Michael Biggs
Associate Professor in Sociology and Fellow of St Cross College writes:
users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/FreeSpeechOxford.pdf
"A meeting was held on 25 April 2018 to discuss proposed changes to the law on gender recognition. The proposed legislation will eliminate sex-segregated spaces and activities, from women’s refuges to competitive sports. In a democracy, people have the right to meet to discuss—and indeed oppose—legislative changes. This should be incontrovertible. I am appalled that a small number of students at Oxford used extreme measures to stop this meeting from being held....
(concludes)
I have entered this debate not because I am a feminist but because freedom of speech is one of the highest values of a democratic society, and the basic foundation of university life.
Transgender activism poses a grave threat to freedom of speech. I think of the young MPhil student who had to disguise herself to attend this meeting because she feared the reaction of fellow students. This is the generation that we have educated."
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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions
Michael Biggs (Sociology Dept. Oxford) "Free speech at Oxford: Do women have the right to meet to discuss legislation?"
45 replies
R0wantrees · 24/05/2018 01:10
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