There are no men-only academic/professional organisations. Like the first one, I don’t consider this to be much of a real problem. I just wanted to make sure people recognised that once they start passing there aren’t going to be any more bonding experiences like at the Society of Women Physicians conference.

He’s not saying that it’s a problem, per se, that these groups don’t exist, or that such groups ought to exist — he’s simply pointing out, for the benefit of those people who have previously been part of such organizations, that if they start passing as male they won’t have that opportunity any more, and that’s something they should be aware of.

More broadly — speaking here as a straight cis-male, if that’s the correct terminology — I find his point about, “Men — particularly gay men — are seen as potential paedophiles” an interesting one. I can’t speak to the gay angle from personal experience, but people are more cautious about men being around kids than women. I teach Sunday School at my church, and it’s always been fine — of course we run criminal background checks on everyone, male and female, before they’re allowed to work with kids; that’s a denominational rule — but I am aware that I have to be more careful about sticking to the rules (e.g., “Never be alone behind closed doors with a child”) than the women teachers.

Also, there’s a fragility to my position that most women don’t have to deal with; all it would take is one parent getting a weird vibe from me, and suddenly everyone would be all, “Well… better safe than sorry, where there’s smoke there’s fire, maybe you can find something else to do that keeps you away from the kids.”

Most of the time I don’t even think about it, because it’s such a constant background in my life. But for someone like this guy, who is newly entering the world of being seen as male, it must be quite a shock.