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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Speech at graduation

30 replies

VIPNotReally · 05/09/2023 15:05

Was at a recent graduation ceremony, prominent university at a quite prestigious venue.

Between cohorts there was a student who made a speech, they were the only student to do so (but clearly invited).

They spoke quite specifically about their anger at this institution for jettisoning Stonewall, how it made them as a trans person feel unsafe that there were academics at the university who had voted for this and how they couldn't even reassure other trans students that they were going to be safe here. There was a lot more but I couldn't catch all of it.

I dunno...this person has a right to express their views but at Graduation? When no one with opposing views was likely to be given a platform? A special event for all those students and parents when the sole content of the rest of the speeches was about potential, excitement, looking forward, the history of the department etc.

It was crushingly disappointing. Their speech closed to the sound of cheers and whoops from their peers. It was quite hard to plaster a smile back on my face after that.

OP posts:
IcakethereforeIam · 05/09/2023 16:42

Well, they're safe from Stonewall using their University to tell them how unsafe they are. They have to make their own paranoia now.

Perhaps the University would have liked a GC speaker but decided against it because they would not have been safe and the Uni. was scared of the tra reaction.

VIPNotReally · 05/09/2023 16:14

Well exactly! Safe from what?

OP posts:
Justme56 · 05/09/2023 15:37

I’d love to know what they mean about being safe. Safe from what exactly? As far as I can gather Stonewall offer (on occasions dodgy) advice not a security service.

VIPNotReally · 05/09/2023 15:22

Right...if you keep telling people you're unsafe apparently they believe you and therefore it must be true (unless you were born female).

OP posts:
RealityFan · 05/09/2023 15:12

Strange that. So unsafe that they had a soapbox and megaphone all to themself, allies amplified, doubters self silenced.

I mean, that's happened thru the ages, hasn't it? Jews given a platform in Nazi Germany, blacks in separatist US, gays in the criminalised past. I mean they were all up to express how victimised they were?

Sorry for such a broad point, but this movement now deserves nothing other than ridicule.

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