The ‘Anti-Trans’ Oxford Event That Wasn’t ‘Canceled’

Yesterday, I attended an Oxford Literary Festival event that featured Julie Bindel interviewing Helen Joyce about her book Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. Gary Francione, a festival coordinator, introduced the two speakers and noted that Joyce’s “important book” had not previously been featured at a literary festival — despite being published four years ago. Indeed, there was certainly demand to hear the gender-critical perspective: The event was sold out, and the applause lasted over a minute when the two speakers walked onstage, complete with hooting, hollering, and whistling. Francione went to great pains when emphasizing the importance of free speech, and he instructed the audience to “please keep it civil.” His comments were entirely misdirected because the people in the theater weren’t the ones who needed that reminder.

In February, the Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society had sent out a long email to its members condemning a series of events that supposedly featured “anti-trans campaigners,” including the talk with Bindel and Joyce, and suggested that such speakers violate the university’s anti-discrimination policies. The society claimed: “While the university has said that trans and non-binary students are free to go and ask questions at some of these events, none have any kind of meaningful opposition, fact-checking, or structured debate built in, with anti-trans campaigners setting the agenda and maintaining control of the floor. Nor has the university offered trans and non-binary people an equivalent platform to challenge these campaigners’ portrayals of them.” Of course, it is the LGBTQ+ movement that sets the cultural agenda and maintains control of the universities. But the group was just flatly wrong. There is an “equivalent platform” offered to the opposing side: On Sunday, the Oxford Literary Festival will host “In Defence of Trans Realities.” In fact, the man who introduced the Bindel/Joyce talk told the audience about that Sunday event, and encouraged us all to be there and “listen to what they have to say.”

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Abigail Anthony

Abigail Anthony is a staff writer at National Review.

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Yesterday, I attended an Oxford Literary Festival event that featured Julie Bindel interviewing Helen Joyce about her book Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. Gary Francione, a festival coordinator, introduced the two speakers and noted that Joyce’s “important book” had not previously been featured at a literary festival — despite being published four years ago. Indeed, there was certainly demand to hear the gender-critical perspective: The event was sold out, and the applause lasted over a minute when the two speakers walked onstage, complete with hooting, hollering, and whistling. Francione went to great pains when emphasizing the importance of free speech, and he instructed the audience to “please keep it civil.” His comments were entirely misdirected because the people in the theater weren’t the ones who needed that reminder.

In February, the Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society had sent out a long email to its members condemning a series of events that supposedly featured “anti-trans campaigners,” including the talk with Bindel and Joyce, and suggested that such speakers violate the university’s anti-discrimination policies. The society claimed: “While the university has said that trans and non-binary students are free to go and ask questions at some of these events, none have any kind of meaningful opposition, fact-checking, or structured debate built in, with anti-trans campaigners setting the agenda and maintaining control of the floor. Nor has the university offered trans and non-binary people an equivalent platform to challenge these campaigners’ portrayals of them.” Of course, it is the LGBTQ+ movement that sets the cultural agenda and maintains control of the universities. But the group was just flatly wrong. There is an “equivalent platform” offered to the opposing side: On Sunday, the Oxford Literary Festival will host “In Defence of Trans Realities.” In fact, the man who introduced the Bindel/Joyce talk told the audience about that Sunday event, and encouraged us all to be there and “listen to what they have to say.”