The Times: Edinburgh Uni principle to discipline transphobic stickerwoman

[BernardBlacksWineIcelolly]

Can't see a thread on this yet (but don't have a share token I'm afraid)

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/principal-backs-transgender-students-over-hurtful-stickers-9jpztg2tz

worrying that the principle of Edinburgh university considers a sticker that says 'Woman: adult human female' to be hurtful.

what other dictionary definitions are so hurtful that people deserve to be 'disciplined' for publicising them?

Has the man not got anything more important to do than intervene in the weans tantrums?

I'm really surprised that the Principal didn't have more sense than to come down on a side over this.

Interesting contrast between "It is illegal to aggravate prejudices relating to transgender identity

And

stickers had been posted across Edinburgh city centre and they were assessed, removed and no criminality established.

I suspect this will become yet another TRA own goal.

Wait, wasn't this the uni where Magdalen Berns was kicked out of the LGBT club or something?

Yep: quillette.com/2016/04/02/university-feminists-are-betraying-their-movements-liberal-past/

It's also the old haunt of Ada Wells www.thetab.com/uk/edinburgh/2016/08/23/ada-wells-resigns-eusas-lgbt-officer-25017/

I don't know whether to laugh, cry or once again, bang my head against the nearest wall. How is posting stickers stating a scientific fact hurtful to anyone? Now if the stickers had read, 'All trans-gender people are the spawn of Satan and deserve to rot in hell" there might have been reason to complain but not this.
All I can say is, if students are so fragile they cannot understand the point of a University education, i.e. to learn to think critically, to engage in rigorous debate, to accept viewpoints not their own without fainting,(metaphorically) they might as well pack up and go home. The Principal should be ashamed of himself as well.

if students are so fragile they cannot understand the point of a University education, i.e. to learn to think critically, to engage in rigorous debate, to accept viewpoints not their own without fainting,(metaphorically) they might as well pack up and go home.

Universities no longer provide this sort of environment. Students are customers now, and the customer is always right.

I’m at Edinburgh and it’s great (certainly in my department it’s all about critical thinking and debate) but they really are quite stupid about this. Someone put stickers in our accommodation lift and they sent bloody emails out. Thought police.

Universities no longer provide this sort of environment. Students are customers now, and the customer is always right.

Sad but true.

It’s fantastic to see that every single comment is supportive. Not one comment ageees with the university. Hopefully the tide is beginning to turn.

My stickers arrived this week, hurrah! I shall see if the good people of the East Midlands are as easily offended as the students of Edinburgh University...

Someone posted this on another thread

www.bera.ac.uk/blog/the-gender-wars-academic-freedom-and-education

Is anyone in a position to pass in on to the Principal?

My mum has been a generous financial supporter of her university for many years but has recently stopped all gifts because she can't abide how universities have become hotbeds of thought policing.

Has anyone created stickers/posters etc of the definition of Man? Would be curious to see if that gets anywhere near the same reaction...

It seems that we will also need a sticker campaign that uses the dictionary definition of ‘university’.

Errol what a great article

How long before the dictionaries are under pressure to change the definition? How does that work?

We can't be far off it. Burn everything by the women (for they are guilty of necromancy). The logical progression of that seems familiar somehow...

I was going to quote wiki!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt

In current language, "witch hunt" metaphorically means an investigation usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty and so on, but really to weaken political opposition.

The majority of those accused were from the lower economic classes in European society, although in rarer cases high-ranking individuals were accused as well. On the basis of this evidence, Scarre and Callow asserted that the "typical witch was the wife or widow of an agricultural labourer or small tenant farmer, and she was well known for a quarrelsome and aggressive nature."

The term 'TERF' is not banned on this site - note the number of posters who have it in their name. What is banned is applying it to someone in a derogatory manner. Same as for various swear words etc. So long as your post is within standard talk guidelines- no personal attacks, no deliberately inflammatory posts etc - I don't think any word is banned per se.

So, posting a picture with TERF used satirically should be fine.

It’s like ‘bitch’. Happy to refer to myself as such or to someone jokingly (when I know they will take it as such). Absolutely unacceptable to anyone else!!!

How long before the dictionaries are under pressure to change the definition? How does that work?

A TRA did tweet one of the big dictionary companies about this ..