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Celebrating Pride: Exciting June Events

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Hello SPN Members,

This June, we have a fantastic line-up of events to celebrate Pride Month. From discussions and seminars to performances and marches, there’s something for everyone. Here are the details:

  1. Queer Neurodivergence and Synesthesia: Podcast Discussion with Maike Engage in an enlightening discussion with Maike, a queer neurodivergent psychologist and synesthesia artist. Topics include being queer and/or neurodivergent in Edinburgh/Scotland, accommodating queer and neurodivergent students/staff at universities and workplaces, synesthesia, and more. Interested? Contact Maike via email at synesthes_a@outlook.com.
  2. Little France Pride March Join the LGBT+ Staff networks for NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh, along with the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity for the first Little France Pride March to celebrate the start of Pride Month. The march will begin at 13:30, with participants encouraged to bring flags, banners, and face paint. Additionally, stalls from various staff networks will be available from 13:00 to 15:00 at the Chancellor’s Building reception. Even if you’re unable to participate in the full 1-mile march, come along to learn more about the support available for LGBTQI+ staff and allies. Date & Time: Friday, 2nd June 2023, Stalls open from 13:00 to 15:00, March begins at 13:30 Location: Chancellor’s Building Reception, University of Edinburgh More information and tickets: Eventbrite Link
  3. Sex Education Xplorers at Summerhall: 3rd June A brilliantly performed, funny, and inclusive show, “Sex Education Xplorers” explores the fluidity of sex and gender. The show is performed by the husband of an SPN member and starts its tour of Scotland at Summerhall at 2pm and 6.30pm on Saturday, 3rd of June. Find out more here.
  4. Pride, Protest and Place series: Creative Writing and Protest. Multiple dates: 5th & 6th June 2pm, sign up here. This is a creative writing workshop that will incorporate historical material from the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard archive. Workshop Co-Ordinator, Eloise Birtwhistle, will talk you through a range of writing exercises and you will explore the themes of queer protest and resistance.
  5. Finding Our Past: How We Collect, Describe, Access, and Use LGBTQ+ Archives Join us for an online symposium on 7th June 2023 from 10:00 to 13:30 BST. We’ll explore themes from our project, such as confidentiality and accessing sensitive material, and discuss how we collect, describe, access, and understand information about the history of LGBTQ+ lives. Project Archivist Louise Neilson will be joined by Hannah Elizabeth, Stefan Dickers, Nicola Maksymuik, and Elliot Holmes, along with Keith Paterson, a former member of the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. For more information and to book your place, please visit: Eventbrite
  6. “You are beautiful just the way you are” LGBT+ Inclusive Service: 8th June An inclusive service at the Chaplaincy from 2-3pm, focusing on self-love and acceptance. Get your tickets here.
  7. Pride, Protest and Place series: Zine Making! Multiple dates: 12th & 13th June 3.30pm sign up here. This is a zine making workshop that will incorporate historical material from the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard archive. Workshop Co-Ordinator, Eloise Birtwhistle, will provide a short introduction in to what zines are and how they have been used in the past, and will guide you through how to get started on making your own!
  8. “Abuse That Dare Not Speak Its Name” Seminar: 14th June Join us for a seminar talk and launch event discussing gay men’s experience of intimate partner violence at the Apex Hotel, Waterloo Place, from 5-6pm. Reserve your spot here.
  9. Bespoke Tour of the Pleasance Sports Complex The Sports Union is organising a bespoke tour of the Pleasance Sports Complex during Pride Month. This initiative aims to improve the health and well-being of all University staff by acknowledging and addressing the historic lack of support for LGBTQ+ individuals in sports and physical exercise. Join us on Thursday, 15 June at 1:00 PM for a 30-45 minute tour of our sporting facilities. Renovations are currently going on in the facility but we can still access a number of spaces. The aim of the tour is to showcase what facilities we have as part of the membership options and what is available to staff, as well as making people more comfortable in accessing the space. We will also have rainbow lanyards and pronoun badges available. To secure your place on the tour, please RSVP to Neil at Neil.Rankin@ed.ac.uk by 2:00 PM on Wednesday 14 June. If you have any specific accessibility needs, please let Neil know in advance so that we can accommodate them accordingly. The tour meeting point will be outside the entrance to the sports facility at 46 Pleasance (What.3.Words: ledge.spicy.train) We look forward to seeing you on Thursday and celebrating Pride Month together!
  10. SPN/EREN Book Club: 20th June Join us for our first in-person book club in collaboration with Edinburgh Race Equality Network (EREN) and SPN to celebrate Pride month. We’ll be discussing Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, a story of a young Chinese American girl navigating her identity and sexuality in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s. The meeting will be held in central Edinburgh, with the exact location to be confirmed soon. Register here.
  11. Wellbeing Walk and Bake Sale at Edinburgh BioQuarter As part of the Pride Month celebrations, Edinburgh BioQuarter is planning to host a wellbeing walk and bake sale on the 22nd of June. More specific details, such as the time of the event and the chosen charity, will be announced soon. If you’d like to contribute a cake for the sale, please get in touch with Dom Cairns-Gibson at Dom.cairns-gibson@ed.ac.uk.
  12. Banner Making for Pride Edinburgh: 22nd June Join us at Potterrow Dome from 4-6pm to create banners for the Pride Edinburgh March. Book your spot here.
  13. Edinburgh Pride March: 24th June We’ll meet at Levels cafe on Holyrood Road from 11.30am, then walk down to Holyrood Parliament for midday. Wear your SPN t-shirts and join us in the march. For the complete route, click here. We will have the big SPN banner (see photo above) so all can find us along the route or if you want to meet us at the end by Bristo Square there will be the SPN stand in the window of the Informatics building on the Charles Street side near the brass Rino’s head (on the wall). We’ll be collecting people from there if you want to go to the SPN chillout space.
  14. The BioQuarter LGBTQ+ Staff Committee is holding a Bake Sale, 11-2pm on Thursday the 29th June in aid of LGBT Youth Scotland. If anyone would like to contribute a cake to the stall, then that would be hugely appreciated, and they can be dropped off in the Chancellors foyer any time after 10:30 am tomorrow. They will also be giving out free pride lanyards and pronoun badges (first come, first served).

In addition to these exciting events, don’t forget our recurring monthly socials:

  1. SPN Evening Social: First Friday of the Month Join us for great conversation at The Royal Dick Bar in Newington every first Friday of the month at 17:30. Next date: July 7th, 2023.
  2. SPN Kings Buildings Coffee & Cake: Third Wednesday of the Month Join us at Magnet Café, Edinburgh at 13:00 for free cake and enjoyable company. Next date: June 21st, 2023.
  3. SPN Central Coffee & Cake: Last Wednesday of the Month Meet fellow SPN members at Bayes Café, Edinburgh at 13:00 for free cake and good chat. Next date: June 28th, 2023.
  4. SPN Virtual Social: Last Wednesday of the Month Can’t make it in person? Join our virtual social at 13:00 BST to connect with friends and colleagues. Next date: June 28th, 2023.
  5. Trans and Non-Binary Meetup: 4th Thursday of the Month A safe space for trans and non-binary staff and PGRs to meet, chat, relax, and discuss relevant issues. Held at The Auld Hoose, 5:30-7:30pm. Next date: June 22nd, 2023. RSVP here.

Please remember to keep checking our social media and email updates for any additional events that may be added. Let’s celebrate Pride together in the best way possible – by being our true selves!

SPN Comms & Media Team

Requests:

When putting together a Pride Month display, Moray House Library staff noticed a lack of children’s books with LGBTQ+ themes. Our Academic Support Librarians are now looking into purchasing titles to add to the collection. Please send us (at StaffPrideNetwork@ed.ac.uk) any recommendations for timeless LGBTQ+ children’s books that you think would make a great addition to our shelves – and feel free to drop by the library to check out our display which includes LGBTQ+ books on Education and Sport.

Media available for Advertising:

📣 Attention #LGBTQ+ community! A research study is being conducted to understand how minority stress and childhood experiences affect depression. If you’re over 18, fluent in English, and identify as LGBTQ+, your insights are needed.

🔗 Take the 10-minute survey before the end of June: https://edinburgh.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6xIkNUowfxdolhk?Q_CHL=qr

⚠️ Content warning: The survey includes questions about traumatic experiences.

📧 Questions? Email: s1530227@ed.ac.uk

This research is approved by the University of Edinburgh School of Health in Social Science Ethics Committee. #Research #MentalHealth #LGBTQResearch #PrideMonth

Bake Sale and Wellbeing Walk

banner-making session

Banner & Placard Making Session Potterrow Dome 16:00-18:00

 

Poster for Little France Pride



Join the SPN/Sports Union Sport & Physical Activity Survey and Facility Tour

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In another exciting collaboration, our Social and Events Officer Jonathan MacBride and Neil Rankin, the Sports Coordinator (Volunteering & Participation), have put together a comprehensive survey to encourage greater participation in sport and active health within the Staff Pride Network. The survey is now open and will be accepting responses until the end of May.

Please share your thoughts and experiences by completing the survey.

Additionally, to get a real feel of the facilities and resources we have on offer, Jonathan is planning to organise a tour of facilities in June. More details will be shared soon, but we encourage you to mark your calendars.

For additional resources on sport and exercise, check out these links:

Thank you for your active participation and contribution in making the Staff Pride Network a vibrant community.



Little France Pride March

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Another exciting event is coming up very soon – on Friday, 2nd June. Children’s Services, in collaboration with the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity and other support organisations, are working towards achieving the LGBT Charter Status.

In celebration of Pride Month, and in conjunction with the LGBT+ Staff Network and the team at RIE, they are planning the first Little France Pride March. All are invited to participate in the march along the Wellbeing Walk at 13:30. Show your pride with flags, banners, and face paint!

Moreover, there will be stalls from the staff networks on campus within the Chancellor’s Building reception from 13.00 to 15.00. If you can’t manage the full 1-mile walk, you can pop along to learn more about the support available for LGBTQI+ staff and the role of allies.

Our colleagues from the University of Edinburgh will be joining us, as well as our friends from the ECHC, NHS Lothian Charity, and Radio Lollipop. They are all collaborating with Staff Wellbeing to make the afternoon special.

Outpatients who are able to undertake the walk are welcome to join in, and there will be other opportunities throughout the month to support everyone on site – more details to follow.

The event isn’t ticketed, but it will be helpful for the organisers if you could register your intent to attend here. This will assist with planning for the number of attendees.



New Feature Alert: Set Your Pronouns in Office 365 Contact Card

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We have some exciting news for you. Microsoft has recently introduced a new feature in Office 365, which allows users to set their pronouns in their contact card. This new addition is a great way to promote inclusivity and respect for gender identities in our digital workspace, especially considering the diverse mix of staff and students from various cultures present at the University of Edinburgh.

In a multicultural environment, it’s important to recognize that people may not be familiar with the traditional gender associated with certain names. With this new feature, users can help others understand their pronouns, creating a more respectful and inclusive atmosphere.

This feature is available in the online version of Office 365 and will appear in Microsoft Teams. Unfortunately, it is not yet supported in the desktop version of Outlook.

To learn more about this feature and how to set your pronouns, you can visit the official Microsoft support page here:

What are pronouns?

Pronouns, in this context, are simply the words we use to replace someone’s name in a sentence. Pronouns exist in many languages, as do gender neutral versions of them. For example, in English common pronouns include “she, “ “her,” “he,” “him,” and the gender neutral “they” and “them.”

While “they” and “them” are the most used gender-neutral pronouns in English, there are many more that we can use too. Instead of “they,” “them,” “their,” or “themself,” additional pronouns include: “sie,” “hir,” “hirs,” “hirself” or “zie,” “zir,” “zirs,” or “zirself.”

Why should I add pronouns to my profile?

Correctly using someone’s pronoun is one of the most basic ways to show that we value being inclusive and respectful. When we are referred to with the wrong pronoun, it may make us feel disrespected, invalidated, and alienated. In a hybrid multicultural workplace, the simple act of using the right pronouns can help build trust and improve communication among colleagues. If your Administrator has turned on pronouns in Microsoft 365, you have the option to include them on your profile card.

Notes: 

  • Whether or not to share or publicly display pronouns is always up to an individual. Pronouns should never be assigned by one person to another person. It should be up to the person using them to decide when, where, and which pronouns are used – including whether to use this feature.  Knowing someone’s pronouns does not always equate to knowing their gender identity. Importantly, choosing to leverage the pronouns feature as an individual user should be optional, not mandatory.
  • It’s important to consider that for transgender and non-binary people, covering demands in the workplace, at school, or in other contexts, may make it more comfortable not to share their pronouns. Please be aware of any applicable local laws, regulations, and cultural norms that may pose additional risks to transgender or non-binary people before choosing to leverage the pronouns feature.

Who can see my pronouns?

Anyone that has an account in your organization, including guest accounts, can see pronouns on profiles.

In scenarios where users have been directory synced into AD or AAD, users that are resolved with the same tenantID are able to see pronouns on profiles.

Can I control who can see my pronouns?

Your pronouns are available to everyone in your organization. It’s not possible to hide pronouns from certain users in your organization, including guest accounts.

How do I add, change, or delete my pronouns?

For detailed steps, see Add, change, or delete your pronouns.

Are there any restrictions in the pronouns field?

You can enter up to 30 characters, including spaces.

How long does it take for others to see pronoun updates on my profile?

When you add, change, or delete your pronouns, changes are updated immediately.

Where are my pronouns stored?

Your pronouns are stored with your other data in your Exchange Online mailbox.

See also

Pronouns on your profile in Microsoft 365

Pronouns best practices

Profile cards in Microsoft 365

 



I See You: A Reflection on Trans Visibility Day

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Rev Dr Urzula Glienecke (she/her) 

(written 12th April 2023) 

 

Flat heart-shaped decoration featuring the words "No child should group up feeling afraid of being their true self"

Just yesterday somewhere in the depths of the social media I saw a conversation between a mother and her trans son. It went something like this: 

 

– Happy belated Trans Visibility Day! 

– Yeah mom, it was last week 

– 👀 

– Mom, that’s not how you use this emoji! 

– I wanted to say “I see you, son!” 

 

It moved me to tears. I don’t know if it was a conversation that really happened, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it could have been and (according to the famous German author Erich Kästner) that makes it true enough.mI have learned that being seen for who one truly is, being listened to can be one of the most important and profound human experiences. So, here’s a message to say “I see you!” I have also been listening to stories: real life-stories of real non-binary and transgender people about their joy, suffering, identity. 

Church altar decorated with trans pride flag hanging on the wall behind the alter with progress pride flag (including intersex circle) draped over the alter.

On the 31st of March we celebrated Trans Visibility Day at the Augustine United Church. There were agnostics, atheists, shamans, pagans, Christians and those who “hadn’t been to church since they were 10” in glorious, colourful, celebrating, vulnerable and powerful diversity.  

 

I gathered impressions, prayers and reflections by some of the people who were there. Here they are:  

 

Maxwell who led the event:  

“Vigil: Transgender Day of Visibility 31 March 2023 

Transgender Day of Visibility was started in 2009 by trans activist, Rachel Crandall from Michigan as a reaction to the lack of LGBTQI+ recognition of transgender people. It is observed on the 31 March every year. 

Thankfully, transgender people are becoming more recognised as members of the LGBTQI+ community. This has been an important shift. The advent of Trans Pride events throughout the UK is a sign of the increasing visibility of the trans community. 

This year, for the first time ‘Our Tribe’, the LGBTQI+ ministry at AUC that works in partnership with Metropolitan Community Church, decided to celebrate the day. 

So, on Friday we held a Vigil. We worked hard to invite as many people as possible – and it paid off, there were nearly 60 people who came to the event, including many trans young people. 

We invited speakers from the cross-section of the trans community to tell us why trans visibility is important in the world today and to reflect on what inspired them about the trans community. Having visible role models and out trans people who can inspire is vital to enable people of all ages to recognise themselves and be able to come out. Solidarity in the trans community is important along with supporting one another. Listening to the speakers was very moving and hearing the lived experience of trans people and our allies was inspiring and encouraging. 

We had the opportunity to take part several rituals. 

We decorated hearts and stars to hang on light trees. 

We dropped stones into a pool of water. 

We wrote our names on canvas, to mark our visibility. 

Rev Elder Maxwell Reay offered individual glitter and oil blessings. 

All these rituals encouraged us to feel more visible as members of the trans community and as allies. 

The Vigil ended with a prayer, written by Lewis. 

A little goes a long way – a little love, a little hope, a little joy, and a little glitter! 

 

Anointing 

A little goes along way! 

Water, Oil, Glitter. 

Anoint your heart saying: 

Blessed is my heart that can love and be loved unconditionally. 

Anoint your body saying: 

Blessed is my body that travels each day with you. 

Anoint your surroundings saying: 

Blessed is this space that it may be a safe haven for all 

Anoint those who you love saying: 

Blessed are our connections. 

Anoint your ministries and work for social justice saying: 

Blessed by the spirit through all that we do. 

We are all anointed. 

Water, oil, glitter 

A little goes a long way. 

Written by Maxwell Reay for Transgender Day of Visibility 2023 

 

Prayer for Transgender Day of Visibility 2023 

Liberating One, you know each one of us by our names. 

Our gender identities are a gift from you, which we celebrate. 

You called us out and have enabled us to live a true, whole life. 

You made us and from our first moment You knew who we are. 

We know we are precious to You and that You care about our lives. 

We know that there have been trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people throughout history. 

Help us find these ancestors and learn from them. 

Thank You for the trans people who are visible in our society. Support us in our vulnerability. 

Let us take Pride in our lives and in the lives of the trans and non-binary communities. 

We thank you for the freedoms we have in Scotland, 

but we know there is still much to do. 

Give us hope that we will see our efforts come to fruition. 

We ask that the Gender Recognition Reform Bill will become Scottish law. 

Give us strength to rebuff the transphobia that we experience all around us. 

Give us courage to face the impact of transphobia in our daily lives. 

We ask for safety for all trans and non-binary people. 

For those who have been hurt or assaulted, we ask for healing of body and mind. Bring us wholeness through Your Love. 

For those who battle with discrimination and oppression, bring them endurance for the task ahead. 

We have reflected and celebrated our lives and the life of the transgender community. 

We ask for peace that is unshakable and hope that will not burn out. 

In the name of Wonder, Liberation and Wisdom bring us peace. Amen.” 

Written by Lewis Reay for Transgender Day of Visibility 2023. 

 

Jo: 

“When I was a child I didn’t know anyone like me. I thought I was the only one in the whole world. And this deepened my feelings of fear and shame. So one thing I really like about being visible is that I can be a role model to others… and, in a way, help and comfort my younger self“. 

 

Christian: 

“Maxwell facilitated the meeting and invited some trans people and Fiona to talk about what they find inspiring about trans/nonbinary and gender non-conforming people and why they feel it’s important to be visible. All the speakers were very hopeful and encapsulated the message that trans people are an important part of society, fully loved by God and bring unique perspectives on what it means to be human. Maxwell invited everyone to draw and write on wooden hearts and stars, it could be anything about trans people or the queer community that inspires them or they appreciate, or anything they felt lead to write/draw. There was a whole beautiful array of colours and messages when the hearts and stars were hung on fairy light trees. The whole evening was celebratory and positive, and everyone seemed to really benefit from being there.” 

 

It was a joy and a privilege to be there, to listen, to celebrate, to see and to be seen! 

 



Statement from Staff Pride Network regarding the protest against planned screening of Adult Human Female 

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TLDR:

We co-organised a protest with Cabaret Against The Hate Speech to take place when the screening of Adult Human Female was due to place. Our protest demonstrated support for trans rights at the University of Edinburgh in a peaceful and non-confrontational manner. We published a blog detailing all the reasons the film is anti-trans and why it does not represent a suitable opportunity for respectful debate or discussion: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/staffpridenetwork/2023/04/14/is-screening-adult-human-female-an-opportunity-for-respectful-debate-and-discussion/ 
 

Another group chose to peacefully protest the screening by sitting in front of the doors to the venue. While they were not affiliated with our protest we support their right to protest peacefully as they see fit. It is our understanding that the screening was cancelled because there was no way to safely access the building. We are not privy to the specifics of that decision making process. We continued with our peaceful, non-confrontational demonstration which created a supportive environment to show that many staff and students at the University of Edinburgh are supportive of trans rights. 

 

More detail if you’re interested: 

We are aware that our protest about the screening of a this anti-trans film has attracted widespread media attention. This comes with an alarming amount of misinformation, which this blog will address. Some of our members are now receiving direct messages of hateful abuse which have undoubtedly been fuelled by the heavily-biased media coverage. 

 

The headline of one major news outlet refers to the screening of a “gender film”. This headline is designed to attract the attention of the majority of the readership who are concerned about a so-called ‘attack on gender’ by LGBTQ communities, which is in fact being staged by the “gender critical” movement, who made this film. The film is not about gender. It disregards gender entirely in favour of making a baseless argument that only sex at birth is real. Such a doctrine is harmful for cis and trans people alike. Gender is real, that is why trans people exist. 

 

Members of the University of Edinburgh Staff Pride Network, and students, UCU and UNISON members, staged a peaceful protest across the pavement from the lecture theatre, which was led by Cabaret Against The Hate Speech. We did not obstruct entry to the venue. We sang songs, we created an atmosphere of positivity and love in the face of the oppression of the most vulnerable of our community. Our policy was clear throughout: do not directly engage with anyone there to watch the film or support the screening. Although unfortunately we were directly harassed by persons who were there for the film screening.

 

As the screening was open to the public those present included an MSP, members of the Scottish Family Party (who are publicly anti-women’s rights, anti-LGBT rights, anti-abortion to name but a few) as well as the woman who flashed the public gallery in the Scottish Parliament during the final gender recognition reform bill debate. The same woman attempted to confront our protesters while our co-chair was giving a speech. 

 

The University of Edinburgh staunchly upholds the values of “Freedom of expression”. Nevertheless, there is currently an atmosphere in which staff at the university are intimidated for voicing opposition to the platforming of misleading propaganda, with false accusations of “obstructing academic freedom/freedom of expression” being directed at us. Note: Academic freedom and freedom of expression are not the same thing. 

 

A direct-action group barricaded the entrance to the university building. And while the Staff Pride Network had no role in this, we respect their freedom to protest in any way they wish. We recognise these protesters were asserting their belief that de-platforming hate-speech is a necessary and effective counter to the spread of misinformation. 

 

We are also within our own rights to appeal to the university about how freedom of expression policies should be applied in an equitable and inclusive way. That is why no university member of staff would stage a protest that would frustrate any process of academic freedom. That the mainstream news outlets accuse us of attempting to block academic freedom is paramount to obfuscation. The debate about academic freedom is a straw man argument designed to distract the casual observer from what is really happening. 

 

We believe that film is not academic, because of its biased and low-quality coverage of the subject matter. To call it such is an embarrassing slight on the academic standards that we uphold. The film fully disregards the dignity and respect of trans people and covertly advocates for the removal of their current legal rights and protections, as stipulated in both university policy and law. 

 

We did not stop an 80 year old woman from seeing her film. The film is freely available online and has been for over a year. The screening of it on university campus is simply a power-flex by the creators. This is yet another example of the perpetrators playing the victim. 

 

The lived experience of trans people is not a debate. 



How about we stop attacking trans people and address the REAL inequalities in the system?

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-anonymous queer, cisgender woman

 

The co-option of feminism as mechanism for attacking trans rights makes me sick. I do not recognise the questioning of gender identity as a valid form of academic praxis that is without harm. I don’t want to operate in an academia that condones academic methods that are rooted in colonialism and oppression of others. I thought we were trying to de-colonise our institutions, move away from out-dated modes of thinking and foster scholars to become qualified critical thinkers capable of contributing to wider society in a way that makes our world a better place? Perhaps that is naïve and idealistic, but it’s the future I choose and a future I will continue to advocate for.  

 

Women are a historically oppressed and marginalised group and the structural mechanisms that enable our oppression are widespread. These ‘academics’ and anti-trans activist organisations masquerading as ‘women’s rights’ organisations, have invested time and money trying to address what they see as a structural mechanism for women’s oppression – the rights our country (and others) afford to transgender people. This blog unpacked very clearly the arguments that proponents of gender-critical ideology cite as reasons we should restrict the rights of trans people. The rationale anti-trans people impose is that by restricting trans rights we will in turn protect the rights of women (by which they mean cisgender women, not trans women, of course). This is despite countless evidence that shows if you enable trans people to have equal rights it does not have negative consequences for cisgender women. Their arguments that laws might be exploited by predatory men might be a valid question were the emphasis of the argument placed on how we understand and then prevent predatory behaviour by those men, as well as supporting survivors of said behaviour. Instead, they labour the misapprehension that predatory men are somehow equivalent to trans women. Their refusals to engage with real evidence, or the misappropriation of existing evidence, and their reliance on false equivalences make it impossible to have reasonable conversations with these gender critical believers, let alone have a proper academic discussion.  

 

The existence of trans women and their presence in women’s spaces is not a threat to me. However, after years of campaigning for trans equality and trans rights, I can’t help but feel threatened by the presence of gender-critical people. That sick feeling in my stomach is a sign of discomfort. It’s the warning sign that my trans friends and colleagues are at risk of being attacked for simply being themselves. If I feel this fear as a cisgender woman, how do my trans friends and colleagues feel? I remind myself that with any significant cultural change you are going to come up against those that hate what you’re trying to do (usually because they also hate the people you’re trying to advocate for), and they will rationalise their resistance as not hateful but reasonable because their rights matter too. These same arguments have applied by white supremacists against the civil rights movement, by various flavours of anti-gay activist in numerous countries past and present and by men’s rights activists rallying against legislation to support equality for women, to name but a few. Admittedly some are upfront with their hate, some are a little more covert, but it doesn’t take much to recognise the shared tactics: the spreading of misinformation, the accusations of cult status on the marginalised group they’re attacking and the fear-mongering about the danger to women & children.  

 

I wish these people would consider redirecting their time and money into addressing the very real problems faced by women in the UK today. Maybe they could get angry about our sexist benefits system that penalises women with more than 2 children, and isolates those in abusive relationships as being dependent on their partner/spouse? Or how about our broken criminal justice system that is structurally failing survivors of sexual violence who are disproportionately women? Or maybe in our own institutions where the pay gap still needs addressing, particularly in senior positions? I want us to build a culture of mutual respect that is currently impossible when our trans colleagues and students are forced to justify their existence and defend their right to access spaces on a daily basis. These anti-trans activists keep accusing us of trying to silence them (despite their very vocal mouthpiece on a university platformed blog, and numerous events where their views go unchallenged), that we are refusing to come together but fundamentally why would someone willingly choose to engage with their oppressor? I’m not going to advocate for that. I will continue to advocate for equal rights for trans people because I know it does not threaten my autonomy as a cisgender woman. I know with greater equality there comes less oppression due to gender stereotypes. Including trans women in my understanding of womanhood only serves to expand what it means to be a woman. I will not be restricted to my biology and my capacity to reproduce – that’s exactly what the patriarchy wants.  



Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression Working Group

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Academics have recently received an email from the Provost with regards to the setting up of a new Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression Working Group. Our colleague, Lauren Hall-Lew, sent the letter below in response to the announcement. It is an excellent, and necessary, response – and reflects what, we think, should be the Staff Pride Network’s position and role with regards to this matter. I am therefore forwarding it along, especially if it is useful in any conversations you may have within and beyond the institution.

Thanks to Edinburgh Race Equality Network (EREN) for sharing Lauren’s letter.

Dear Professor Graham,

 

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this email. Do feel free to forward it to any party who might find it useful or, at least, relevant.

 

As the Professor of Sociolinguistics at this university, I want to take a moment to alert you and your team to some distress that your announcement has caused amongst the university’s staff, and to explain some of the reasons for this distress, from my professional point of view.

 

The short of it is that “Academic Freedom” and “Freedom of Expression” have taken on multiple and often conflicting meanings in recent years, particularly in the academic context, such that they now connote particular political stances that are further associated with the mental and physical harm of certain minority groups. As much as I personally wish that “Academic Freedom” and “Freedom of Expression” truly only entailed the sentiments expressed in your announcement, the linguistic facts point to the impossibility of this wish. Lexicographers who enter new words into the dictionary don’t make up definitions; they describe the definitions that best encompass how a word is actually used. It is in that spirit that I write you this email.

  

Academic research on the use of the term “free speech” in academic and legal contexts goes back at to at least 2018. In 2017, the following web publication made the observation that is the foundation of this research:

In this post, Zine observes that the phrase “free speech” was at the forefront of debates in Canada and the United States about “University classes regarding the use of gender-neutral pronouns and in the framing of the House of Commons Motion 103 combating Islamophobia. These may seem like disparate concerns, but they are in fact related in the way the so-called ‘alt-right’ uses free speech as a rhetorical prop in their campaigns of ideological intimidation.”

  

In 2018 we see the following academic article that articulates the issue in a more in-depth way:

While this paper is also set in the North American context, Sultana’s abstract succinctly summarizes the phenomenon that many of us here at the University of Edinburgh are also concerned about:

At a time when there are concerted efforts to decolonize academia, there is a concurrent rise of colonial nostalgia and white supremacy among some academics, who are supported by and end up lending support to the escalating far-right movements globally, which misuse notions of free speech and academic freedom to further their agendas and attack higher education.

 

Without acknowledgement of this phenomenon in the announcement you sent, there will inevitably be readers of the announcement who have reason to worry about what the working group means for their intellectual and personal safety. While this may seem at odds with the very meaning of “Academic Freedom” and “Freedom of Expression”, that is exactly the linguistic point: the way that terms are actually used says more about what they mean than what we imagine terms to mean.

 

This is especially the case when this particular (mis)use of terms spans years and continents. Sultana writes,

 

In recent years, free speech has been co-opted by far-right groups in liberal democracies such as the US, Canada, UK and Europe to promote hate speech whereby hate speech and calls to violence are being promoted, whether directly or covertly, under the guise of free speech. This is generally known as the ‘weaponization of free speech’ whereby the far-right uses the rhetoric of free speech to attack people and promote hate speech (Scott 2018; Picazo 2017).

 And, further,

 However, inciting violence, calling for harm/harassment, or active discrimination of people or groups violates the rights of others to enact their lives and is actually not protected under free speech.

 

It is in the spirit of this last quote that my colleagues and I are concerned about the formation and framing of this working group. Will hate speech be tolerated? The point is sometimes subtle, as fellow academics do not typically directly or actively “incite violence”. However, it is the alignment of free speech discourses with other actors (on Twitter, for example, through “likes”) that makes many of us feel unsafe and threatened. It needn’t be “hate speech” to have this effect, because what language connotes (or “indexes”, in my field of study) is just as meaningful and powerful as what it denotes directly.

 

For what it’s worth, there are at least two recent books from a legal perspective based in the US context that are relevant to this conversation:

 

And I highly recommend this paper (if you are going to read any paper) that is specifically about the contemporary academic context:

 

However, I will conclude this email with an academic reference based in the UK context, with a specific discussion about how “free speech” is being used across universities in the UK:

Leigh writes:

A small number of university professors have become central to free-speech struggles on university campuses. Unlike some overt fascists, these professors claim mainstream legitimacy in that they hold positions in prestigious institutions, publish peer-reviewed scholarship with established publishers, and denounce the far right. Yet, they are regularly opposed by student, left-wing, and antifascist protestors, who see them as producing scholarship that affirms core facts of far right ideology and/or is regularly used by the far right. In response, these public intellectuals pronounce free speech as under threat from ‘coddled,’ ‘oversensitive,’ ‘snowflake,’ and censorious students and universities (Leaker 2018). They then double-down on their calls for greater freedom of speech, often drawing directly on Locke and Mill and, I argue here, ultimately reproducing Locke’s and Mill’s commitments to colonialism.

 

I do not quote this paper to make any claims or accusations about other members of the University of Edinburgh staff. Indeed, the point is one about the term “free speech,” not about any individual actor. I have no doubt that many or most of the people involved in the creation of this working group have only the best of intentions. However, whether we like it or not, in the contemporary academic context, the terms used to describe the working group you propose are not neutral. Not in the least. And the University cannot proceed as if they are.

 

Thank you again for your time and consideration. I appreciate that you are busy, and I do not require a response, but I am also happy to discuss this issue further, if you so wish.

 

All best wishes,

 

Professor Lauren Hall-Lew (she/her)
Personal Chair of Sociolinguistics

The University of Edinburgh



Gate-keeping women’s spaces doesn’t protect women.

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-anonymous bisexual cisgender woman

 

You may think from the discourse that there are at least 2.5 billion trans people, but the fact is in absolute terms there are far more women who look like me accessing women’s spaces than there are trans people who exist in total. The consequence of setting up gate-keeping around women’s spaces being for “biological women” is not sexual predators with male pattern baldness being kept out of women’s spaces, but the constant questioning of the right of women who look like me to be there. 

  

I get harrassed constantly for the fact that I have short hair and a low centre of gravity. I last had “oi, are you a boy or a girl” shouted at me last week. Depending on the situation, I either ignore it or reply, “why does it matter?” which they always find very confusing. A woman in a group I was running at work said, “why are you wearing men’s shoes?” and I said, “I’m not, they’re my shoes and I’m a woman”. She did not comment further. 

  

When I booked a bed in a women’s dorm room and fell asleep after arrival, I woke up to a pair of anxious eyes asking me in Spanish if I was a girl. I said, “I’m sorry”? in English, and she immediately relaxed (presumably because she heard my voice) and acted like she hadn’t said anything. 

  

The last time a conference had a designated women’s space, I popped in there to have a sensory break and was followed by a woman who told me that “excuse me, this is a woman’s space”. And I said, “yes, I know”, attempted to read my book, but had to put up with her flustering and trying to apologise because “I thought… *gestures at my t-shirt and slacks*”. I actually left the room because she was being so weird at me and SHE FOLLOWED ME to try to apologise again. Her comfort, not mine. 

  

The last time I had someone challenge my right to use a women’s toilet, I was going into a single cubicle in a pub and the male shift manager shouted at me from the bar, pursued me across the room, knocked on the door until I unlocked and opened it and then said, “wrong toilet, I’m afraid”. I replied, “I’m afraid not”, and shut the door in his face. He then had to serve me a drink five minutes later. I carry a radar key for this reason. 

  

Now, this is the reality of my life, and the one concession I was willing to make to deal with it was getting my ears pierced, which for some reason people find reassuring. My internal image of myself does not have pierced ears but I can’t see or feel them so I don’t care. But the fact that I had to do it should be a matter of shame for every feminist who whines on about the abolition of gender while proclaiming they can always tell. You cannot. You are, in fact, quite incompetent at telling. 

  

In the ten years since I cut off my long hair for the final time (which in itself had been a concession to this problem), the volume of incidents has dropped significantly. Many people will initially misgender me, then quickly say, “oops” and then gender me correctly without having the emotional breakdown they used to, which is fine. The feminist battle to challenge gender stereotypes has been working, and the effort to create inclusive spaces has been bearing fruit. The attempts of awful people (and you are awful) to turn the clock back and start demanding proof of biological womanhood isn’t going to result in chromosome checks as a condition of entry to their lesbian book group. Such groups just won’t have a sustainable membership because LGBT people all know perfectly well what transphobic dogwhistles look like and we will boycott them into oblivion. The broader cultural impact of such moral panics will be cis men and women who do not adhere to stereotypical gender presentation being given odd looks and treated with suspicion on entering the room. And there are millions, M.I.L.L.I.O.N.S., more of us than there are trans people. 

  

Now, I regard every gender policing person I have embarrassed the hell out of as one more person who is going to think twice before challenging a trans person who will be more upset with having their gender questioned than I am. But it is really annoying, and it is a burden I would rather not live with. If you think that “clarifying” the Equality Act will somehow further the cause, you are quite wrong, and you and your children will suffer the consequences of your own actions. Attacks on trans women are attacks ON WOMEN, and your inability to see this is your hubris. 

 



Celebrating Diversity: Showcasing the LGBTQ+ Photo Bank at the University of Edinburgh

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The University of Edinburgh has always been committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. Back in 2018, a special photo shoot led by Gina Gwenffrewi was organised to create a collection of images representing the LGBTQ+ community within our university, including trans and non-binary individuals. These images deserve greater publicity and can be viewed at the LGBTQ+ Students and Staff Image Gallery (Password: edinburghgallery).

 

This photo bank captures various aspects of staff and student life, highlighting how LGBTQ+ individuals contribute significantly to the university community. As Kat Deuchars, a fellow staff member, remarked, “they demonstrate how LGBTQ+ people look just like straight cis people.”

We are currently working on an exciting new project to update these images and feature the inclusive Progress Pride Rainbow Lanyards. If you’re interested in helping with this project, please contact us at staffpridenetwork@ed.ac.uk.

We value your feedback on the existing images and how they can be improved. Please share your thoughts with us to help us create better representations of our diverse community and secure funding for more photos. [Provide a link for feedback here]

Thank you for supporting our efforts to foster a more inclusive environment at the University of Edinburgh.


 

Note: The images included in the blog post are just a few examples and can be downloaded full size from the gallery mentioned above, featuring a mix of close-ups, group photos, and various activities that demonstrate the diversity and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community within the university, including trans and non-binary individuals.