This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/18/transgender-activists-protest-germaine-greer-lecture-cardiff-university
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Germaine Greer gives university lecture despite campaign to silence her | Germaine Greer gives university lecture despite campaign to silence her |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A defiant Germaine Greer gave a university lecture amid tight security despite a fierce campaign to stop her speaking because of the views she has expressed on transgender women. | |
| Greer told the audience at Cardiff University on Wednesday night that protesters had been “trying to frighten me off”, but added: “Here I am”. | |
| She did not mention the issue during her lecture, but during questions was asked about the controversy. She said five women approached her on the way to Cardiff from London. “They said ‘I’m so glad that someone is saying what we think. We don’t think that post-operative males are women, but we are afraid to say so’. I will say so because I don’t believe they are women.” | She did not mention the issue during her lecture, but during questions was asked about the controversy. She said five women approached her on the way to Cardiff from London. “They said ‘I’m so glad that someone is saying what we think. We don’t think that post-operative males are women, but we are afraid to say so’. I will say so because I don’t believe they are women.” |
| She continued: “I don’t accept post-operative males as females. I don’t believe a woman is a man without a cock. You can beat me over the head with a baseball bat. I still won’t change my mind.” | She continued: “I don’t accept post-operative males as females. I don’t believe a woman is a man without a cock. You can beat me over the head with a baseball bat. I still won’t change my mind.” |
| About a dozen demonstrators protested outside the lecture hall. More than 3,000 people signed a petition arguing that Greer should not be allowed to appear at Cardiff University to deliver her lecture on women in political and social life because her opinions on trans people are so upsetting. | |
| Greer, who was paid to deliver the lecture, had told the Guardian she would pull out if the university could not guarantee that people would not throw things at her, but she had been assured that she would be safe. Security was tight as the lecture began, with police positioned at the lecture theatre doors and bags searched. | |
| Protesters included present and former Cardiff University students who criticised the institution for paying Greer. Mair Macey, a former student now working for HMRC, said: “Having Greer here reflects badly on the values of the university.” | Protesters included present and former Cardiff University students who criticised the institution for paying Greer. Mair Macey, a former student now working for HMRC, said: “Having Greer here reflects badly on the values of the university.” |
| Greer declined to do media interviews before or after the event and requested that it not be recorded. It is understood that she was frustrated that the lecture, which did not touch on transgender issues, was being overshadowed by the petition and protest. | |
| Payton Quinn, who organised the demonstration, said Greer had made “incredibly inflammatory” remarks about trans women. A flyer distributed by the protesters featured two Greer quotes from Guardian articles. In one she wrote: “Nowadays we are all likely to meet people who think they are women, have women’s names, and feminine clothes and lots of eyeshadow, who seem to us to be some kind of ghastly parody, though it isn’t polite to say so.” | Payton Quinn, who organised the demonstration, said Greer had made “incredibly inflammatory” remarks about trans women. A flyer distributed by the protesters featured two Greer quotes from Guardian articles. In one she wrote: “Nowadays we are all likely to meet people who think they are women, have women’s names, and feminine clothes and lots of eyeshadow, who seem to us to be some kind of ghastly parody, though it isn’t polite to say so.” |
| In the second, where Greer responds to calls for the Cardiff lecture to be halted, she said: “I just don’t think that surgery turns a man into a woman. A perfectly permissible view. I mean, an un-man is not necessarily a woman.” | |
| The saga has caused a fierce debate about free speech and the practice of “no-platforming” speakers whose views make them unpopular. Quinn said she was frustrated that the free speech issue was overshadowing what she saw as the more salient problem: Greer’s views. | |
| Tickets for Greer’s free lecture, called Women & Power: the Lessons of the 20th Century, were snapped up quickly. But Rachael Melhuish, women’s officer at the university’s students’ union, began a petition on change.org calling for the lecture to be halted and alleging that Greer had “demonstrated misogynistic views towards trans women, including continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether”. | Tickets for Greer’s free lecture, called Women & Power: the Lessons of the 20th Century, were snapped up quickly. But Rachael Melhuish, women’s officer at the university’s students’ union, began a petition on change.org calling for the lecture to be halted and alleging that Greer had “demonstrated misogynistic views towards trans women, including continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether”. |
| The petition states: “While debate in a university should be encouraged, hosting a speaker with such problematic and hateful views towards marginalised and vulnerable groups is dangerous. Allowing Greer a platform endorses her views and, by extension, the transmisogyny which she continues to perpetuate.” By Wednesday more than 3,000 people had signed it. | The petition states: “While debate in a university should be encouraged, hosting a speaker with such problematic and hateful views towards marginalised and vulnerable groups is dangerous. Allowing Greer a platform endorses her views and, by extension, the transmisogyny which she continues to perpetuate.” By Wednesday more than 3,000 people had signed it. |
| Asked about the petition last month, Greer told the Guardian: “I don’t really know what I think of it. It strikes me as a bit of a put-up job really because I am not even going to talk about the issue that they are on about. What they are saying is that because I don’t think surgery will turn a man into a woman I should not be allowed to speak anywhere.” | Asked about the petition last month, Greer told the Guardian: “I don’t really know what I think of it. It strikes me as a bit of a put-up job really because I am not even going to talk about the issue that they are on about. What they are saying is that because I don’t think surgery will turn a man into a woman I should not be allowed to speak anywhere.” |
| Of her critics, she added: “They think that they are entitled to throw things at me and then they say that I am inciting violence against transsexuals. I have never incited anyone to violence against anyone. I am just fed up with it all. It’s all just froth.” | Of her critics, she added: “They think that they are entitled to throw things at me and then they say that I am inciting violence against transsexuals. I have never incited anyone to violence against anyone. I am just fed up with it all. It’s all just froth.” |
| The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Colin Riordan, said it was committed to freedom of speech and open debate. “Our events include speakers with a range of views, all of which are rigorously challenged and debated,” he said. | The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Colin Riordan, said it was committed to freedom of speech and open debate. “Our events include speakers with a range of views, all of which are rigorously challenged and debated,” he said. |
| Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, has argued that the growing trend of “no-platforming” speakers poses a risk to the institutions’ “fundamental mission” by curtailing free speech. | Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, has argued that the growing trend of “no-platforming” speakers poses a risk to the institutions’ “fundamental mission” by curtailing free speech. |
| A counter-petition has also been launched by a Canadian woman, Diana Boston, who describes herself as a second wave feminist and said those criticising Greer were unfairly attempting to silence her. By Wednesday lunchtime it had been signed by almost 3,000 people. |