Selina Todd has been disinvited from "Women's Liberation at 50" because of association with WPUK

[stumbledin]

Have just seen this on facebook and am totally taken aback. She is listed as a speaker here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-liberation-at-50-tickets-75905313837

Everyone of the other speaker if they go ahead and dont protest should be totally ashamed of themselves.

This is her tweet twitter.com/selina_todd/status/1233456777057964035

Some of the women speaking are those I have told I should and I do admire.

This sickness that is dividing women is so upsetting.

Not sure where or how we can show our disgust at this and make sure they know they do not speak for women.

Selina Todd, a respected socialist and feminist historian, is no-platformed because Lola Olufemi doesn't like her involvement with those damned uppity feminists at Women's Place UK.

That'll be Lola Olufemi, who I have just discovered is author of a book on feminism (which I won't advertise here) -- a book that's advertised with the slogan "It's time to reclaim a rebellious, radical feminism."

Not too rebellious though, ladies. Not actually radical. Mustn't upset the boys.

The WLM 50 conference

Reading this has been incredible and bizarre.

I'm with "women are women because of female biology and all that entails, in all its variations, throughout life, with the constant consistency of having a female sexed body."

But apparently, this is not good enough, or relevant enough, any more??!! Despite history!!!

Those people claim feminism, but use it to centre men.

prancingthroughlife.com/2015/02/11/why-im-done-defending-my-personhood-blackvoices/

There's a whole generation of women coming out of academia in the UK (and Ireland) who are immersed in US style identity politics which focuses disproportionately on race, sexuality and identity while giving class the barest nod. And they're poorly educated, have read hardly anything and are arrogantly dismissive of older women

That link was posted earlier and I guessed the article would be by Lola Olufemi.

Olufemi is a spectacular example of why class analysis goes badly wrong in real life. According to class analysis she is doubly oppressed by being a woman and black. It doesn't stop her being a spoilt, whiny , entitled brat but anyone pointing that out will be dismissed as racist.

I see Candice Carty- Williams is promoting Olufemi's book in today's Guardian review which has put me right off Carty- Williams' own novel.

The only person who supported her was her male colleague??

They're all terrified. Of being no platformed themselves.

As I watched the first part of the conference live, I was both embarrassed and ashamed in equal parts. A left-wing relative of mine recently stated that votes at general elections should be weighted by the intelligence of the voter. Having seen the performance of our so-called intelligentsia, including an excruciating "song" which has been mocked on twitter, I am beginning to think so called "thick" people have a better grasp of things.

My view is that Selina should of course been allowed to speak. If other participants chose to withdraw for whatever reason, this should have been respected. No need for tippex or long, painful explanations, just a simple "unfortunately so and so is unable to be with us". Remind me never to go to a piss up in a brewery with that shower.

if they'd just said "sorry you don't want to join in" to the bullies, shunted some timings around, asked some people who were still happy to speak to speak a bitt longer or have longer Q&As or - heaven forfend - have the see if the participants had preferences for filling. It's really not hard,

They could have asked Professor Todd to speak. That would have shown true solidarity and been the perfect response to the bullies.

That link was posted earlier and I guessed the article would be by Lola Olufemi

Goodness! Just reading that...What a smug, unpleasant self righteous tone;, as you say, schooled in American inter-sectionalist politics but not a lot else.

Young people are definitely having their day, but for me it has all gone out of kilter...young people do have drive and passion, but they just don't have the benefit of lived experience. they tend to see things in very stark, black and white terms, and a hold a very purist vision of things - based on ideals and, quite often, ideology.

Lola Olufemi is a first year English student at Selwyn College, Cambridge. She enjoys reading, acting and smashing white cisheteronative patriarchy

Olufemi is a spectacular example of why class analysis goes badly wrong in real life. According to class analysis she is doubly oppressed by being a woman and black. It doesn't stop her being a spoilt, whiny , entitled brat but anyone pointing that out will be dismissed as racist.

I don’t think you will be dismissed as racist if you can justify why you think she is spoilt, whiny and entitled (entitled to what exactly?). They are an interesting choice of words to use to criticise this person whose opinion you disagree with. I disagree with her opinion on single-sex spaces but she is hardly the only one apparently unbothered by self-ID. I abhor their ‘no debate’ strategy and the lack of intellectual rigour to their position. To be honest, I think people are trying so hard to be progressive (and in some cases kind) that they’ve taken leave of common sense and reality. I wish they could see sense but they are entitled to hold their views and expound them.

I really don't understand why the organisers pandered to Lola, why were her wishes more important than Selina's, who'd helped to organise it? It feels as though so many decisions are being made on the basis of tantrums or not upsetting people with personality disorders.

I don't understand either. I mean if you were forced to choose between Selina Todd and Lola Olufemi for a conference celebrating 2nd wave feminism, who would you pick? It makes me wonder what else was going on.

I wish they could see sense but they are entitled to hold their views and expound them

"Expounding" is certainly what she does and in a very aggressive and yes, 'entitled' style, it would appear from the transcripts. Totally sure of her own righteousness and dismissive of all other views and experiences. Young people are certainly being given very elevated platforms these days.....which is certainly not a bad thing in general......but it has become rather cultish in its practice.

Not sure where or how we can show our disgust at this and make sure they know they do not speak for women.

One thing Prof. Todd said at the WPUK Women's Liberation conference was that measured complaining letters to the Head of the History DEpartment, her Oxford college's Master, and the University itself all help.

If your DD (or DS) is considering applying to Oxford, or holding an offer, you might want to query whether your DC will be taught fairly openly & honestly? Or subjected to limits on their intellectual and academic freedom.

The Head of History at Oxford is very fair & tryig to do his best to keep academic freedom - letters to support this & protest the treatment of Dr Todd will be very helpful, I imagine.

I really don't understand why the organisers pandered to Lola, why were her wishes more important than Selina's

Maybe because in the intersectionalist hierarchy Olufemi is doubly oppressed, and therefore scores more points?

Yes it was Helen Rogers, she is great and worth following on Twitter

Helen has been doing some wonderful work quietly behind the scenes in the academic discipline of History (proud to cal her a friend).

If any of you has a DC at any university you could write to their VCs, or Provosts, asking about their university's policies over academic and intellectual freedom, ask to be reassured, in writing, that academics are free to teach & research, within the law (ie no racist hate speech for example)?

If you have DCs reading History, can you write to the History Dep't Head of Department, asking the same thing - in the light of Prof. Todd's "de-platforming" and Oxford University's decision (not Selina's) that the risk to her was such that her lectures were also attended by security personnel. That is, her employers considered the threat to her safety just doing her ordinary everyday work was such that she needed to have security personnel present.

Appalling!

We academics know this, but if universities are held to account by feminist parents, they will take far more notice.

Helen is a proper shero. She gained lots of admirers yesterday!

Who were the women who spoke on the video (the organisers)? I think one of the organisers is the doctoral student of the other?

There was a group of supporters handing out Selina's leaflet at the entrance of Ruskin College before the event began. Some of them went into the meeting to ask questions and they were magnificent. There was very wide support for Selina inside the conference too as I understand it.

Expounding" is certainly what she does and in a very aggressive and yes, 'entitled' style, it would appear from the transcripts. Totally sure of her own righteousness and dismissive of all other views and experiences. Young people are certainly being given very elevated platforms these days.....which is certainly not a bad thing in general......but it has become rather cultish in its practice.

I often see comments on this board to the effect that society expects women to not speak or act boldly, to only think certain approved thoughts and to centre men. That’s a viewpoint that women here, rightly, have no truck with. But I get the strongest sense that that is exactly what is expected of Olufemi, perhaps by virtue of her youth, and certainly by virtue of her race.

If people think what she says is of no value then ignore her and move on. Others will too if they come to the same conclusion. However, she is entitled to hold whatever views she holds and to air them. She doesn’t have to be timid in expressing her views because they might upset people. And make no mistake, black people often know there are ‘right’ answers to questions and ‘wrong’ views to express in the company of white people because they make white people uncomfortable.

I mean if you were forced to choose between Selina Todd and Lola Olufemi for a conference celebrating 2nd wave feminism, who would you pick? It makes me wonder what else was going on.

I wonder about this as well. I really felt that some of the speakers, particularly Laura Schwartz, actively insulted those 1970s feminists. It felt like a deliberate assertion of libfem and queer theory values over 2nd wave feminism. They couldn't even bring themselves to acknowledge what those women had handed down to them.

Charleston Lola can say whatever she likes in whatever way she likes, but demanding someone is silenced because she doesn't agree with them is not on. If she's happy to say it but won't discuss it then of course people are going to be critical.

Jane Clare Jones has another interesting thread about the type of authoritarianism that was on display yesterday:

twitter.com/janeclarejones/status/1234049007070085121?s=20

She is entitled to hold whatever views she holds and to air them.
Yes indeed, but what we are discussing is whether Olufemi was also entitled to stop another woman expressing her views, at a feminist conference no less.

Where did she demand Selina Todd be silenced? She withdrew from the conference for the reasons she set out. She thinks WPUK is transphobic etc etc. She is entitled to withdraw from the conference for any reason and explain why. The conference organisers could have said, ‘Oh, that’s a pity’, and moved on. They are responsible for the choices they made.

It felt like a deliberate assertion of libfem and queer theory values over 2nd wave feminism.
This is pure, idle speculation but I've wondered whether some noses were put out of joint by the success of the WPUK conference - and the spectacular own goal by the 'no cis in team' protestors outside. I wasn't at either but I felt that vibe following events yesterday.