The use of the word "shameful" by these activists is interesting. The Pride movement tells us that we must not kink-shame or slut-shame. But it seems we are encouraged to mind-shame people for asking obvious questions.
I was interested in the open letter’s claim of a “widespread culture of violence against trans people in the U.K.” because I’m not aware of this rising tide of anti-trans violence - the “source” they link to is a Guardian article reporting an increase in hate crimes against trans people. Hate crimes *might* be violent crimes, or they might speech crimes - the Guardian doesn’t break it down. Sloppy, or intentionally dishonest?
I'd like to think sloppy rather than intentionally dishonest. Apart from the ambiguity you mention, it must be difficult to distinguish anti-trans discrimination from homophobia, since being a "transsexual person" is in effect a self-reported state. So if someone screams (what they think of as) homophobic abuse at someone who regards themself as a "transsexual person" it might be reported as one form of hate crime when it's in fact motivated by another.
There are countless instances of “misgendering” (using gendered pronouns which reflect a person’s sex rather than their identity) being cited as a hate crime. Clearly absurd (and legally illiterate since there’s no underlying crime), but since trans people take this as a very serious matter and indeed a threat to their existence, and the police are now willing to pursue non-criminal matters, I wonder how many “misgenderings” have contributed to the reported rise in hate crime.
Yes, I agree. As in other areas of public life, hopefully the Supreme Court ruling will promote a more critical /open attitude towards the gathering of relevant statistics!
5 years ago, I was called into the Dean's office and more or less told to stop writing my academic blog....which I did because my wife was having a hard time. The harassment and intimidation didn't stop....a cabal of postgraduate students making an 'intervention', active campaigns of disenrolment from my courses, public attacks my other members of faculty, anonymous take downs to journal editors... All my substantive courses have been taken away. I'm limited to online courses (for my own good apparently). With a massive mortgage and 4 kids...I'm not in a position to fight back or walk away.
I love u pookie MWAH MWAH
The use of the word "shameful" by these activists is interesting. The Pride movement tells us that we must not kink-shame or slut-shame. But it seems we are encouraged to mind-shame people for asking obvious questions.
I was interested in the open letter’s claim of a “widespread culture of violence against trans people in the U.K.” because I’m not aware of this rising tide of anti-trans violence - the “source” they link to is a Guardian article reporting an increase in hate crimes against trans people. Hate crimes *might* be violent crimes, or they might speech crimes - the Guardian doesn’t break it down. Sloppy, or intentionally dishonest?
I'd like to think sloppy rather than intentionally dishonest. Apart from the ambiguity you mention, it must be difficult to distinguish anti-trans discrimination from homophobia, since being a "transsexual person" is in effect a self-reported state. So if someone screams (what they think of as) homophobic abuse at someone who regards themself as a "transsexual person" it might be reported as one form of hate crime when it's in fact motivated by another.
There are countless instances of “misgendering” (using gendered pronouns which reflect a person’s sex rather than their identity) being cited as a hate crime. Clearly absurd (and legally illiterate since there’s no underlying crime), but since trans people take this as a very serious matter and indeed a threat to their existence, and the police are now willing to pursue non-criminal matters, I wonder how many “misgenderings” have contributed to the reported rise in hate crime.
Yes, I agree. As in other areas of public life, hopefully the Supreme Court ruling will promote a more critical /open attitude towards the gathering of relevant statistics!
5 years ago, I was called into the Dean's office and more or less told to stop writing my academic blog....which I did because my wife was having a hard time. The harassment and intimidation didn't stop....a cabal of postgraduate students making an 'intervention', active campaigns of disenrolment from my courses, public attacks my other members of faculty, anonymous take downs to journal editors... All my substantive courses have been taken away. I'm limited to online courses (for my own good apparently). With a massive mortgage and 4 kids...I'm not in a position to fight back or walk away.
Doesn´t ´taliban´ translate as ´student?' Cos that´s what this lot of ´stoodents´ sound like. Fundamantalists.
Put them and their spazzy 3 members of faculty into a Toyota Land Cruiser and set the Sat Nav to somewhere far South of Algiers.....