In recent weeks there has been a tension running through certain pockets of academia. It’s hard to say if this can be felt on campus, as I haven’t been there, but certainly online it is very noticeable. Some will portray it as a conflict between the rights of academics and the rights of students, others will say this is academia coming to terms with the consequences of free speech, some still will say it is caused by needless attacks on a Professor. Some people will say it is a little of all of this, and much more besides. In short, everyone has an opinion. This has actually been happening for much longer than a few weeks, but things seem to have hit a boiling point recently.
I will try and summarise the cause of the discourse, though I ask that you forgive me if I miss out any details.
Kathleen Stock and self ID
Kathleen Stock is a Professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex. She has faced criticism from both students and academics over her views relating to self-identification of gender. In 2021 she published a book, Material Girls, which has been praised by members of the gender critical movement. It has also been criticised, most notably in this piece by law Professor Alex Sharpe.
To my knowledge, concerns about her views go as far back as at least 2018. A student named Katie Anne Tobin wrote in a student newspaper that Stock’s views are harmful to transgender students, and create a hostile atmosphere. Stock, to my knowledge, insisted that the statements be retracted. Information about this can be found by reading this Twitter thread.
This year protests have intensified. Students are concerned that Stock is a trustee of the LGBA, an organisation which many consider to exclude trans people and actively cause us harm. They are also concerned that Stock signed the Women’s Declaration of Sex-Based Rights. They claim, as Katie did in 2018, that this results in trans students feeling unsafe on campus. In response, the university has reiterated its support of Stock on a number of occasions, and student protesters are concerned that action will be taken against them.
Stock also claims that she is unsafe on campus, that protesters have threatened her, and that her job is now at risk.
This is a very brief summary of events, for more information you can take a look at this piece by Grace Lavery. Kathleen Stock has also presented her feelings regarding this situation in 2020. I include both, as I have taken the time to read various perspectives on the situation and hope that others will too. I will include a more recent article with a statement by Professor Stock and update this post accordingly. I urge you all to read more around this and come to your own conclusion.
The letter signed by legal academics
In response, academics in the field of philosophy signed an open letter offering their support to Kathleen Stock. This was followed by a letter signed by legal academics. Both letters make it clear that signatories do not necessarily agree with Stock, but they defend her right to academic freedom. I too support her right to academic freedom. If she had been prevented from conducting research by the university, I would be concerned. She has not. I do not agree with anyone who harasses Stock. Regardless of her views, I fundamentally believe that she has the right to remain safe on campus and anywhere she goes for that matter. I do not support anyone who makes threats against her, and I would hope that we would all denounce such behaviour. I also believe that she has the right to conduct research, regardless of whether it is research I agree with. It might appear that I agree with the text of both letters, and to an extent I do. We must engage with scholarship which we disagree with in order to both strengthen our own position, and to challenge that which we consider to be poorly researched. Yet the letter specifically concerns Stock as a victim, a position which I have already stated I do not entirely consider to be the case.
My personal opinion is that she seems to be a quite unpredictable person. The views expressed in her book contrast with her statements that she does not believe the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) needs to be reformed. But more than that, she has a history of silencing any students who disagree with her and using her considerable power and status to do this. In short, the letters signed by academics portray Stock as the undeniable victim in this situation, whereas I would argue that it is far more complex than that. I am not sure if I were an academic that I would want my name and thus my career to be associated with her, but everyone has the right to make their own choices in this matter. I also don’t know Stock. My observations are just that, taken from her interactions online. I fully acknowledge that what we see online is only a fraction of the person.
Beyond that, the letter has consequences for students like myself. I came out as transgender only a couple of months ago. I have paid a price for coming out. I have damaged relationships with both friends and family members. I receive horrible messages from people I once considered to be friends, and every time I come across someone I knew before I came out I wonder whether they will treat me with respect or contempt. This context is important as I doubt I am the only transgender person who experiences this, and it directly informs my response to the letter.
There are names I recognise in the list of those who have signed it. Some of those who signed it have taught me. They are people I respect for not only their scholarship, but the engaging way they present information to their students. I chose to pursue a law PhD because the law class I took at Leeds was so interesting I realised I had to know more and law was a way in which I could frame my interests.
I want to believe those academics have signed the letter because they believe that academic freedom must be defended. I want to believe they would also defend my right to exist in the world without harassment. I want to believe they would stand up for my right to access public spaces, to raise children without judgement, to seek employment without discrimination. Yet how do I know this? I have discovered since coming out that I didn’t really know the people I considered to be my closest friends. So how can I trust my own judgement regarding academics that I hardly know at all?
I want to ask them why they signed it. I want to open up a conversation with them about what this means for transgender students who have no power or influence. But if they signed it because they do agree with Stock or have even more radical views, I have to consider what the consequences might be. I am a student with no real power, my future career relies on those already working in academia. What happens if I inadvertently burn my bridges now? What if these are people who would take my rights away if they could? They’re hardly going to support my career. I tend to see the good in people, and my instincts tell me that these are good people. But I have been failed by my instincts this year, as I pick up the remains of relationships that have been irrevocably damaged by my coming out. So what do I know at all? I may still ask them. I like to ask questions, and I still feel very safe on campus and don’t actually think anything would happen that puts my safety directly at risk if I were to ask. Also, perhaps it would result in a productive conversation about how we can stand up for free speech and academic freedom in a way which also takes into account those with less power. But there is always that background worry that I could be horribly wrong about all of this, and they have nothing to lose, whereas I have everything. As you can tell, my feelings are quite complicated.
And isn’t this the ultimate price of this discourse. There are people who are already feeling raw and alone and confused, and the response from some academics has only increased these feelings. We can’t tell who signed the letter because they think trans people are a danger, or that self-ID is harmful, or even that we shouldn’t have rights, and those who are concerned about academic freedom. We also don’t know if someone who is opposed to self-ID would treat a transgender student badly. People are complex, holding a particular view doesn’t necessarily mean that an academic would treat their students badly. We have to try and trust our judgement, even if we’ve been let down by it already. We, the students with no credentials, no big career or funding behind us have to carry on, pushing forward into a space where we are not sure if we are welcome at all. I don’t have the words to describe the dread some transgender people are feeling at the moment. I feel like there’s a constant anxiety that knots my stomach. I thankfully know many people who are extremely kind, but I’ve also stumbled across hatred, sometimes in unexpected places. I can only tell you that there is a kind of fear that rushes through me when I am confronted with people who only care about hurting me because of what I am. Of course, that doesn’t mean for a moment that these academics are such people, but I can’t know that they aren’t either, and it is that not knowing that concerns me so much.
I wonder how many of those who signed such letters considered that. How many actually sat down and thought about whether signing a letter is the most effective way to preserve academic freedom. Does it do what they intended? Or does it give the most aggressive members of the gender critical movement fuel to say that they have support and thus inflate their numbers, regardless of whether signatories actually agree with them or not. How many considered Stock’s history of silencing students who disagree with her? How many have read her book? How many have considered whether her academic freedom has actually been limited at all?
I’ll probably never know the answers to any of these questions. All I can do is try and keep working on my own research and looking at the possibility of a future career in academia. I can only hope that those who signed learn from this and understand the impact of their actions, and that they demonstrate through their behaviour the kind of support they would give to their students.
I have also seen a number of academics mocking students for what they consider to be overly dramatic responses. Names have been removed, but screenshots circulate where they laugh at students for feeling unsafe. Perhaps it seems silly. Do we as students have any concrete evidence that we are unsafe because someone we know has signed a letter in support of Stock. No, we don’t. But neither do we have any assurance that we are safe and welcome on campus. If we see that someone who holds a position of power over us has signed the letter, we have to consider all of the possibilities. Will this have an impact on our career? Will this person give us their support? Can we confide in them regarding personal problems that may impact our work? Things feel so tense right now, I imagine for both staff and students. I am trying to understand why academics are responding the way they have, and not presume it is because they would do me or anyone else harm. I ask that they do the same for us. Take time to think about why our responses are what they are, rather than laughing at our apparent weakness.
It’s been hard for me to write all of this down. I know there will be people who disagree with me, some in a balanced way, and others less so. But I think it is worth it. I firmly believe that disagreement is healthy and have spoken out in support of the right to share views that I personally find harmful. I am happy to be proven wrong about some or all of this. I would urge us all to try and approach this with some measure of restraint. It’s so easy to attack each other online and it results in nothing productive. I have tried to express my feelings in a way which considers why others may feel differently, though I am sure I have not achieved my aim in full. I also don’t know what the right answer is to any of this. All I can do is share how I respond to the actions that are currently being taken, in the hope that it will contribute something of value.
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