A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of linguistic transphobia on Mumsnet

[IwantToRetire]

By Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics

It has been suggested that the forum-style parenting website Mumsnet is a hub for ‘gender-critical’ feminism, which directly opposes transgender rights, to be practised with little moderation (Livingston, 2018). This presentation reports on the initial stages of a project aiming to investigate that the potential intensification of linguistic transphobia on Mumsnet may lead to further marginalisation of transgender people offline (Powys Maurice, 2021). Though studies of non-linguistic transphobic rhetoric on Mumsnet (e.g., Pedersen, 2022; Mackenzie, 2019), and discourse analyses of other radical online communities (e.g., Krendel, 2020) have both occurred, this project is the first to analyse linguistic transphobia on Mumsnet. It also contributes to existing literature surrounding UK-based ‘gender-critical’ feminism; linguistic transphobia; and radical online community discourses.

The presentation explores the rise of potentially ‘gender-critical’ linguistic transphobia on Mumsnet over time through the corpus linguistic (CL) analysis of the ‘Feminism: Sex & Gender Discussions’ board, using three corpora comprising a fifteen-year timeframe: 2008-2013; 2013-2018; and 2018-2023. As the project is still ongoing, preliminary findings will be presented, namely a comparative overview of trends yielded in frequency analyses. Overall, this presentation provides insights into the growing commonality of potentially ‘gender-critical’ feminist rhetoric on Mumsnet and its effect on increasing transphobic discourse on the site.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-corpus-assisted-discourse-analysis-of-linguistic-transphobia-on-mumsnet-tickets-880795271367?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

(I had just finished my favourite tea time treat of catching up on FWR and was going to get back to the grindstone when this popped up on my feed. So have come back as it is too good not to be shared. Enjoy!)

I was assuming the twiX banner. Perhaps I've got mixed up but it's a trans banner now, wasn't it a vintage photo of votes for women earlier?

Yeah, gestating children does tend to do that to you..

I’m actually quite excited by this, pretty sure that as per MN’s talk guidelines Eden will find that the vast majority of the ’misgendered’ will be males convicted of sexual and violent crimes, with a side order of cross dressing fetishes, described as men by their own ex wives.

Writing a whole PhD defending rapists and child molesters from the mean online mummies and their hurty words (whilst arguing that we are motivated by prejudice rather than safeguarding) isn’t going to be great look on the ol’ CV out in the real world.

Plus, TRAs have been convicted of actual crimes against GC feminists, but there hasn’t been any more than a spurious ‘non crime hate incident’ and an ‘overturned on appeal’ in the opposite direction. And how would you make sense of Mimmymum (not trans) trying to get Miranda Yardley (trans) done for a transphobic hate crime?

Mumsnet should deffo be financially reimbursed for the data, mind you.

I dunno what this gif is but I hope it can be interpreted as something bad!

I wonder if mnhq email do Aston university will mean back to the drawing board for Eden

Hard luck on that one!

Definitely at 4pm today

Faithful, Faithful, Faithful, Traitor, Not sure.

Looking at the course details for the MA that the supervisor leads, do Aston identify us as dark web criminals?!?

Screenshot from earlier today, and as now standing.

I had up until now politely not named this woman. But this is her response to being pulled up for slander/defamation, and sloppy ethical methodology?

And this is a professional, expert witness?

It shows that she is stuck in a rather juvenile 'them and us' mentality and incapable of actually directly conversing with people as an adult. Instead it's all flags and sneaking around clyping on people.

I believe the consensus is that we're "literally nazis", funded by the far right.

I guess that meant they felt they could do whatever they liked.

Are you forgetting that there are only six of us and lots of socks?

Perhaps this is where all those missing socks disappear to?

I find myself wondering whether Eden's choice of subject was influenced in any way

Good grief, if that LinkedIn profile is accurate then she is literally getting a PhD in Mumsnet FWR Studies

Yeah I wonder if Eden has been hung out to dry. Hope she's ok.

Me, too. This is a young woman who has - as far as I can make out - chosen to access data that the University had harvested (unethically and without permission), in order to do a bullshit phD with the backing of a closed-minded supervisor who really ought to know better.

As far as I can see, it may have been Eden who harvested the data and applied for it to be stored in the repository.

It states that there are rigorous checks re: permissions and ethics, but ultimately the researcher that created the data set is responsible.

Probably hoping that the identifying of specific individuals from the combination of all information scraped from the site would give her 'authority' on tracking 'crimes on the internet' (ie, doxxing posters) whilst the unfortunate student cops any flak for doing anything illegal.

Is that a non linguistic fuck you 😁

I wonder about the timeline. MN contacting the University and then Uni speaking to her.

That's unclear to me. I had thought that the uni had pretty much downloaded Mumsnt onto a computer and stored it somewhere to be accessed by students who gained permission.

'Information: This dataset contains highly sensitive material or data that come from a third party and have heavy constraints on access and use. This dataset is therefore stored not on the FoLD web server but on an air-gapped, offline computer in our secure data lab at the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics. Users who wish to access this dataset must make a detailed application to FoLD and the researcher, as well as potentially gain additional agreement from an external organisation before they can be approved for access.'

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220528140334/fold.aston.ac.uk/handle/123456789/18" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20220528140334/fold.aston.ac.uk/handle/123456789/18

That's from 2022, and the 'data donors' are named, neither of them are Eden.

Sorry for the messy link, it just posts like that!

Anyway, always nice to know that people's infertility struggles, abuse experiences, bereavements etc etc are being pored over by people too intellectually cowardly to ever actually engage with the very basic underlying questions posed by their own meaningless and inconsistent claims.

https://www.aston.ac.uk/research/integrity-ethics/research-misconduct-policy

5.2 Concerns about the conduct of research (“complaint” or “complaints”) should be reported in good faith and must be accompanied by supporting evidence that substantiate the concerns. Complaints should be as detailed as possible and only evidence that substantiates the allegations should be provided. As far as possible, evidence should be in its primary form. If the Complainant does not have access to the evidence this should be indicated in the complaint and details about how the evidence can be obtained supplied.

5.3 Complaints should be reported in writing to Matt Richards, Research Integrity Officer, Main Building, Aston University, Aston Triangle, B4 7ET or by e-mail.

This is the bit that suggested to me that datasets were uploaded for a specific purpose rather than speculatively, and then presumably available for reuse:

"What can be uploaded to the Forensic Linguistic Databank?
Data files with a value to forensic linguistics research, as well as metadata descriptions, can be uploaded to FoLD. The quantity of data to be shared must be decided by the author, according to the terms of any ethical or legal restrictions on use. The data provided may be reviewed by the AIFL Research Ethics Committee before it is shared on FoLD, to determine whether the category of access is appropriate and to ensure that metadata and data quality meet the repository's criteria. This does not remove the responsibility of the data uploader. The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions remains the sole responsibility of the depositor/creator of the dataset(s)."

fold.aston.ac.uk/#policies

It just seems so odd for a forensic linguistics database to be storing Mumsnet data otherwise.

Women’s rights are human rights. Disabled people’s rights are human rights. Unfortunately trans activists override women’s and disabled people’s rights. Public policies have changed due and women want rights back. Gender ideology has directly compromised my disabled daughter’s safety.

Nicci (I presume you are looking at this) - I agree, of course trans people should have human rights, but by putting that banner up this afternoon you look silly. I haven’t the way with words that JK Rowling has, but look at her conversation on X with Kirstie Allsop. Look at what she’s highlighting with all those examples of women who haven’t been able talk about the problems of gender ideology. And it’s mainly women affected. Mumsnet is one of the only places mums (and other women) could talk about this. Women were being silenced everywhere else. The irony is this board is like the banner you replaced.

Looking at the other data they store - yes. The whole premise is fucking weird.

That’s utterly outrageous if that is the case. Where I work, the ethics policy would preclude using this as a research source, indeed any social media posts.

Xpost, well that's extraordinary. Away to look into their research outputs and try to work out what they thought they were doing.