In a hotly contested event in the city of Oxford, philosopher Kathleen Stock, one of the most prominent critics of transgender ideology, emerged victorious despite opposition from the LGBT lobby. Calls were made to cancel Stock’s speech, but even the prime minister intervened, urging the Oxford Union debating society not to give in to the pressure. “A free society requires free debate,” Rishi Sunak told the Daily Telegraph, “We must not allow a small but vocal few to shut down discussion.”
Stock’s appearance was the talk of the media for days, and the failed attempts to prevent her from speaking may mark a turning point in the “gender wars,” as a widely watched television documentary was headlined.
The defeat of the left’s cancel culture, which aims to silence undesirable speakers, represents a significant setback for its agenda. For Stock, however, her appearance at the Oxford Union was like running the gauntlet. Protected by bodyguards, she was discreetly let in through a back entrance and at one point had to hide in a storage room, a Times correspondent reported.
Why all the fuss? Stock has become a symbol of the expression of viewpoints on transgender ideology that are increasingly suppressed in the United Kingdom. Two years ago, the professor resigned from her post at the University of Sussex after an aggressive campaign by trans activists. The 51-year-old mother of two teenagers, now in a lesbian relationship, speaks calmly, kindly and thoughtfully. Her views coincide with the opinion of the majority of the population. Stock emphasizes that biological sex is a factual, binary (either male or female), and unchangeable reality.
The majority of Britons are now disgusted by the transgender theater. In the 2021 Census, only 0.1% of the population described themselves as “transwomen.” Nevertheless, this tiny minority is very present in the debates.