Music college accused of transphobia over QR code witch hunt

[JanieAllen]

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/music-college-accused-of-transphobia-over-qr-code-witch-hunt-gc6kkrkkk

archive copy here archive.ph/DJOZd

There are some take-offs of the original artwork, on twitter.

Paul Kirkham, chief executive of the college, said: “Our intention, following discussions with our student community, had been to communicate the definition of Terf to help clarify what we considered to be growing misconceptions around what the term means. We got it wrong. The signage is clunky and we can see how it can be misinterpreted.”

Is there another definition of TERF floating around, then? because his explanation (for want of a better word) seems to imply that there's misconceptions about the meaning; when the sign clearly says that what a Terf is, that being a Terf is transphobic and should be reported. He doesn't clarify what they meant to do at all, unless I'm missing something. I mean, doesn't everyone know what Terf stands for?

Should an institute of education not have a better grasp of punctuation and sentence structure, ffs.

Most women and men who want men who claim to be women excluded from single sex spaces are not radical feminists.

Trying to demonize a view that most people agree with is brainwashing to the max.

I found this interesting that the original sign seems to me to be informed purely by transactivist rhetoric and obviously untrue statements (like the bit about trans men), and whoever’s in charge just went along with it without checking anything. Why wouldn’t you check the actual law before agreeing to a sign like that? It show the ridiculous extent to which anything to do with “trans” immediately has those in authority bowing down without question. The subsequent statement looks like the words of a CE who has then had the law clearly explained to him and thought “fuuuuuuck!”

And if they wanted to know what GC people think, and what TERF means (including that it is often seen as a slur) why didn’t they ask GC people as well? Nothing about us without us eh?

He doesn't clarify what they meant to do at all

I guess when someone got reported via qr code for having protected views based on science and reality, the plan was to dismiss them or let them be hounded out of their job by aggressive activists, then go through a long, humiliating and expensive court case helping to add to the increasing number of test cases that show it’s actually legal to think sex is immutable and males aren’t women.

What’s also important about this story is the ‘Report & Support’ reporting tool, which is sold to universities by venture-capital backed company ‘Culture Shift’. Lots of UK universities use it and it basically enables anonymous and potentially malicious complaints. It’s deeply sinister but unfortunately universities have bought into this. Nice use of tuition fees…

Interesting!!! I didn't know it was by a venture-capital backed company ‘Culture Shift’.

I work for a bottom of the league London University and they have introduced this. Senior management were SO excited when they revealed this new tool. 100% madness.

You're right - this is pretty terrifying.

Having looked up the Culture Shift website, I would be very uneasy as a woman reporting abuse for stating biological truths. I hope their system is unbiased and fair for everyone.

It is not. And as ever, it’s unaccountable NGOs using public money to implement incredibly contested ideologies.

See also report on the tool in the Telegraph

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/24/cambridge-removes-website-dons-can-reported-raising-eyebrow/

Comment by Free Speech Union

freespeechunion.org/letter-to-professor-stephen-toope-regarding-cambridges-report-and-support-website/

This is getting positively totalitarian, what with the anonymous denunciations and people losing their jobs for wrongthink.

This is absolutely awful. Both the way that gender-critical views are labelled as 'Terf' ideology with no respect for balance or that the term is challenged by many, and the 'report' witch hunt approach of the campaign.

HE in the UK is terrifying. (I'm in Ireland and it's not as bad tho sadly catching up)

I thought there was some kind of law against creating a "hostile and exclusionary workplace atmosphere"? I remember reading something with, I think, that wording in a thread by a woman who was having trouble at work (office-based), related to a HR diversity scheme. Although this is a college, surely the same legislation would apply? And cover students as well as staff?

As a woman, I would find that poster extremely hostile and exclusionary.

Sounds like a plan ....

If you have a child studying at university, perhaps ask at Open Days whether they are using this tool and how much it costs the Uni per year, and whether this is a good use of tuition fees.

Reminds me of Galileo having to declare that the Earth is flat despite everyone knowing otherwise for centuries.

Redebs - yes, even the church knew the earth was not flat. Exact analogy.

The earth's shape was not at issue: it was whether the earth orbits the sun or vice versa. However, the analogy still applies.

hallouminatus - am aware, also that other planets having moons was an issue, seeing that their existence questioned the special nature of humanity and earth itself. Bruno burned for a similar idea in 1601 - Galileo was well-advised. The analogy is exact because Galileo backed down. However, others did not back down and eventually the church (which had always supported scientific enquiry) backed down instead - so will those who now support the idiocy of the transagenda. We must stand fast.

Yes, thank you for the correction 😊