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Original poster

Universities which are less ‘captured’ by gender ideology

79 replies

percypig · 10/06/2023 08:52

Morning, this thread has been inspired by one about a survey in Leeds and by recent coverage of events at universities across the UK.

My eldest DC is starting to look at universities for 2024 and in my working life as a teacher I’m often talking to 6th formers about their Uni choices.

I’m wondering if anyone has experience of universities which are, as my title says, ‘less captured’ than others? Or conversely, others were being gender critical could make for a really unpleasant university experience.

Students and families weigh up all sorts of criteria from en-suites to job prospects, clubs and societies on offer to lab facilities. Given recent events I’d also like to know how open universities and their students are to gender critical beliefs.

OP posts:
Original poster
percypig · 11/06/2023 08:20

Yes, this is exactly the kind of info I was hoping for! Thanks for that helpful summary too @Hagosaurus

OP posts:
Hagosaurus · 11/06/2023 07:57

Summary so far:
Purely on the basis of the alphabet, be wary of:
Loughborough
Goldsmiths
Liverpool John Moore’s
Sussex
Kent
York
Staffordshire
Exeter (mixed sex toilets)

Experience suggests a more biologically accurate approach to sex & gender:
Nottingham
Southampton
Keele
Reading
UCL

Other issues for women:
Leicester encouraging sex-work among their students (issue for both sexes!)
Warwick: unable to respond to sexual assaults on students (on campus?)

I’m finding this really useful, thankyou everyone

Sparklybutold · 11/06/2023 01:08

Avoid Staffordshire University.

BreezySunnyDay · 11/06/2023 00:16

parietal · 10/06/2023 21:41

UCL has strong gc representation among profs. Not sure what things are like for the student body.

Yep, also UCL jettisoned Stonewall a couple of years ago, and stood firm against protests against the decisions from students.

Readingtonian · 10/06/2023 23:43

TheBiologyStupid · 10/06/2023 20:04

The University of Reading seems to be fairly sound - it offered a safe berth to Jo Phoenix after she felt hounded out of the Open University for establishing the Gender Critical Research Network (GCRN).

<nods vigorously>

KitchenDancefloor · 10/06/2023 23:40

Avoid University of Kent

Both the university itself and the SU are fully captured (eg the SU has organised womxn and non-binary gym sessions. FFS).

GC views are literal violence, trans people are the most marginalised, rainbow flags up all year, etc. A very vocal minority control the narrative. GC staff are too scared to challenge as job cuts are in the pipeline.

I'm sure some students just get on with their course and have a lovely time ignoring all this. But they'd struggle if they wanted to talk freely about their own or abstract GC views.

Ihonestlydontgetit · 10/06/2023 22:53

I'd avoid York. My son did teacher training there and the obviously male tutors use gender pronouns. Particularly worrying that the biology tutor uses them. Not sure how he can confuse sex and gender. Massive red flag in my opinion.

Yfory · 10/06/2023 22:52

If anyone reading this happens to know........... Id love to know what its like at Bournemouth Uni/Arts Uni Bournemouth re Gender woo.

Timefortea4 · 10/06/2023 22:45

Great question, something I have been thinking about recently. Leicester uni had the guide to sex work I think. Warwick uni seems to have struggled to respond properly to sexual assaults.

Tree543 · 10/06/2023 22:18

In our recent open day visits Exeter was the only one that had mixed sex toilets

DrBlackbird · 10/06/2023 22:00

Pay close attention to the SU societies being offered and that can say a lot eg I’d be worried about a Uni offering the SU Fetish Society.

parietal · 10/06/2023 21:41

UCL has strong gc representation among profs. Not sure what things are like for the student body.

mcduffy · 10/06/2023 21:28

Yep, I was at Loughborough this week and would definitely steer clear. Progress flag zebra crossing and all, great for blind students 👏 🙄

louderthan · 10/06/2023 21:02

Do NOT go to Sussex...

Arseulaundress · 10/06/2023 20:16

Goldsmiths is notorious.

Up north, LJMU acts as though only it trans/NB students matter.

Iafontaine · 10/06/2023 20:07

I wonder if at Oxford and Cambridge the differences are both between different colleges and different faculties (I'll be in Cambridge from the autumn so am becoming more interested/alarmed as the time approaches).

TheBiologyStupid · 10/06/2023 20:04

The University of Reading seems to be fairly sound - it offered a safe berth to Jo Phoenix after she felt hounded out of the Open University for establishing the Gender Critical Research Network (GCRN).

TheMarzipanDildo · 10/06/2023 18:24

I know Edinburgh has been looking a bit nuts recently, but I actually found my humanities course quite balanced/ gender woo was easy to avoid. (I’m a recent graduate)

Novina · 10/06/2023 17:14

Dd went to Keele. I messaged a GC lecturer at the uni who follows me on twitter to ask about her experiences of being GC there. She was very reassuring, and it's been fine.

Hagosaurus · 10/06/2023 17:03

Useful about Southampton, thankyou! Mine is steering clear of Loughborough, because although doing a STEM subject, is worried that they’ll get in trouble for voicing their very strong GC views

Xoxoxoxoxoxox · 10/06/2023 16:55

My son went to Southampton Uni finishing last year and didn’t come across much of it there but he did a stem subject.
(Southampton is where the recent Starbucks manager was fired for being aggressive towards a customer for ‘misgendering’ though).

Original poster
percypig · 10/06/2023 13:53

Some encouraging replies, thanks! I agree that it’s easy to read the news stories and get the impression the no debate views are widespread.

OP posts:
MadameKali · 10/06/2023 10:25

@Darhon thanks, that's reassuring. I think it's all too easy to believe that unis are a hotbed of TRAs rather than them being a vocal minority. I guess it never occurred to me that there are many students who don't really have any interest in genderwoo.

Feckedupbundle · 10/06/2023 10:06

Dd is at the University of Nottingham and hasn't mentioned anything that's concerned me. She's a farm girl and doesn't buy in to the gender nonsense.
Her course is Zoology though,which requires a knowledge of basic biology.