Rishi Sunak has said that feminist academic Professor Kathleen Stock has a right to be heard, urging students to discuss her ideas even if they didn't agree with them.
The prime minister's intervention comes before anticipated demonstrations against Professor Stock's speech at an Oxford Union event on Tuesday May 30. He said that debate was a sign of a “tolerant society”.
However, activists have claimed that under the pretence of free expression, the Oxford Union was “disregarding" the wellbeing of the society's members.
Students at the University of Oxford and others can join the Oxford Union for a fee. It is not affiliated with either the college or the student union.
Students and scholars have divergent opinions in response to Stock's offer to speak. On Tuesday (May 30), rallies and counterprotests are expected to draw hundreds more students to Oxford.
Why did Kathleen Stock say?
Professor Stock is a former university professor who argues that transgender people cannot expect all the rights afforded by biological sex.
Explaining her views to Parliament in November 2020, she set out that “the claim “transwomen are women” is a fiction, not literally true”, adding that “spaces where women undress and sleep should remain genuinely single-sex”.
In 2021, following student protests against her after the publishing of Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism in which she questioned the notion that gender identity is more socially significant than biological sex, Professor Stock resigned from her position at the University of Sussex.
In her written evidence statement provided for the Parliament she says:
“I have written extensively, in both academic and public settings, about the relation between sex and gender identity, arguing among other things that: womanhood and manhood reflect biological sex, not gender or gender identity; the claim “transwomen are women” is a fiction, not literally true; sexual orientation (being gay, being lesbian) is determined by same-sex attraction, not attraction to gender identity; spaces where women undress and sleep should remain genuinely single-sex, in order to protect them; and children with gender identity disorders should not be given puberty blockers as minors.”
Prior to her exit, the scholar had received requests for her dismissal on account of transphobia allegations.
In a letter to the Telegraph earlier this month, more than 40 Oxford dons argued that hearing "contentious views" from students was "indispensable" for universities. Additionally, they denounced the Oxford Students' Union for breaking away from the Oxford Union in response to Stock's invitation.
What has been said about the protests?
The LGBTQ+ Society at Oxford University has requested that Professor Stock's invitation be revoked because they believe the gathering is a part of a hate campaign against transgender people, describing her as “transphobic and trans exclusionary”.
The LGBTQ+ Campaign’s Second Statement Regarding Kathleen Stock’s Invitation to the Oxford Union. pic.twitter.com/oMzcb2lFQ9
— Oxford SU LGBTQ+ Campaign (@OxfordSU_LGBTQ) May 22, 2023
Professor Stock said on Twitter that the society’s statement contained “several falsehoods”, was “probably defamatory” and made it look “utterly ridiculous”.
The professor says she is “determined” to speak. She said it was “important that people can hear what I have to say”, adding that she is “standing up to authoritarians who want to silence debate”.
Professor Stock denies that her opinions might be categorised as hate speech.
She said: “It’s not hate speech to say that males cannot be women. You can believe what you like, and I’m not stopping anybody believing any different, but it’s certainly not hate speech to say that and that’s basically the most controversial thing, I think.”
What is expected to happen next?
Over the weekend, a competing group of more than 100 faculty members and academic staff objected to Stock's invitation to speak and argued that cancelling the event would not violate free speech because it would not prevent her from expressing her opinions.
Their letter said: “We believe that trans students should not be made to debate their existence. We also refute that this is a free speech issue – disinviting someone is not preventing them from speaking.
“Freedom of speech matters, but we shouldn’t forget the right to protest … debate is essential for a vibrant democracy and we champion it.”
At the time of writing, Professor Stock is expected to hold her talk as planned.
The Standard has reached out to Professor Stock and the Oxford Union for comment.
