OULGBTQ+, University of Oxford’s LGBTQ+ Society, has criticised the university for “elevating anti-trans campaigners without meaningful opposition”.
On February 10, the university hosted gender-critical professor, Michael Briggs, a director of an anti-trans pressure group, Sex Matters, for an LGBT+ History Month seminar, despite pressure from the LGBTQ+ welfare society.
The LGBTQ+ society released a statement ahead of the seminar from the university’s sociology professor, condemning his “anti-trans” views and calling on the university to apologise for inviting him.
“For the university to promote Biggs’ views on trans people under the banner of LGBTQ+ History Month, founded in the wake of Section 28 and intended to combat prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community, is wildly inappropriate,” the statement said.
A University of Oxford spokesperson told student newspaper The Oxford Blue: “All university events follow this policy. In the case of the Sociology LGBTQ+ seminar series, which is convened by members of the LGBTQ+ community, Dr Biggs is an associate professor in the Sociology department and is presenting, and can be questioned, on his own academic research which is highly relevant to the theme of LGBTQ+ history.”
OULGBTQ+ revealed that, Helen Joyce, also a director of Sex Matters, was invited to speak at two separate events, including one at Oxford Literary Festival.
The group said: “[Joyce] has said that every person who has transitioned is “a huge problem”. Elsewhere, she has been criticised for claiming that the global agenda on trans issues is shaped by Jewish billionaires George Soros and Jennifer Pritzker.
“In the case of the Oxford Literary Festival, this is again being promoted as an LGBTQ+ event despite Joyce not being a member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Julie Bindel, another anti-trans campaigner who has labelled bisexuality a “fashionable trend” which she attributes to “sexual hedonism”, has also been invited to speak at two events at Oxford Literary Festival.
Similarly, last year, University of Oxford hosted Sharron Davies, a campaigner against trans and intersex people’s participation in sports who has compared drag to “blackface”, while Sonia Sodha, who has openly opposed attempts to ban anti-trans conversion therapy, was invited to speak at an event hosted by the Vice Chancellor.
The statement from OULGBTQ+ went to on say: “While the university has said that trans and non-binary students are free to go and ask questions at these events, none have any kind of meaningful opposition, fact-checking or structured debate built in – with anti-trans campaigners always setting the agenda and maintaining control of the floor – nor has the university offered trans and non-binary people an equivalent platform to challenge these campaigners’ portrayals of them.
“The university’s own equality policy states that it seeks to create an environment ‘free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation, where all transgender people are treated with dignity and respect’ and that this ‘applies to all members of the University community, including students, staff, applicants, associate members, visitors and contractors’.
“We ask that the university enforce its policy with regard to the events it promotes and provides space for, and ensures that trans and non-binary people are afforded fair and equal opportunities to speak for ourselves.”
