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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Kathleen Stock’s union betrays her.

190 replies
OP posts:
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EishetChayil · 12/10/2021 11:28

This betrayal by the unions is one of the many stabs in the back within all of this. I've been a staunch trade unionist all my working life, but I cannot rely on the UCU to support me. I was planning on raising a complaint to my employer (a northern red brick with a militant UCU branch) over being compelled to state my pronouns, but I'm not even going to bother because I know they won't be on my side.

It's a fucking disgrace.

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PronounssheRa · 12/10/2021 11:32

That's appalling and it will encourage further attacks on Prof stock.

I left my union because I'm not paying subs to an organisation that I know won't support me

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jlpartnerrs · 12/10/2021 11:34

My husband's in a union, but I am not for these reasons - I've asked him to agitate but he says it's the same with all unions (He's in UNITE)

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Sicario · 12/10/2021 11:34

And in The Times today, "Members can identify as black, disabled or female, university union insists"

A union that represents academics has reasserted a commitment to allowing its members to self-identify as being black, disabled or female.

A Twitter post by the Edinburgh branch of the University and College Union (UCU) said: “A reminder of UCU’s strong position in support of trans inclusion. Liberation cannot be built on exclusion”.

It contained a link to a policy document endorsed by the UK-wide union that states: “UCU has a long history of enabling members to self-identify, whether that is being black, disabled, LGBT+ or women.

“UCU supports a social, rather than a medical, model of gender recognition that will help challenge repressive gender stereotypes in the workplace and in society.”

One staff member at Edinburgh University, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, claimed that trans rights activists within the union were seeking to “weaponise” the issue and force out academics who expressed scepticism over the concept of self-identification.

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WarriorN · 12/10/2021 11:36

Appalling.

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Sicario · 12/10/2021 11:36

The phrase "identifies as" should rightly be changed to "wants to be".

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EdgeOfTheSky · 12/10/2021 11:38

I hope she has a good employment lawyer.

Utterly disgraceful.

Are the biology faculty staff members of this union?

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OperationDessertStorm · 12/10/2021 11:56

That’s utterly appalling. A union that condemns free speech and supports the removal of staff...

Angry

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YetAnotherSpartacus · 12/10/2021 11:59

Disgusting but not surprising.

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Jaysmith71 · 12/10/2021 12:01

The question for every member of this union is:

Who's Next?

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Bollockstothat · 12/10/2021 12:04

UCU are utterly fucking useless. Totally fucked any chance of taking on employers effectively on things like pensions devaluation by binning the idea of focused campaigns in favour of wanking on about 'four fights' - who the fuck thinks they can win on four fronts simultaneously? That level of stupidity should have automatically disqualified you from getting anywhere near a university job.

And in the middle of the biggest public health crisis the universities have ever faced, when staff are often being made to work in unsafe environments, they'd rather bang on about Israel and attack a lesbian academic.

UCU is functionally useless now. Time for a new union.

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prudencepuffin · 12/10/2021 12:04

What a craven, arse licking statement. Im ashamed to have been an active trade unionist and one time shop steward all my working life if this is what a union is now. Lets call out the dogs on the lesbians. And HALFWAY down the statement, a few weasel words about condemning violence and harassment. If this is over the top - Im just bloody angry.

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Chrysanthemum5 · 12/10/2021 12:04

@Jaysmith71

The question for every member of this union is:

Who's Next?

Exactly @Jaysmith71 I left UCU a while ago over this issue. If they won't protect women who hold legal views then I'm not paying my subs to them. And I'm a strong supporter of unions as a concept so it was hard for me to leave
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Datun · 12/10/2021 12:07

Surely there must be something in the constitution of a union that says they can't actively contribute to getting you fired? Isn't protecting employment the whole bloody point of them??

The unions are captured. The government really, really needs to step up.

What with this and people like packham and vine being attacked, it's completely out of hand.

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Jaysmith71 · 12/10/2021 12:07

And now I've gone and earwormed myself:

I move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left out of the line
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotised never lie

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PostingForTheFirstTime · 12/10/2021 12:08
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JoodyBlue · 12/10/2021 12:09

I think we should start to take issue with the term transphobia. It is used as a silencing tool and I sometimes think that it is given far too credence. A fear is one thing, a hatred is another. The "be kind" mantra appealing to female socialisation and acceptance of others is pretty revealing that the majority of women don't participant in hatred. Fear on the other hand is entirely rational when it comes to men. Males are stronger than women and we know that sufficient male born people wish harm to women. Being afraid is rational. The easy banding about of the word transphobia is part of the control technique isn't it? It is really disgusting behaviour.

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YetAnotherSpartacus · 12/10/2021 12:13

In a statement 'in support of trans and nonbinary communities', sent to all members and posted online by Prof Stock, the union reps write: 'We extend our solidarity to all trans and nonbinary members of our community who, now more than ever, should receive the unequivocal support of the University and its management

Translation : In a statement sent to all members the union reps write: "We pledge to extend misogynistic ideology and practice to figuratively and literally fuck over all women in the name of patriarchy evermore. A-men".

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thecatfromjapan · 12/10/2021 12:16

@Bollockstothat

UCU are utterly fucking useless. Totally fucked any chance of taking on employers effectively on things like pensions devaluation by binning the idea of focused campaigns in favour of wanking on about 'four fights' - who the fuck thinks they can win on four fronts simultaneously? That level of stupidity should have automatically disqualified you from getting anywhere near a university job.

And in the middle of the biggest public health crisis the universities have ever faced, when staff are often being made to work in unsafe environments, they'd rather bang on about Israel and attack a lesbian academic.

UCU is functionally useless now. Time for a new union.

I think this is very important.

The UCU are pretty toothless on issues which are the 'traditional' job of unions.

We can probably trace it all the way back to Thatcher's reining in of Union power.

The UCU have been missing in action over the decimation of Further Education - and the impact of that on all those working in FE.

They may have been pretty hopeless with regards to HE - but workers there have masses more power and prestige than their FE colleagues - FE workers really, really needed a Union.

And the UCU really didn't/couldn't step up there. Partly as a result of being tied into changes in the law around what action unions can take, partly through being outmanoeuvred by changes in contemporary working conditions.

The UCU are left with symbolic gestures.

But it's madness.

Who needs to pay Union dues for symbolic gestures? You can do that for free, yourself, on Twitter. Or with a badge, or a t-shirt.

It's a depressing expression of futility.
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thecatfromjapan · 12/10/2021 12:23

Unions really, really need to re-organise in the face of massive changes to working conditions in the 21st century.

My feeling is that the solution UCU have chosen (become a signaller of ideological and cultural positions) is strategically terrible. Really bad.

I mean, you just don't need to pay into a Union to do that, do you?

Especially when work is getting more precarious and the cost of living means your wages don't go as far.

It's just a really great way to make people wonder what the point of joining a Union is.

Especially when a lot of people are experiencing worsening working conditions right now and experiencing a real mis-match between how hard they work and what they can then afford - and are wondering, 'Why is there no organisation that can help me re-adjust this? Surely this is what a trade Union movement is for?'

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ANewCreation · 12/10/2021 12:30

Yet again, the UCU with trans and non binary people being the 'most vulnerable' trope.

So Kathleen Stock OBE, a lesbian woman, has had calls for her to be fired from students(?) in masks/balaclavas, smoke bombs, police concern regarding her physical safety, death and rape threats, colleagues openly sounding off against her, a union apparently against her and against the recent expression of support she received from the university - though she had been left twisting in the wind for months before.

Yet somehow, this community of trans and non binary people is most vulnerable at Sussex.

Seriously, more vulnerable than Kathleen right now?? Let's not forget her 'crime' - because she has the temerity to be part of LGBAlliance and believes in the material reality of sex.

And surely calling for unequivocal support without knowing if some members of the community are actually engaged in the harassment and bullying is a potentially risky move by UCU?

Obviously UCU will have actual documented proof of worse bullying and harassment for trans and non binary staff members at the University, yes?

In which case, wow.

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StellaAndCrow · 12/10/2021 12:34

@Sicario

And in The Times today, "Members can identify as black, disabled or female, university union insists"

A union that represents academics has reasserted a commitment to allowing its members to self-identify as being black, disabled or female.

A Twitter post by the Edinburgh branch of the University and College Union (UCU) said: “A reminder of UCU’s strong position in support of trans inclusion. Liberation cannot be built on exclusion”.

It contained a link to a policy document endorsed by the UK-wide union that states: “UCU has a long history of enabling members to self-identify, whether that is being black, disabled, LGBT+ or women.

“UCU supports a social, rather than a medical, model of gender recognition that will help challenge repressive gender stereotypes in the workplace and in society.”

One staff member at Edinburgh University, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, claimed that trans rights activists within the union were seeking to “weaponise” the issue and force out academics who expressed scepticism over the concept of self-identification.

Interesting that it mentions being able to self-identify as a woman, but doesn't mention self-identifying as a man. I wonder why?

And is it ok to self-identify as black these days then? Cos there's some BAME support groups round here that sound really interesting, and a scholarship for black women. . .
NO OF COURSE IT'S NOT OK!!
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dworky · 12/10/2021 12:34

Betrays all women.

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Bollockstothat · 12/10/2021 12:37

Agree with all that, thecatfromjapan

Even fairly recently, though, UCU were better - their campaigns were focused on limited goals (adding 1% to a pay offer, say) that were, in theory, achievable. That's all gone out of the window these days. But then, it's so much easier, so much sexier, to take a righteous stand on Israel than to put in the hard, morally impure, work of negotiation in favour of your members' interests.

I imagine that university management and the government are delighted by UCU in its current form - shouty, ineffectual, virtue wankers whose only real acheivement is to alienate normal people.

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ArtemesiaK · 12/10/2021 12:47

Has Kathleen Stock ever even said anything transphobic? Stating biological facts is not transphobic. What on earth do biology profs teach these days?

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