Academics' letter in Guardian

[Velella]

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/16/academics-are-being-harassed-over-their-research-into-transgender-issues

It's good to see this in the Guardian. But I don't think it necessarily indicates a change of heart. A letters editor would find it very hard to ignore a letter with a long list of signatories, particularly if many of them are high-ranking academics. As with the letter to the Observer on Sunday, this seems to be part of a deliberate strategy by gender-critical feminists to get their cause mentioned in the two newspapers that have barely covered it. And it's working.

Thank you GC for this letter you are very brave. I've emailed both the lecturers from my Alma mater.

Brilliant letter. Thank you to everyone who signed it. I bet many more wanted to but were scared to.

Well done GC and please pass that on to your fellow academics.

One thing I found interesting was not just the spread of disciplines but the spread of universities, some new, some old, some of the oldest in Europe.

Good.

How can non academics support these academics?

Well done GC and all other signatories. I'm amazed to see this and the other GC report in the guardian. The level of no platforming and #nodebate in Universities seems truly Orwellian.

What can we do to support you all, GC?

I've just had a really nice reply back from one of the signatories I emailed :)

I've emailed the signatory from my institution to say thanks. She said she's only had supportive messages so far.

Thank you GC.

I emailed my old tutor to say thank you and that we do not underestimate the courage required to write and sign that letter. Got a nice email back. Just wish there were more from my old university. They must all be bloody terrified.

I emailed the signatory from Goldmsiths, it's one of my old institutions and I thought she was particulary brave.
I suppose I should do the other although I remember that institution as allowing a lot more individual thought.

we need Sandy to do a cartoon

"Look, when we said IMPACT we didn't exactly mean...."

Waves to @GCAcademic - also a signatory & I think this is going to continue to grow - you don't have to be in this area of research to be part of the network. Though, having said that, the knock on effects are felt everywhere - I'm a computer scientist. How can you write a piece of software code to pull out the records of women / men in a certain age range for a specific set of tests if you can't identify who the female / male bodied people are?

There are people on the network who didn't feel able to sign this time, but the more of us speak out the easier it will get. I'm retired so they can't touch me, job wise. It's certainly going to sort out the VCs who are genuine academics from the ones who play to the crowd.

Great piece and thanks to GC and all the academics concerned for sticking their heads above the parapet on this.

Thank you GS and Diane Sad there wasn't anyone there from Sheffield uni. So important to have an open debate about this.

Huge thanks to all who signed. I've heard from some signatories who said that they've had nothing but supportive emails and they are appreciated. I know academics across the UK who are with us but who can't publicly 'come out' for all sorts of reasons.They know that the more people who do take a public stand, the more others are emboldened. I'm so proud of my colleagues.
GC: can we offer any support?

2 out of the 3 unis I have studied in have signatories in the letter. I've sent a quick note to both, although I wondered if the goldsmith member might need something stronger than a note, maybe a case of gin.
I was disappointed the only social work signatory was a bloke, this is a big issue for girls who have experienced abuse in a range of ways but being open about that is very hard.

Emailed the signatory from the institution I work at too and got a very appreciative response. If you can please let these people know that their actions are valued!
Thanks again to all the signatories.

Just the one signatory from Cambridge. I'm very disappointed.

There will be more I’m sure.

It's like you suddenly feel grown-ups have entered the room so the children have to start grumpily tidying up.

This is great to see :)!. And the thing is that we all know there are surely even more academics who are critical towards whats happening who don't have their names on the list. It makes me happy to see more people speaking about about the silencing. I know that attaching your name to these views publicly can get you so much hate. I'm in my final year at a liberal arts college in America and luckily 2 years ago I was able to find solace in my gender studies professor who was very critical of transactivism. We had many discussions outside of class about the subject, but she told me that she would probably never bring up what we discussed to the class out of fear of losing her job. It really is scary what is happening, but I do think the tides will shift, and hopefully universities can become places that are supposed to encourage critical thinking. Instead of all the groupthink.

I’m a natural sciences signatory! I am resolute that my language will not be hijacked. I need ‘female’, thank you very much.

Nice one, Maid!