, therefore I am.” Instead, a new mantra emerges: “I am whatever I think I am.” This shift raises a profound question: Must society – and more pressingly, our laws – bend to accommodate every subjective fantasy, regardless of biological fact?

This is no mere philosophical musing. it is now a pressing legal issue. As we speak, the highest court in the UK prepares to grapple with a question that would never have baffled Leonardo and his contemporaries: “What is a woman?” 

Continue reading @ Labour Heartlands.

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