Times article on academia

[SuperLoudPoppingAction]

www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/researchers-are-wounded-academias-gender-wars

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It’s in THE - you can register and read 3 free articles a month.

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Wow, that's an amazing piece. The THE has given very little coverage to this issue up to now, so the fact that they're publishing this is hugely positive.

The researcher says she started out with an open mind, talking to academics on both sides of the debate, but found that gender-critical feminists were being silenced and subjected to intimidation. Here's an excerpt:

'Among other experiences, my interviewees described complaints to and by management, attempts to shut down events, no platforming, disinvitations, intimidation, smears and losing career progression opportunities, including being blocked from jobs.

'Others spoke about being physically removed from events, alongside receiving torrents of abuse online that even included incitements to murder. One criminology scholar said her experience was “a continuum of hell”, while a law scholar claimed “the impact has been huge [and] is going to last a long time”. Aware of these potential consequences, and citing feelings of fear, isolation and despair, others had decided to “hide in the shadows”.'

I’m not surprised in that these people have actually very little argument when it comes to intellectual argument and therefore like to shut down argument.
Why someone like Jordan Peterson has been banned from Twitter because of course he makes logical arguments from facts which displeases the mob. We had the mob when I was at university propagating their extreme left-wing views and trying to shut up anyone who spoke against them. But this has got out of control and unfortunately academia has become infested with this nonsense where people are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs because some twit higher up might take offence. So universities instead of being a places of debate are places of where debate is shut down. It has been astonishing that even to debate some of these issues is now considered dangerous and ‘unsafe’ as it might upset someone. Students have to have a ‘safe space’. As I have been in some dangerous parts of the world (like in a civil war) I don’t know quite where the safe spaces are in the University campus. Seems we are building a generation of educated idiots if we’re not careful

Ooh, really interesting article.

'Despite its conceptual diversity, genderism coheres around the push for gender (identity) to replace sex in most – if not all – contexts. Unlike feminism, its political subject is not female people but rather all those subjected to gender oppression – a concept that is redefined to emphasise lack of choice and affirmation relating to gender identity.'

'Many genderist academics struggled, or were discomfited, when asked to provide their own definitions of sex, gender and (particularly) gender identity, despite their research and teaching revolving around these very topics.'

Much more terrifying than being hated is being gagged.

Wow. Thanks for sharing, OP. An absolutely excoriating and damning article.

So here we have the so-called brains of the land who cannot define the most fundamental building blocks of civilisation.

So here we have the so-called brains of the land who cannot define the most fundamental building blocks of civilisation.

More about wont than can't

web.archive.org/web/20220915033149/www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/researchers-are-wounded-academias-gender-wars

That's a terrifying article - I'm glad it has been written about

Truly shocking.

That's a scary but not terribly surprising article.

In my experience of university academics in the Humanities, some of them can be deeply reluctant to question comfortable assumptions that suit their political outlook, and prepared to pressure students to avoid analyses that they themselves find disquieting.

‘For some, “sex” is a construct of oppressive systems, notably Western colonialism. Others argue it is a biological spectrum that can – at least in part – change. For others still, it is both a social fiction and a biological reality.’

Can you think of more nonsense? That sex is a construction of western colonialism. You can go to the most primitive tribes you like who have been undiscovered for centuries and he will see they operate on the basis that there are two sexes of male and female. Funnily enough the animal kingdom does so as well. The whole thing is a nonsense and that is why of course it’s adherence are so violent towards anyone who disagrees because they have no argument. It is like a cult or a extremist religion which relies on brainwashing and violence to maintain dominance. These places seem a kin to North Korea rather than places of academic freedom and discussion

THE have not really covered this and it's respected in universities - so this is more important than just an article, it's a sign that the rot in universities is being noticed

I've just read the article. Holy crap, this is bullying on a mass and hugely problematic scale.

Yeah, I noticed that.

Dogs know what sex is. So do deer. And pigeons, who shag year-round in public places.

There's thing called biology and this thing called reproduction.

Colonial construct my arse.

What a terrifying article. More proof of what we're watching being played out in court today - that the only way to impose a set of dangerous, anti safeguarding and anti women's rights beliefs on an unwilling population is via extreme levels of bullying, threats and intimidation.

As always, there’s a group that think they are ‘in the middle’ and don’t realise that they are saying exactly the same as all of the people who have been labelled as right-wing extremist bigots.

There is no middle ground here. As soon as you try to be reasonable and advocate for a few single-sex spaces, you are called extremist.

“If students write ‘female’ in their essay, I’ll cross it out”, a sociologist told me, because “what matters is gender [identity]”.

I hope academics can be a bit braver because to let stuff like the above occur is just pathetic. Grown adults cowering against idiocy. Don't they realise that if all the scaredy-cats and tip-toers and "middle ground"-ers spoke up together that there is safety in numbers and this genderist belief system would more quickly break down? Their silence is only enabling it, and ultimately doing the opposite of protecting themselves. I have very little respect for their selfish silences and the harm they are causing.

People need to speak out more, not button up in fear.

In a way, it doesn't really matter what the specifics of the theory/ideology are - the problem is how it's being enforced, reinforced and supported. Any ideology that decrees it cannot be questioned is by definition authoritarian.

That is not healthy. It should worry everyone that academics feel they cannot discuss, debate, ask questions or suggest alternative views.

I just came to post this. A very clear-eyed article imo.

I'm glad this - a grain of sand on a huge beach tbh - was included:

"This view, together with the belief that “cis women have more power than trans people”, led genderist academics to refrain from forthrightly denouncing some transgender activists’ aggressive tactics towards feminists. These include threats and ideations of extreme violence, which, as well as being pervasive on social media, appear to be increasingly condoned at universities. For example, last year, a London School of Economics postgraduate student conference paper described a scene in which feminists critical of genderism “scream for mercy”. The paper then described the potential threat: “I hold a knife to your throat and spit my transness into your ear”, concluding: “Are you scared? I sure fucking hope so.”

When discussing this horrific anti-feminism, some interviewees, including those working on violence against women, would nonetheless still equivocate. As one sociologist put it: “My priority are the people who are being harmed by this debate, who I perceive to be trans people.” “These gender-critical feminists – they are intellectualising [sex and gender], and I think it’s harmful,” she added."

Plus the admission that they don't really know or care what the GC position is.

"When asked to describe their arguments, however, she responded: “I don’t know if what I understand or what I think are the issues, are the issues, I’ll be honest with you – I stay out of their way.” This remarkable coupling of condemnation and ignorance regarding gender-critical feminism was fairly common among genderist academics. Many readily admitted that they limit their academic engagements, including their reading, to their “echo chambers and bubbles” where, as one journal editor noted, “we all share basically the same perspectives”."

The THE has touched on the 'trans debate' issues in the past, but never with something as refreshing (and horrifying) as this.
Get it out in the open, discuss it - unless your beliefs cannot withstand scrutiny.

Genderist academics reported personally imposing bans from academic networks and events, along with language policing of colleagues as well as students. “If students write ‘female’ in their essay, I’ll cross it out”, a sociologist told me, because “what matters is gender [identity]”.

I mean - can it get any clearer than that?

remarkable coupling of condemnation and ignorance

I mean - can it get any clearer than that?

Especially the way it's held as a universal truth.

I'd like to see some actual research on this. Let's start trying to correlate variables to gender and to sex, and lets see anything material that correlates better to gender.

Maybe hair length and nail polish map to gender better?

But anything real, like behaviour? Uh-uh.