The Times: Edinburgh Uni principle to discipline transphobic stickerwoman

[BernardBlacksWineIcelolly]

Can't see a thread on this yet (but don't have a share token I'm afraid)

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/principal-backs-transgender-students-over-hurtful-stickers-9jpztg2tz

worrying that the principle of Edinburgh university considers a sticker that says 'Woman: adult human female' to be hurtful.

what other dictionary definitions are so hurtful that people deserve to be 'disciplined' for publicising them?

[HawayMan]

Personally, I think that misogyny should be a disiplinable offensive...

[ErrolTheDragon]

Here's a sharetoken link

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/principal-backs-transgender-students-over-hurtful-stickers-9jpztg2tz?shareToken=d88353c4898053a91393d93358861e98

[MsMcWoodle]

Definition of woman 'likely to offend'. I despair. Maybe we should have some other definitions printed up too, just to wind them up.

[AnyOldPrion]

”Police Scotland said that stickers had been posted across Edinburgh city centre and they were assessed, removed and no criminality established.”

Hmmm... interesting final paragraph. I wonder how long it will take the police to begin to sicken of the constant bombardment and over-reporting. Suspect it won’t be long, even if publically the force is seen to support it.

[BernardBlacksWineIcelolly]

Thanks for the sharetoken Errol

Kai O’Doherty, the Edinburgh University Students’ Association’s vice-president for welfare, said the stickers were “not only hurtful to trans people, but are clear violations of policies against harassment and discrimination”.

bollocks. seeing something that challenges your world view is neither harassment nor fucking discrimination. Grow up Kai.

And great quote from Women and Girls in Scotland

“We consider any notion that female people should not be able to define ourselves in public as itself a form of oppression, and an impediment to addressing the sexism and misogyny [faced] because we are female,”

good to know that some sanity is in place north of the border

[NotBadConsidering]

I think placing the definition of woman in amongst other accurate definitions is a good idea, to highlight the fact it’s a fact like the others. To start I vote for:

Medium-sized insectivore with protruding nasal implement.

[userschmoozer]

''Police Scotland said that stickers had been posted across Edinburgh city centre and they were assessed, removed and no criminality established.''

''She claimed that transgender activists encouraged people to report individual stickers as hate crimes to maximise the number of alleged offences. On Facebook last November, James Morton, the Scottish Trans Alliance (STA) manager, responding to a comment on the Edinburgh stickers, said: “Please log it by reporting on the Police Scotland online hate crime form. We need the stats.”

James, you think you need the stats. But if you look at the stats on VAW, you'll find stats become very easy for the State to ignore when you stop being useful.

[womanformallyknownaswoman]

A man says the definition of woman is hate speech - right........

[ChewyLouie]

Zero tolerance towards men feeling any discomfort is what he is actually supporting. In turn, this infers the rights of women are unimportant.
It appears the Principal has had previous issues with his approach to open debate.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/08/edinburgh-universitys-new-vice-chancellor-condemned-in-staff-survey
His career as an eminent nephrologist, makes it even more surprising that he’s fallen quite so hard for the TWAW mantra.
www.ed.ac.uk/principals-office/principal-biography
Edinburgh University supporting males every step of the way- including stepping over women.

[happydappy2]

Will be interesting to see which comments get through.....

[RedemptiveCrocodile]

University = indoctrination centre

[NoNewsisGood]

What world are we in when facts have no place in a university and neither does the right to debate these facts? It's such a shame universities seem no longer a place of learning :(

[JSmitty]

I'm sure that in the 19th century a lot of very sincere people were greatly offended and made to feel very uncomfortable by Darwin's Theory.

I do hope the Edinburgh Uni fireplace burned bright with pages of 'On The Origin Of Species.'

[AncientLights]

Not a single comment in The Times supports the uni. 😁

[ChewyLouie]

JSmitty or the Preservation of Favoured RacesMales in the Struggle for Life.

[ErrolTheDragon]

The app version of the article has a photo I can't see in the browser version from the link - it's of one of the 'offensive' stickers. It says:

Female
is a biological reality

Not a feeling
Not an identity
Not a costume

WOMAN =
ADULT HUMAN FEMALE



Great! Just a shame it's buried (from the POV of many readers) in the Scotland section - that article seems to me to be of general interest not Scots-specific.

[BetsyM00]

Here's the link to James Morton's quote that "We need the stats."

www.facebook.com/Eleanor.Seonaid.Matthews/posts/10217859858273951

[HawayMan]

The comments are quite funny. Apparently this chancellor is an expert in renal medicine... the joke writes itself!

[nauticant]

Apparently this chancellor is an expert in renal medicine.

At first glance I saw Apparently this Challenor is an expert in renal medicine. I didn't know what to do with the resultant mental images.

[weebarra]

That's my alma mater. I think I might write a strongly worded letter. One of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the country listening to this nonsense. FFS.

[ChewyLouie]

He was President of the Renal Association (the UK’s national speciality association for nephrologists and renal scientists) , 2007-2010. He remained a Trustee for a further two years as Immediate Past-President.

In 2011 he was awarded honorary life membership of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Nephrology.

Taken from www.ed.ac.uk/principals-office/principal-biography

[GCSocScientist]

Thanks for the share token, and for alerting us to the article.

I dont actually understand how anyone so prominent would so deliberately take sides in this toxic debate, especially when that person is in charge of a highly regarded university. Is he on the way out, and throwing a final petard?

[BettyDuMonde]

Tom in the comment section asks ‘How many transgender staff and students are there at Edinburgh university? What are their views? Two important points missing from this article‘

A quick google will confirm that Kai O’Doherty, the NUS Officer quoted is trans identified:

www.studentnewspaper.org/interview-vp-welfare-kai-odoherty-talks-inclusivity-and-anti-oppression/

(I’d love to see a most popular trans names list, like the baby names lists. Pretty sure ‘Kai’ is top ten for transmen)

[Bubonicpanic]

Poor Kai.

It's a shame no one will accept that you are "different" when you just look like a bog standard human.

At least having a badge helps people to notice that your lack of difference doesn't mean that you are not different.

[morningtoncrescent62]

Love the picture in the Times. Mathieson mansplains something (the approved definition of a woman maybe) to Scotland's First Minister while she gazes upwards searching for a polite excuse to get back to Holyrood and on with the day job.