So, I just wondered how many of you regulars are academics

[thanksjaneshusbandatcaresouth]

Just that really!

There is quite a lot of theoretical stuff on the board.

Have a degree (law) but not an academic. I work in London as a project manager (and am British).

Off to the women's march tomorrow!

Yes.

trying to cone to terms with the fact that my gender critical views may mean I never work in my field

You have my sympathy, Knit. My career is similarly fucked now.

Overseas Brit, Bsc, never worked in academia.

‘Brit’ annoys me. It sounds too American.

I’m from the UK, have a BA in philosophy and literature. Am what would be classed a ‘rad fem’ if dictated by the trans agenda. However I’ve always considered myself a liberal, til recently I’ve been told that I’m not, again by the trans agenda that seems to dictate all labels and societal positioning these days. Not that I’ve rolled over and accepted this labelling; but that is how it is.

Got as far a postdoc in a science. Then retrained as a teacher. I wasn't cut out for a research position. Found it boring and the arrogance of the men was irritating. I would have loved to have just done lecturing and practical supervision but permanent jobs doing that are extremely rare in my subject.

These MN threads are undoubtedly visited by MRAs. When they aren’t threatening DIAF TERF! or issuing rape threats they sometimes like to argue that gender critical views should be dismissed because they come from a place of privilege/education.

Just preempting that, by observing the obvious, that what could be called gender critical views are held by a diversity of women and men with different life experiences and identities and politics.

I think many of us on MN would describe these views as being being bog standard ‘reality and common sense’, or even, ‘just not being an arsehole’. That’s before we may or may not have studied further to put a technical language and framework around that position.

Broadly, the same view is being expressed whatever the label put on it, though: that women are women, transwomen are transwomen, and that’s all fine and that’s enough. Boundaries need reasserting in the interests of women because of challenges and encroachment in multiple arenas. Taking anything more from women is appropriation. Gender is a trap and biological sex is real. Oh and FUCK YOU, CREEPS

I'm an academic, but in a medical field rather than theoretical. My first degree was in the Arts though! I'm a regular reader but not a huge contributor. I do use some of what I learn here in my teaching.

I'm not British, nor located in Britain. Lived there for more than a decade, though, and managed to collect a British husband along the way.

BSc, with some other add on degrees in teaching.

I spend half my working life now trying to deconstruct academic wordings into working language for people to make head or tail of things.

I left school at 16.
I qualified as a social worker in my 40s plus have post graduate stuff. I have supervised MA and BA students.

It depends on your definition. I work at a university but not in a research capacity. I teach EFL.

Posted too soon! I do have a PhD and have just been accepted to speak at my first conference. I feel like a bit of a fraud most of the time though!

I'm an academic in a STEM field, and a regular reader but infrequent poster.

Nope. Typical 70s/80s UK council estate ubringing.

I made it to Uni, but never completed BA, due to then husband's (frequently demonstrated) resentment of 'too much' education.

Now a lone parent, recently in refuge.

I tend to read, rather than post, as others can make the points so much more clearly than I can.
I share and dicuss a lot, in RL, though. This stuff is all new to many people.

Yes, ex teacher, two degrees and British.

I'm also quite pedantic and I can't help but notice the lack of grammatical errors on the feminist chat boards compared to all the other boards. I know a lot of it (in chat and AIBU etc.) is due to phones changing words and spellings in predictive text, but there's hardly any of that here and I wondered if that's one of the reasons you've asked?

Not an academic. I have a professional degree in a vocational subject and I split my life between working in that profession and writing,

PerfPower

Yes! It was!

OP, just wanted to point out that many people who are non-academics might have self-selected out of reading the thread/posting an answer on the basis of the title/question posed, so I suspect the background of posters who frequent these boards is far wider. Which further supports your point about the diversity of backgrounds.

Not a Brit, first person in my family to ever do a university degree, currently working on a STEM PhD.

I’m a STEM academic (developmental biology) at a RG uni. I like correcting Twitter TRAs when they chat nonsense about X chromosomes

Nope. Did the first year of a sociology degree before changing course and then dropping out altogether. Very much not an academic.

Yes, I am an academic

MSc student and mainly a lurker, if I can get funding i'll hopefully be doing a feministy PhD.

Maid