A MEMBER of Parliament has been criticised for publishing tweets described as 'transphobic'.

On Thursday, November 11, Workington MP Mark Jenkinson tweeted about his issues with the 'pregnant person' emoji, which depicts a non gender specific person who is pregnant, to represent trans men and non binary people who are pregnant.

In a retweet of a picture announcing that there is new 'pregnant person' emoji, he said: "They’re called women, and we have one."

According to Emojipedia, a pregnant man and pregnant person emoji are set to be added to Android's emoji library.

Free Radicals, a recently-established community organisation in North Cumbria that works to raise awareness of equality issues, responded to the tweets.

A spokesperson from Free Radicals said: "Mark spends an unhealthy amount of time spreading transphobic rhetoric online. 

"When you consider the vast amount of issues society faces both locally and nationally it rings alarm bells that an MP should spend a vast amount of his time attacking the LGBTQ+ community.

"It is our firm belief that he is hugely out of step with modern society.
"We would urge anyone wants to see healthy and united communities in Cumbria to use their vote to remove him from office."

They added that they considered Mr Jenkinson's views to be a 'danger to modern society', and that in their opinion views such as his are behind issues including transphobic attacks and self-harm and depression in young trans people.

Responding, Mark Jenkinson said he has never said anything transphobic, and rejects the term, choosing to call himself 'gender critical'.

He said he does not recognise the identities of trans men and trans women, pushing favour of biological sex over gender identity to be the salient factor.

He said: "My basis in being gender critical is in gay rights and women's rights.

"I respect anyone being able to identify as they believe, but there is a biological fact that trans women cannot get pregnant."

Responding to the claims of being a danger to society and mental health, he said: "I think that teaching a child that they can change their sex is a bigger contributor to mental health [problems]."

Speaking on what he believes is the aim of trans activists, he said: "The ultimate aim is to erase sex.

"We have single sex spaces for a reason, because women are more vulnerable."