A GENDER critical activist was led away by police after she attempted to confront a trans rights rally outside a feminist conference in Glasgow.
Elaine Miller, the activist known for flashing a pubic wig in the Holyrood gallery, had approached a demonstration outside the FiLiA conference at Platform, next to Glasgow’s Central Station.
Around 70 protesters joined the demonstration in response to calls from Glasgow Trans Rally, who accused FiLiA of “transphobia” veiled “behind ‘feminist’ rhetoric”.
The rally saw activists play popular music and chant slogans such as “LGB with the T”, “say it loud, say it clear, trans people are welcome here” and “trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary is valid”.
The FiLiA conference attendees seem largely unbothered by the protest, with many dancing to its music on their way into the venue, as well as taking selfies and videos.
A volunteer with FiLiA, which is taken from the Latin word for daughter, said they had become used to demonstrations outside their events over the past five years, and that there had not been any trouble on Friday morning.
However, police had to intervene after Miller crossed the road dividing the two sides and attempted to confront the trans rights protest.
LGBT activists moved to block Miller from approaching the microphone, as police were called on to intervene.
Officers stepped in and led Miller away, talking to her before escorting her into the venue.
@scotnational Police lead gender-critical protester away from trans rights rally outside FiLiA conference in Glasgow #scotland #glasgow #transrights #womensrights #lgbt ♬ original sound - The National
FiLiA previously said that the venue, in the former site of The Arches nightclub, had caved in to pressure and cancelled the conference – until they U-turned after the threat of legal action.
Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP, is one of the speakers at the FiLiA conference on Friday, which organisers say will be attended by more than 1400 people.
She said that the demonstration outside the event was “about a war on women”.
Cherry further said in the opening of her speech: “The people protesting outside are not representative of my country. Scotland is a country which historically has welcomed debate and discussion, from the birth of the Enlightenment in 18th century Edinburgh to the present day.”
Other speakers from Afghanistan, Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Australia are set to discuss topics including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, coercive control and femicide.
Bailie Elaine Gallagher, a Glasgow City councillor who was present at the trans rights protest, told The National that she was in “agreement with many of the principles and work of the FiLiA conference”.
However, she went on: “Many of the speakers have historically had very anti-trans positions. FiLiA itself supports a definition of women’s sex-based rights that is transphobic by definition.
“I would like them to drop this insistence that trans rights are in conflict with women's rights and drop their opposition to self-identification because a lot of the kind of topics being discussed in there are very valid, like violence against women.
“It has been demonstrated in countries where self ID has actually been enacted, that it does not increase the incidence of violence against women.”
Gallagher (below) added: “Trans people existing is not misogyny.”
FiLiA’s website states that the organisation takes a “zero-tolerance stance towards sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism”.
However, it has faced criticism for defining a woman based on biological sex, with a blog post on its website suggesting that is “material reality not esoteric beliefs about gender identity”.
In her speech to the conference, Cherry said the “war on women” had been “fuelled by irresponsible politicians who should know better than to feed its flames”.
She went on: “When they tell women, when they tell us, that our views are ‘not valid’ or make unfounded allegations of bigotry, transphobia, racism, or whatever pejorative comes to hand, then they make things worse, not better.
“They also elide the real issues when they claim ‘both sides’ are as bad as the other. You won’t find gender-critical politicians like me standing beside signs demanding the violent death of trans people.
“So, as I open this conference which was so nearly cancelled by the bullies’ actions, I want to make a call on all politicians and political leaders in Scotland to condemn the bullies who sought to shut this conference down.”
Police Scotland have been approached for comment.
