UCU being taken to tribunal over discrimination for 'gc' views

[ArabellaScott]

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/gender-critical-documentary-makers-take-ucu-tribunal

The filmmakers of 'Adult Human Female' are taking UCU to tribunal.

I'll try to find an archive copy.

And we're done for the day, back tomorrow at 11am.

For anyone whose PIN didn't work, email the Tribunal. They were very helpful and quick to send out a replacement which worked first time.

Yes, the dog whistle thing was odd, and picking "sex matters" as an example doubly so, wasn't it? The thing about saying "sex matters" is that it is, precisely and centrally, what we think - it's not code for something else. I suppose what's meant is that transwomen like to see it as code for "transwomen are men"? But "sex matters" is a much fairer representation of what we mean. Pro women, not anti trans... genuinely so.

Which term?

I didn't get a reply to my email about the pin not working! Instead, my old pin just started working again. I think the software they are using may be really confusing :-)

dog whistle

I remember the clerk saying earlier today that she would put the judge and panel members (and possibly counsel?) into the lobby for the break and everyone else should stay connected. I can't remember if this is what has happened before with other clerks/tribunals and I don't know if it signifies a difference in what is going on 'under the bonnet' in terms of access. Just glad those people waiting did get in and access isn't being restricted cos 'reasons'.

So tomorrow, 90 mins with Prof Wayne, 60 mins with Dr Benjamin, then on to one of the other side's witnesses in the afternoon.

I don't really have much of a sense of what needs to be proved here and hence how it might be going. The case is that UCU has unfairly discriminated against the film makers for their protected GC beliefs by calling it hate speech and transphobic and trying to stop it being shown? But then, that doesn't rely on any special protection for academic freedom, I'd have thought, so I don't really see what the point of much of the questioning today was. Is TB's case that the film actually was hate speech and transphobic and hence it was fine for UCU to try to shut it down? Wouldn't like to have his job in that case.

The "dog whistle" is that we cannot hold the views we hold, for principled reasons, independently of what the Far Right might be promoting.

You might as well say 'trans women are women' is a dog whistle.

Whether or not you believe them, both are clear statements of belief, so by their nature are not 'dog whistles'.

Adult human female is a description of what a woman is. There is no other coherent definition. The fact that some people don’t like that doesn’t mean you can shut it down by using the hackneyed, overused activist term “dog whistle”

It's only a 'dog whistle' because TRAs refuse to accept reality and find biological facts upsetting

A dog whistle is a coded message that can only be heard by some people, so a statement of fact can be a dog whistle if its main function is to communicate a hidden message to a target audience.

However I really don't think the makers of the film, or anyone else who uses the phrase 'Adult Human Female' wants to hide their message, which is that women's sex based rights matter.

The only way you could understand this as a dog whistle is if you believe that women's sex based rights don't matter.

I once heard an interview on Jeremy Vine's radio show with a non binary woman who was trying to get her sex marker changed on her passport. She said AHF was a dogwhistle in the same way throwing a banana onto a football pitch to insult a black player was. I was gobsmacked at that analogy!

We may ask, what is the difference between a slogan and a dog whistle? I suppose the banana on the pitch is a dog whistle because in itself it makes no sense but it relies, for its meaning, on unstated steps... Banana to monkey (then very offensively) to black player. I don't think there's a decent analogy between bananas on the pitch and "sex matters" or "adult human female" is there? Sex does matter and adult human female is a reasonable definition of "woman". This all smacks of "UCU doesn't have much to work with" to me. Although, I have little idea of how trade unions have to operate and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that legally they were allowed to operate as they did, ie the filmmakers will lose. I contributed to this but don't feel very deeply invested in it. I left UCU :-) (And have already decided that I need a new nn after this case so don't mind identifying as an academic!)

Calling a black person a monkey is racist & offensive; calling a woman an adult human female is just a fact.

With transactivists, anything to do with women's sex-based rights is seen as transphobic.

It shows us who they are.

To them it's a dog whistle because they believe transphobes hide their bigotry behind obvious sounding things like 'AHF' and that allows others to know

And yes I do work in a university, and yes that is what one of my professorial colleagues said to me when I said I felt we should be careful about refusing to work with colleagues just because you might not like their views

Are we doing shots for this one? Let's make sure we've also got nebulous on our bingo cards as well. I'm sure it'll pop up.

Luckily there is no need for misunderstanding because there is a film that explains why many feminists believe 'adult human female' is a politically important definition.

I remember other TRAs trying to make that argument. Unfortunately it comes across as them saying some races are literally the dictionary definition of monkeys, in order to be analogous to AHF and women.

This is the explanation from the Social Workers Union on why AHF is a dogwhistle

“Adult human female” is part of the anti-trans slogan “woman = adult human female”. Theimplication here is that everyone’s gender is immutably determined by the sex they are assignedat birth and therefore trans identities are not valid.

The same document also talks about throwing a banana on the pitch being a dogwhistle

And I don’t think that those who proudly declare that other’s words are dog whistles understand this.

It really quickly became a self fulfilling legacy along the lines of ‘no debate’.

The accusation of "dog whistle" is thrown at us by the other side when they have nothing else. Been courteous, respectful and restrained? Aha, but you said you were concerned about fairness in women's sports, and everyone knows that's a dog whistle for transphobia. What you really mean is that you hate trans people and you want to ruin their lives, you've just cleverly disguised your hatred. I'm surprised the UCU counsel thinks that's a winner. Hopefully Naomi will put him right.

The tribunal judge was more than clear on the use of dog whistle as a defence argument was not being considered at all.

The defence line of questioning seemed to be about academic freedoms having limits.

but the claim is not about academic freedom it is about GC expression.

The defence line of questioning then appears to be about “balance” where is the other side of the opinion?, which only applies to press outlets.

As O’Neill says the film is no different to a book, it is a point of view.

Seems to me that the only defence left is that the film is so offensive it cannot fall within a Protected beliefs, manifestations.

I think NC may well be multi tasking in the hearing as i would say for her, its like shooting fish in a barrel.

Is there a threadreader of tribunal tweets for this?

I dont seem to be able to find one.

Thanks

There's this