The Free Speech Union July Press Release re: Stonewall

[Leafstamp]

I am pleased to see this. Hopefully the message will reach yet more people.

freespeechunion.org/stonewalls-censorship-champions/

It isn’t necessary to take a position on the validity of LGBT charity Stonewall’s claims about the nature of sex, gender and identity to recognise that they have far-reaching consequences and should therefore be subject to maximum public debate.

Since adding transgender rights to its remit in 2015, Stonewall has adopted gender identity ideology and lobbied for self-identified gender to govern many domains of public life previously determined by biological sex.

This has entailed the development of an expansive definition of what constitutes “transphobic” speech, encompassing any criticism of gender identity or self-identified gender as concepts.

Standpoint epistemology and a belief that linguistic categories can be “oppressive” or “exclusionary” are at the root of much Stonewall policy. Both frameworks further hinder the ability to speak plainly about issues arising from the transgender debate without incurring accusations of transphobia.

Through the operation of the Diversity Champions programme and School and College Champion schemes, Stonewall ideology has come to be enacted at the institutional level with relatively little public scrutiny. This has entailed stigmatising and penalising people exercising their speech rights to comment on the repercussions of Stonewall policies.

This briefing summarises the impact Stonewall has had on freedom of speech and the process by which the organisation appears to have bypassed the marketplace of ideas in policymaking.

Thanks for sharing OP. That was a long and very insightful read about the chilling impact that Stonewall is having on democracy and decision making in the UK. Good to see it all laid out and evidenced like this.
Shelley Charlesworth has done some very good investigative reporting for Transgender Trend recently.

Thats a great quote and sums it up well (still cant stand Tody Young tho).

Its good to share things here - I wasn’t aware of the Shelley Charlesworth/TT link nor the issues with Toby Young (what are they in a nutshell?)

That is a good quote - will look forward to reading this.

"Stonewall guidance advises employers to implement policies stating, “That the organisation considers any gender identities outside of the gender binary as a protected characteristic”, stating that “the most inclusive employers consider non-binary to be a protected characteristic”.81 While the language of “protected characteristics” mimics that used in the Equality Act and hate crime sentencing, commentators have pointed out that it is not “gender identities outside of the gender binary” that are treated as a protected characteristic in law. It is the category of “gender reassignment”, defined above.82 Stonewall is quite explicit in telling employers to disregard the legal category of “gender reassignment”:
The law and terminology around gender reassignment is outdated and doesn’t reflect the full variety of experience of the trans community. The descriptive term used within legislation is gender reassignment, but this is a very narrow definition of what it means to be trans. Best practice is to treat all individuals, including those who identify as non-binary, as you would other people with protected characteristics.83
In line with their own definition, Stonewall DCP advice goes on to suggest that “you should allow anyone to access facilities, spaces and groups which align with their gender identity”.84 Schools are explicitly advised that “under the Equality Act a trans child or young person can use the toilets and changing rooms that match their gender”.85 Commenting on the decision by Girlguiding UK to allow biological males with a self-identified female gender identity to share spaces traditionally reserved for biological females, Stonewall wrote that
80 Stonewall Equality Limited (2019), 9.
81 Stonewall (2016a), 2–3.
82 Naomi Cunningham, “SUBMISSION AND COMPLIANCE: risks for Stonewall Champions”, Legal Feminist (2021).
83 Stonewall (2016a), 2–3.
84 Ibid. 4.
85 Stonewall (2020b).

“refusing to include trans young people can have serious consequences for their safety and wellbeing and is also breaking the law”.86 But, again, commentators have pointed out that, as currently formulated, the Equality Act advises that access to “facilities, spaces and groups” may sometimes be subject to single-sex exemptions, defined by reference to whether someone is “either male or female”, rather than according to gender self-identification as Stonewall advocates.87 This has led to accusations that Stonewall, in its legal advice, describes the law as it would prefer it to be, rather than the law as it is."

It's so blatant.

Whilst Toby Young is undoubtable irritating (I am sure he must irritate himself) the Free Speech Union have stepped up to support people like Lisa Keogh and Young has said: "Many of our members are women who’ve got into trouble for expressing gender critical views and we always defend them to the hilt."

It is £4.95 per month to join, a bit less if you pay annually.

freespeechunion.org/product/full-member/

This a good solid analysis. It will be useful for reference. Thanks for posting.