Edinburgh University TRA Pressure

[WandaWomblesaurus]

www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-university-accused-not-being-24122293

The list of demands are quite something.

They need to spend some time on English language basics I think.

For example claiming that transwomen are being barred from rape crisis centres

Nope they are not , what is suggested is that they've barred from female only rape crisis centres

By persistently misrepresenting the position they make us look like villains - they can have trans rape crisis, male rape crisis and mixed sex rape crisis support , but they make out they can't be being economical with the truth

There's a lot I'd like to say about that but I fear it would get me deleted so I'll just 🙄instead

Wasn't one rape crisis centre banning transmen? But that was OK because TWAW and TW were welcomed, centred even.

the trans and non-binary officer for the students association, said: “There is no such thing as a “debate” about gender; there are trans people, and then there are those opposed to our fundamental rights.

Oh dear, bit behind the curve aren't they, no debate is definitely over. Well done staff and students at Edinburgh who are pushing back against trans activism, it's clearly being noticed.

Remarkable to demand ‘unconditional’ anything.

Which other protected groups get ‘unconditional’ support ? It is clear they have no idea about reality.

Gosh more evidence that they need to attend basic listening and comprehension classes
My understanding of the gc position

There are transgender people
They all deserve the same human rights as anyone
They may need additional support to fully access those rights

The debate is needed to

understand how best to support transgender people , especially children who may not actually need the affirmative model

Understand how transgender rights and womens rights intersect and how to solve that intersection to everyone's benefit

Just in case any Edinburgh student is bothered

500 signatures is really not even a significant minority of the student body at Edinburgh university.

All sound and fury. But really, there’s nothing there.

Why is it always a penised rep quoted or claim to be unsafe?

Why are the students customers always demanding to only receive education based on what they decide? Higher education should be renamed "Places to learn to listen and think about what you listened to".

Unfortunately there is now a precedent where a UK Court decided that Uni's have no obligation to provide "safe spaces".

Tbh, I think that this idea of opinions being somehow sacred and questioning them is dangerous and damaging is quite widespread in the younger generations. I’ve had students get very offended and directly tell me that I can’t question their opinion or invite them to do so. It’s an unacceptable assault on their being of some kind.

It makes teaching them anything really difficult when they aren’t open to questioning anything, exploring other possibilities or examining the evidence.

Translate that attitude to trans activism, and you’ve got a toxic situation.

I do wonder if these people should be at uni at all. What they seem to actually want is some sort or madrasa or seminary where they can spend their days chanting to precepts of their religion free from any questioning.

As a closeted non-binary person

What does that mean

You don't feel able to tell everyone you don't subscribe fully to either set of stereotypes? like everyone ever

Just going to throw this article onto people's reading pile, from Bari Weiss' substack the other day.

We Aren't Raising Adults. We Are Breeding Very Excellent Sheep.

Yes, I noticed the reference to being a closeted non-binary person. So that's an idea you have in your head about yourself, which has no relevance at all for anyone else and doesn't make you act in any particular way or interact with people differently, which you choose not to tell anyone about? But somehow it's other people's fault for not knowing that about you? The idea that it isn't somehow 'safe' for a NB person to come out at a UK university in the 21st century is laughable- they are 10 a penny on campuses!

I'm preening right now, hadn't realised that my loves for dinosaurs, trousers AND baking made me a fearless iconoclast living my truth etc etc etc.

🙄

On an unrelated geek note, that website is well-nigh unreadable with all the pop-ups and ads.

Jaime really does not get it!

"claiming that our lives, our identities, our feelings, are simply hypotheticals to be discussed and disagreed with is inaccurate and harmful."

No, kiddo. Your thoughts and feelings belong to you - as for everyone. (Although people may question you about them. And if you aren't open to other people's ideas, you're limiting yourself a lot)

But your actions, including speech affect other people. So - like everyone else in society - you are restricted by laws intended to balance everyone's rights and needs. And those laws and practices are absolutely up for debate because they materially affect everyone.

Love the University's response

We are committed to fostering a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for our whole community, where there is no place for any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. [ie all the stuff everyone agrees on]

We also remain steadfast in our commitment to freedom of expression and academic freedom within the bounds of the law, and our own Dignity and Respect Policy. Given the size of our community, it is inevitable that the ideas of different members will conflict. We encourage respectful debate and discussion whenever there are differences of view or opinion.

Perfect.

Have to admit, I've been starting to wonder whether there are any Unis left which I feel OK with DD going to when she reaches that age. Glad that Edinburgh is tentatively back on the list (depending on what happens with Scottish law in the next few years)

Presumably if they are currently 'closeted' they are carefully following sex stereotypes so as not to be 'outed'.

I think it means she doesn't want to dye her hair?

I don't think that the students will get the reaction from the uni that they hope to after the fiasco they(students) created when they went after a tutor for being racist, homophobic and suggested that he was also transphobic.
The poor history tutor after months of abusive hate campaign and petitions was found to have done absolutely nothing wrong all he had done was teach about the historic slave trade and the reasons that slavery was thought acceptable at the time and why homosexuality was illegal in the past ie his job!
Having been burned by these same groups before the ridiculous demands and statements that they(students) make are are now generally being taken with a shovel of salt by the University as there reputation can't survive another pasting in the national press

I’ve been sorting through old family albums this weekend. “Who’s the boy in this picture?” asked DS. “Me” I said. I have short hair in most of the pictures, I’m wearing a lot of navy, brown, dark green, 95% of the time trousers. I’m only in frocks on high days and holidays when made to wear them by my Mum. I’m pictured up in trees with my friends, cycling, muddy, canoeing. My Dad encouraged Scalextrix, Meccano etc. The pink/blue binary is a recent thing. The vast majority of kids were gender non-conforming 30 or 40 years ago (although effeminate boys had a harder time of it). It feels like we are going backwards.

@BettyFilous I’ve similarly got a photo of me that I love, from a fishing trip with my dad and little brother.

Little brother has a pudding bowl haircut, and is only wearing shorts (bare chested). I look exactly the same, just wearing shorts, no top, pudding bowl hair. I would be about 8, maybe 9. Would be easily be mistaken for a boy these days.

Don't forget that Edinburgh absolutely threw Ann Henderson (the first female rector in 70 years, lifelong Labour member and feminist) to the wolves because she retweeted details of a WPUK meeting to discuss the GRA

womansplaceuk.org/2021/06/09/ann-henderson-reflections-on-the-university-of-edinburgh/

Name change just for this ...

I'm a grad student at Edinburgh and I've seen some small shifts recently. Filled in some demographic stuff at the beginning of the year and it asked how I self identity my gender. Filled in something similar a few weeks ago and it had a question about biological sex followed by a question about gender identity. Which is definitely a step in the right direction.

Good to hear, EdinburghGradStudent.

I bloody love the idea of being closeted non-binary. It's perfect. I'm a closeted nonbinary pansexual. I get a lot of discrimination over this, as you can no doubt imagine. I got hatecrimed only last week fourteen times.

I hope Edinburgh manages to turn itself around. Out of all the unis, it does seem particularly captured.