Please defend Jenni Murray's reputation

I sent a quick email. Kept it polite and brief. I don't know what else to do. I'm just astonished that in 2018 we're having to fight for the right of women to have an opinion on what it means to be a woman.

Done

In Gilead, the female academics weren't given a free pass. I'm old enough to remember the Khmer Rouge as well as the Taliban and ISIS.

End of my e mail

You will be effectively saying: ‘ if women dare to speak up for their rights, their achievements will not be recognised in a way that they would have been had they shut up and remained mute on the matter’ which would be an appalling stance to take.

I’m fed up of this shit.

apologies, scrambled link to Jenni Murray's lecture accompanying her book:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxyLZobtj7M

Context

recent thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3417901-Dame-Jenni-Murrays-book-A-History-of-Britain-in-21-Women-a-polite-yet-passionate-fingers-up-to-history-s-attempts-to-silence-women-Shouldnt-we-join-her-as-this-is-happening-now-to-her

'A History of Britain in 21 Women'
The reasons that Jenni Murray wrote this book are important:

"Dame Jenni's talk is a polite yet passionate fingers up to history’s attempts to silence women, on the very week Millicent Fawcett’s statue was unveiled on parliament square.

Jenni began writing her a book ‘A History of Britain in 21 Women’ in 2015 after learning that the women’s movement might be erased from the A level history curriculum.

Her lecture is a whirlwind tour of some of the books more colourful characters – from Boadicea to the Iron Lady, Elizabeth I to Ethel Smith, featuring personal anecdotes (interviewing Thatcher after her deposition) and offering fascinating insight into some of suffrage’s lesser known stories (suffragette cricket lessons for more accomplished brick throwing).'

[[lecture accompanying her book:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxyLZobtj7M]]

recent thread following Oxford Studen't harrassment and attempts to 'no-plaform JM from delevering this lecture at History Society there:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3416980-Oxford-students-going-after-Jenni-Murray-again

Times
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/woman-s-hour-host-accused-of-transphobia-pulls-out-of-oxford-talk-k58pmbcgb?shareToken=05dedf9ff8b21cf1eaa21b75da46fbbd

Spectator:
blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/11/even-oxford-university-cant-save-jenni-murray-from-the-transgender-activist-mob/

Telegraph:
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/11/07/jenni-murray-pulls-oxford-talk-students-try-no-platform-transphobic/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Emailed.

Thanks, OP for posting the Times long read too. Very interestING and measured read.

Thanks for posting, I will be sending an email.

As an aside, I watched Dame Jenni on Christmas University challenge last night. captaining Hull. She was magnificent!

Sent this ...decided to keep it short

Dear Vice Chancellor

Jenni Murray’s life achievements mean that she is hugely deserving of being honoured by your establishment.

Her recent views are moderate and deserve to be heard. Please don’t fall foul of silencing views and thoughts for fear of offending the violent voices that want others to silenced.

Thank you

Sent.

And mine

Dear Professor Lea

I was somewhat surprised to read on the BBC website yesterday that the University of Hull is reconsidering its decision to name a lecture theatre after Dame Jenni Murray.

As a distinguished broadcaster and supporter / patron of many important charities Jenni Murray is surely not someone whose reputation can be so easily tarnished. Her views on transgender issues are in no way extreme, indeed they are far more moderate and tolerant than those of the individuals who have made such a fuss about this. I am guessing she has made no threats to you if you do change your mind!

I would ask if you agree that female academics, broadcasters and journalists are fair game for personal threats of violence, stalking and harassment? Do you agree with #NoPlatforming, #NoDebate and those individuals who say that women talking about biology are committing 'literal violence' and hate speech?

Have you read recently about the very real and personal attacks on women such as Julie Bindel, Linda Bellow, Venice Allen?

What about fellow academic Professor Rosa Freedman?twitter.com/GoonerProf/status/1070158128837246977?s=20

Maybe you hadn't realised that most people in the UK do NOT agree with #NoPlatforming, #NoDebatea, see the results of the recent Populus poll fairplayforwomen.com/poll/

Please think twice before you mar your organisation's academic reputation and slight this talented, dedicated woman simply to appease a small but vocal minority.

Yours sincerely,

Done!

I am realising that one practical thing I can do is to challange institutions when they appear to be making ill informed and reactive decisions. There are other voices out there.

I hadn't read that Jenni Murray article in full before. It's incredibly reasonable and moderate. It's noteworthy that she actually tackles those erroneous suicide statistics - and yet people like the Guardian continue to cite them as if true.

Email sent

Thanks for posting the full article @Sunkisses

Excellent article - thanks Andy

Its really brings home how our upbringing makes girls and then women much more susceptible to ideology. We spend our teenage years poring over magazines/ internet etc media to try and understand the rules of how to fit in and not stand out. Boys don't do this to the same extent - they are less biddable

Clearly (some/ a lot) of boys/ young men are pushing this ideology, I think it is less prevalent where it is so blatantly against their own interests

@hackmum

You used the word "chilling" and that is exactly what it is, a kind of fundamentalist indoctrination at the school, with weekly Stonewall meetings and regular visits from Mermaids.

Drafted this:

Good morning,

I just wanted to express my support for your decision to honor the eminent journalist and writer Jenni Murray by naming a lecture theatre after her.

Jenni's journalism and championing of women are inspirational, and an important contribution to the national debate and our culture.

At no point has she ever expressed transphobic sentiments; all she has said is that transwomen are not women because they're born male and socialised male. Recent research carried out by Populus (fairplayforwomen.com/poll/) indicates that 87% of the population agree with her – and among those claiming such a belief, a significant percentage still think that male-bodied people should not be permitted into traditionally female spaces.

She has been very brave in expressing this moderate view – have a look at the Twitter feed of Professor Rosa Freedman to see what women who reject transactivist ideology are subjected to. I would not – I’d be genuinely afraid to. Jenni speaks for me and for very many of the HALF OF THE POPULATION who’ve been intimidated into silence.

This is not about being on ‘the right side of history’; if you change your decision, this is a signal that a tiny, vocal, aggressive group’s attempt to erase the vocabulary, identity and safety of – I’ll say it again – half the population is being nodded through by organisations unwilling to challenge or express an unpopular view. Which is the antithesis of what a university should be about, surely?

Andy - thanks for the link, illuminating article and ‘The Tranish Inquisition ‘sums the current madness up perfectly.

Done, there is nothing at all wrong with that article

Emailed the VC. What else can we do?

Email sent.

“The worst part about being a woman is being treated as a sex object. So much depends on your appearance at the expense of everything else. Even though I was a woman physically, I felt I still had a male brain, but when I tried to talk to men about blokey things they didn’t take me seriously.”

This is so telling. At least he had some better insight into the female condition than Jenner, but suggests that he deserves to be taken seriously due to his 'male brain'. What he really means is 'but I'm still a person, not like a real woman, why won't men treat me as a person?'. So so close to getting it, missed the mark by an inch.