Oxford split over Kathleen Stock's invite to Union debate
- Published
Prof Kathleen Stock is due to speak at the Oxford Union on Tuesday
A group of Oxford University academics and staff have signed a letter supporting the right of transgender students to speak out against Kathleen Stock, a key gender-critical figure.
Prof Stock is due to address an Oxford Union event on Tuesday.
Another group of Oxford academics have already said objections to her invite go against free speech.
But the new letter said it was not a free-speech issue as revoking an invite "is not preventing them from speaking".
Oxford academics first wrote to the Daily Telegraph, condemning the approach of those who opposed Prof Stock's views.
The open letter shared on Saturday by the university's LGBTQI+ society, signed by 100 academics and staff and seen by the BBC, said: "We believe that trans students should not be made to debate their existence.
"We also refute that this is a free speech issue - disinviting someone is not preventing them from speaking.
"Freedom of speech matters, but we shouldn't forget the right to protest… debate is essential for a vibrant democracy and we champion it."
Prof Stock left her job with the University of Sussex in 2021 after protests against her from students following the publication of a book where she questioned the idea that gender identity is more socially significant than biological sex.
In response to the letter, Prof Stock said nobody was debating the existence of trans students.
"We are discussing how the demands of a radical group of trans activists - many of whom are not trans - affect other people. That is not the same thing. I am very clear that trans people deserve full protection under the law," she said.
The Oxford Union has said attendees will have an "opportunity to respectfully engage and challenge" Prof Stock's views at the event on 30 May, as well as being able to ask questions anonymously.
The Union is a private members' club that University of Oxford students and others pay to join. It is independent of the university and the student union.
There had been speculation that a recent decision by the student union to split with the Oxford Union debating society was due to the invitation.
But the Oxford University Student Union said the decision was unrelated.
The Oxford Union is celebrating its bicentennial year in 2023, and has a history of welcoming some of the world's most high-profile figures.
Its debating chamber has previously heard from a host of American presidents, and figures like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
It has also drawn controversy, having extended invites to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness and French far-right former politician Marion Marechal-LePen.
Correction 27 May: An earlier version of this article wrongly stated that 100 academics signed an open letter when it was actually signed by academics and staff. We also amended a second reference to an earlier letter, to explain that it was signed by 44 academics and staff rather than academics. On review, our original wording was correct and on 5 June we reverted back to this wording to make clear that all of the signatories of the earlier letter were in fact academics.
- Published27 May 2023
