JK Rowling has repeatedly been labelled a Terf by trans activists because of her gender-critical views
DAVID M BENETT/GETTY IMAGES
Jeremy Watson | John Boothman
Friday May 24 2024, 8.20pm, The Times
Bookshops have been told by Scotland’s most powerful literary alliance not to sell books written by gender-critical writers or to give the authors public platforms.
A briefing document on providing safety for trans people published by the Literary Alliance Scotland (LAS) said that “Terfs” — trans-exclusionary radical feminists, a derogatory term for women considered hostile to trans people — were joining forces with “fascists”.
It said this was a “societal issue” and urged bookshop owners not to “stay out of it”. It added: “This rise in transphobia signals a danger to all LGBTQ+ people, to reproductive rights, etc.”
Gender-critical authors have written books denouncing the prescription of puberty-blocking drugs to teenagers who express a desire to change sex, and criticising elements of the trans rights movement.
JK Rowlingg_, the Harry Potter author, has repeatedly been labelled a Terf by trans activists because of her gender-critical views, although she rejects the characterisation.
The alliance, formed in 2015, is Scotland’s largest literary network with a membership “committed to advancing the interests of literature and languages at home and abroad”, according to its website. It says it is a “trusted, strong, collective voice” that brings together writers, publishers, educators, librarians, literature organisations and national cultural bodies.
On its board are some of the most influential figures in Scottish literature. They include Rosemary Ward, director of programme at the Scottish Book Trust, Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, Vikki Reilly, business development manager at Publishing Scotland and Sophie Moxon, executive director of Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The alliance is chaired by the Sarah Mason, whose interim vice-chair is Ali Bowden, director of Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature Trust.
The guidance was written for LAS by Eris Young, a “queer, transgender writer of speculative fiction and non-fiction”. It was removed from the LAS website on Friday after details emerged online.
Young asked: “How do organisations promote safety for trans people in their spaces?” In a section titled “for bookshops”, it said: “Don’t sell Terf books/platform Terf authors. Don’t expect trans booksellers to sell them. Trans people who see Terf books or ‘gender criticism’ in a bookshop will understand that the bookshop doesn’t want them there.”
The guidance adds: “Terfs are actively joining forces with fascists. For example, see BRAVE books, which seeks to ‘Bring Real American Values that Endure into the hearts and minds of children and their families’.”
Other sections gave guidance for literary festival organisers and suggested that organisers “allocate resources and opportunities to trans writers in proportion to the attacks they are facing”.
Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn, co-authors of The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht, a book about grassroots women’s rights movements, said: “We are shocked and saddened at the tone and substance of the guidance issued by the LAS. It is akin to a heresy hunt and the assertion that women are joining forces with fascists is defamatory. The alliance should withdraw the guidance immediately and apologise unreservedly.”
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A spokeswoman for For Women Scotland, a women’s rights group, said: “What will be next? Book burnings? This is madness, akin to Mao’s China, not 21st-century Scotland.”
An LAS spokesman said that the document published on their website in March this year had been uploaded in error and “should have been removed more swiftly”. He said it had been “deemed unsuitable in its current form” and had not been approved by the board.
“We will be investigating the process in which our online materials are uploaded and will revise our procedures,” he added. “We apologise for any confusion or offence this has caused.”