Protesting Against Holly Lawford-Smith Advocating For The Torture Of Trans People At The University Of Reading
Notable Persons
Holly Lawford-Smith is a well-known trans genocide advocate. She operates the website "No Conflict, They Said", which attempts to denigrate trans people by presenting unverified stories about their alleged actions. These stories are typically presented without context or proof and are filled with hateful rhetoric. This website was denounced by a large number of academics at her institution at the time in an open letter.
Rosa Freedman is a less well-known trans genocide advocate. When a student criticized her for promoting anti-transgender views in her lectures, she leaked the student's identity and contact information to the Daily Mail. This was an attempt to propagate hate towards the student and reinforce the popular rhetoric of "academics being suppressed by the woke mob."
"Who Put The 'GI' in SOGI"
Holly Lawford-Smith was invited by Rosa Freedman to give a talk entitled "Who Put The 'GI' in SOGI" at the University of Reading. Although the title of the talk appeared harmless, its content was an evaluation of the merging of gender identity (GI) and sexual orientation (SO) regarding the prohibition of conversion therapy.
During the talk, it was argued that the two should be treated separately and that bans on conversion therapy should only pertain to sexual orientation. By advocating for this viewpoint, Holly Lawford-Smith was endorsing the torture of trans people.
Five of Holly Lawford-Smith and Rosa Freedman's acquaintances, who were not students, attended the talk. Although four students were present in the room, two of them were sent on behalf of the Reading Trans Movement to monitor the discussion. The other two students reached out to us after the lecture to verify that they only attended to gain a better understanding of what to include in their complaints to the university about the talk.
In addition to promoting torture, Holly Lawford-Smith consistently misgendered trans people throughout the talk. Furthermore, she referred to cisgender self-identified lesbians in relationships with trans women as "heterosexual."
Attendance at the talk also necessitated that students email Rosa Freedman in advance, which many found uncomfortable due to her previous behavior of disclosing student contact information in the Daily Mail. Additionally, students were required to present identification at the door to gain entry. This made the talk significantly more exclusive and private than is typical at the university.
Protest
In response to the talk, the Reading Trans Movement was formed over the course of two days and organized a demonstration outside the building where the talk was taking place. The protest was highly successful, with over 100 attendees throughout the day.
The protest was peaceful and laid-back in nature. University students, alumni, and community members who were not affiliated with the university gathered to hold signs and have a large picnic while advocating against the torture of trans people.
Open Letter
After hearing from students in attendance what was said, an open letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading was written, which can be found here.
The letter outlines the numerous shortcomings of the University in its handling of the event and demands that the university take various measures to address these shortcomings.
The Vice-Chancellor responded by failing to address any of the criticisms raised in the letter. Additionally, the Vice-Chancellor misrepresented a gathering of seven trans genocide advocates who were discussing the torture of trans people as a place where honest discussion and debate occurred.
You can find the Vice-Chancellor's response here.
Response From Media And Others.
Reading Pride released a statement on twitter.
The talk and protest were covered in pink news.
The talk was covered in reading chronicle.
The talk and protest were covered in reading today.