Decoding the Misrepresentations: A Look at Straw Man Arguments in the Gender Critical Movement

Ever been in a debate where your opponent twists your words, attacks this distorted version, and then claims victory? Welcome to the world of straw man arguments! Today, we’re going to explore how this tactic is used within the gender critical movement.

What’s a Straw Man Argument?

Imagine you’re in a boxing ring, but instead of fighting your real opponent, you’re swinging at a straw-filled dummy. You land punch after punch, and unsurprisingly, the straw man doesn’t fight back. Victory, right? Not quite. This is the essence of a straw man argument – a tactic where someone distorts, exaggerates, or oversimplifies an opponent’s position, attacks this misrepresented position, and then claims to have refuted the original argument.

Straw Man Arguments and the Gender Critical Movement

The gender critical movement, which often questions the concept of gender identity separate from biological sex, has been known to use straw man arguments. Let’s unpack some examples:

Straw Man:

Transgender and non-binary individuals want to erase biological women and men.

Reality Check:

Transgender women, trans men, and non-binary individuals are advocating for recognition and rights, not the erasure of cisgender individuals. They’re asking for a seat at the table, not to flip the table over.

Straw Man:

Transgender rights activists want to allow men into women’s bathrooms.

Reality Check:

The goal is to allow transgender and non-binary individuals to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. This includes trans men and non-binary individuals using the bathrooms they feel most comfortable with. It’s about safety and dignity, not causing chaos in restrooms.

Straw Man:

Affirming a transgender or non-binary child’s identity is the same as medical transition.

Reality Check:

Affirming a child’s identity can simply mean using their chosen name and pronouns. Medical transition is a separate issue and isn’t pursued without careful consideration. It’s about letting kids express themselves, not pushing them into medical procedures.

Why Should We Care?

Straw man arguments can be misleading and harmful. They can perpetuate misconceptions, fuel division, and hinder productive conversation. In the context of the gender critical movement, they can contribute to misunderstanding and stigmatization of transgender and non-binary individuals.

Wrapping Up

Straw man arguments are like shadow boxing with distorted versions of our opponents’ views. Recognizing them is the first step towards more honest and productive conversations. So, the next time you’re in a debate and your opponent starts swinging at a straw man, call it out. Let’s ensure our discussions around gender and identity are based on understanding, not misrepresentation.

Want to Know More?

If you’re interested in diving deeper into this topic, we highly recommend watching the original video lecture that inspired this article. It provides an overview of arguments used by the gender critical movement. You can watch the video here.




Celebrating Pride: Exciting June Events

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




University’s Carbon Sequestration Plans – Climate Action Events

In line with our commitment to social and environmental justice, we would like to share some events being run by the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS). These sessions aim to inform staff, students, and alumni about the University’s carbon sequestration plans: offsetting our carbon emissions by creating woodlands and restoring peatland here in Scotland.

These events present a unique opportunity to learn more about how these initiatives will benefit not just the environment, but also learning, research, and teaching at the University.

  1. Central Area: Tuesday 6 June, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
  2. King’s Buildings: Wednesday 7 June, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
  3. Online: Thursday 15 June, 11am to 12pm

For more information, please visit: Climate Action: The University’s Carbon Sequestration Plan




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

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

 




Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression Working Group

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




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

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.




World AIDS Day 2022: Why We’re Wearing Red and Fundraising for Waverley Care

 

The University of Edinburgh Staff Pride Network have had a long-standing relationship with Waverley Care, Scotland’s HIV and Hepatitis C charity. Cathy and Katie (members of the SPN committee) attended an event for supporters in October to learn more about the work of the charity to support those living with HIV in Scotland. We heard from a great speaker who had benefited from the support that Waverley Care offers, and had since gone on to work for the charity so that he could share what he has learned and gained from his experience with others in need. 

Waverley Care inspired us to support their Wear Red for World AIDS Day initiative, to create awareness of how the work of Waverley Care has provided support for decades, and continues to support, people living with HIV and AIDS.

World AIDS Day is marked every year on the 1st of December, and aims to bring people together to unite in the fight against HIV, raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds living with the condition.

We would like to invite all staff and students at the University of Edinburgh to join us in marking World AIDS Day this year! Please take part by wearing red on World AIDS Day (Thursday 1 December), and by donating at least £1 to our fundraiser for Waverley Care.

Donate now via our dedicated JustGiving page.

If every member of staff at the University of Edinburgh were able to donate just £1 each, that could generate over £15,000 in donations for Waverley Care, a great charity doing incredible work in our city.

 

We are also delighted to be collaborating with Edinburgh College of Art in hosting an event on the Thursday 1 December at 6pm in West Court (Edinburgh College of Art): The Farewell Symphony, a talk by Sam Moore, is a musing on the AIDS crisis, disappearance, and queer histories. We hope you can join us for the event in your red regalia.

Register to attend The Farewell Symphony via EventBrite.

The event is free to attend, but if you have the means, we suggest that each attendee make a donation of £2 to our fundraiser for Waverley Care.

Donate now via our JustGiving page.

Learn more about Waverley Care.

 

 




A sincere thank you from Proud Scotland Awards 2022

Dear University of Edinburgh Staff Pride Network,

I am contacting you to say thank you for everything you have done over the past year to celebrate, support and promote the LGBTQ+ community.

As was stated during the awards ceremony, 2022 was probably the toughest year to select finalists and winners with over 1000 nominations being received and over 36000 votes being cast, all from the public. Although it was commiserations on the night his hopefully shows the amazing impact which you and your organisation is having within the community and how your actions have caused an individual to nominate you this year.

We strongly hope that you continue your amazing work and impact so that we will see you again at the Proud Scotland Awards 2023.

During the evening, you will be aware that we raised money to help support the delivery of Pride Edinburgh, https://prideedinburgh.co.uk/, and Glasgow’s Pride Mardi Gla, https://glapride.com/, and hope that we will see you showing your Pride, at either or both of the marches and events.

Again, from myself as the Chair of the Judging panel, congratulations on being a finalist in 2022 and thank you for being amazing!

Stuart McPhail

Chair | Proud Scotland Awards

https://proudscotlandawards.com/ 




Inclusive language setting in Outlook

We would like to share this wonderful diversity tip regarding an inclusive language setting in Outlook.

The setting in Outlook means you can enable checks for inclusive language when spell check runs for your emails.

Here is how to enable it:

In a new email, go to ‘Review’, then select ‘Spelling & Grammar’ (you might have to misspell a word in the body of your email to get the pop-up)

In a new email, go to ‘Review’, then select ‘Spelling & Grammar’ (you might have to misspell a word in the body of your email to get the pop-up)

Select ‘Options…’ in the pop-up window

Examples of the change

Select ‘Proofing’ from the left side menu, then enable ‘Mark grammar errors as you type’, then select ‘Settings…’ beside Writing Style

Spellcheck will now run for inclusive language, see examples below…

Under Inclusive Language (scroll almost to the bottom of the list), enable ‘Gender-Specific Language’, then select ‘OK’

Under Inclusive Language (scroll almost to the bottom of the list), enable ‘Gender-Specific Language’, then select ‘OK’

Spellcheck will now run for inclusive language, see examples below…

Select ‘Proofing’ from the left side menu, then enable ‘Mark grammar errors as you type’, then select ‘Settings…’ beside Writing Style

Examples of the change:

Select ‘Options…’ in the pop-up window




In response to ‘Sex Matters’ letter

Dear Network Members, 

You may have become aware of a letter by a collective of academics operating under the name ‘Sex Matters’ written to the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission demanding a “Reindorf Review” for the higher education sector. While we are once again loath to draw attention to these beliefs, we also recognise that silence does not make our position clear to those in our community most affected by these beliefs and the ways in which these beliefs are expressed. This statement is to reinforce our solidarity to those affected and that we will continue to work in ways which support our trans and non-binary colleagues and students. 

This letter paints a very biased view of the current situation regarding academic freedom in UK Higher Education institutions and depicts those academics who share ‘gender critical’ beliefs as victims of ‘trans rights activists’. There is no reflection on why students and staff might feel motivated to protest those academics actively promoting their ‘gender critical’ beliefs and a failure to acknowledge the harms experienced by the trans and non-binary members of these communities as a consequence of discriminatory expressions of these beliefs. For clarity, the Staff Pride Network committee would like to make it known that we do not endorse this viewpoint of the situation. It is clear to us how harmful ‘gender critical’ beliefs are to the trans and non-binary members of our community, and that reductive, biologically essentialist attitudes towards sex are also damaging to everyone. No-one thrives if they are forced to adopt an identity based on binary sex characteristics, while trans and non-binary members of our community are especially and significantly harmed by this.  

The letter claims that the Stonewall Diversity Champions Scheme promotes misleading information about the Equality Act which is simply false. It also criticises Athena SWAN for encouraging HEIs to monitor gender and not sex. We support the monitoring of gender and of gender diversity in our institutions because it is far more realistic to learn about how our staff live their lives and how they move through the world as their lived gender identities rather than forcing staff to select a binary sex characteristic that may be wholly inaccurate and may force trans and non-binary members of staff to disclose sensitive private information about their gender history.  

We make no disagreement with the notion that a distinction can be made between sex and gender. Biological sex is a complex combination of anatomy, hormones and chromosomes that can result in a variety of sex characteristics in the human population. Gender is also a complex combination of the ways in which we experience and present our identities in a multi-gendered world. We reject the characterisation in the letter that there are UK Universities that impose a ‘radical gender orthodoxy’. This appears to be an attempt to stigmatise those who do not conform to an antiquated belief system that promotes a binary understanding of sex. We also recognise that sex is a protected characteristic. The guidance around the Equality Act as to how sex is determined is broad, it does not provide a precise definition of sex and it does not specify that sex is rooted in ‘biological sex’. 

We are concerned to note the names of 28 current and former University of Edinburgh staff as signatories of this letter, many of whom have a significant platform (through lectures, publications and other opportunities) to share ‘gender critical’ beliefs. While we recognise the freedom of those individuals to hold and express these beliefs, they should recognise that exercising freedom does have implications for other people, and that just as they are free to hold and express their beliefs, others are free to counter-argue or take other lawful action (such as protesting) in response. In particular, however, it is right to recognise that no one is free to express their beliefs, or their disagreement with others’ beliefs, in ways that are abusive or discriminatory. Members of our network have been deeply disturbed by this letter, as well as members of the student community. We extend our solidarity to those affected and will continue to work in ways which support our trans and non-binary colleagues and students.  

We hope that one day all staff and students are able to go about their lives feeling safe, respected and without harassment. 

 

The Staff Pride Network Committee