CW: Transphobia
Helen Joyce, a gender-critical author and feminist, spoke at Balliol College yesterday evening in an event organised by convener of the Balliol Philosophy Society, John Maier. She was invited despite more than 600 people signing a petition protesting transphobia at Oxford University . The talk was titled Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (and Gender)* *but were afraid to ask [sic] and discussed transgender rights activism and Joyce’s book Trans: When Ideology Makes Reality.
Before the talk, activists handed out leaflets containing Helen Joyce’s previous quotes and called each one false. Roughly five minutes into the talk, over ten transgender rights activists staged a walkout. One of the activists left a banner saying “‘sex-based concerns’ are the thin end of the fascist wedge”. Joyce called the protestors “kids” and said that “they are quite transphobic; they didn’t try hard enough [to disrupt the talk]”.
During the talk, Joyce elaborated on her views and referred to transgender activism as a “rights destroying belief” and trans activists as “rights destroying people”. She claimed that “transition is objectively bad”, as it allows “men” to intrude in women’s spaces and compete in women’s sports. Joyce voiced her concerns that early transitions encourage “children [to be] sterilised”.
When asked about cases of “happy transitions” of trans men she replied that for “girls living as men”, taking testosterone is damaging and there is no evidence that these people “would be happy butch lesbians” otherwise. In response to a question about strong arguments from trans rights activists, Joyce said that she couldn’t think of them, remarking, “they are so stupid”. Speaking about gay rights activism, Joyce suggested that the gay community ran out of legal issues, so it now pursues gender recognition. “Stonewall [human rights group] is about sterilising gay kids”, she said.
A trans man attempted to ask a question about the fact that trans men still get harassed as men, but Joyce and Maier dismissed the question. Maier tried to get another student to ask a question, but she insisted on waiting. Joyce addressed the student with the words “I know you haven’t taken testosterone”.
Balliol JCR President Callum Turnbull, on behalf of the JCR Committee, told Cherwell: “Balliol JCR Committee and the wider Balliol community respect and seek to uphold people’s right to free speech. Our job as a committee is to ensure the welfare of our members, so myself and the LGBTQ+ Officers will support any members who may have been affected by the recent talk by Helen Joyce. While this talk took place at Balliol, it in no way reflects the views of the JCR Committee, who believe that all members should be valued regardless of their gender identity.”
