Edinburgh University has seen 2 attempts by gender critical activists to screen the film ‘Adult Human Female’ cancelled following staff and students protests. A third attempt is on the cards.
‘Saying trans people don’t or shouldn’t exist is not a ‘personal opinion’ that we can ‘debate’.’ Ruth Elliott on the protest against the screening of Adult Human Female at Edinburgh University.
In November 2023 it became known that the UK Government was considering a revised definition of ‘extremism’, which could water down the current commitment that ‘British values’ to be protected include ‘democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs’. This change is widely seen as a move to block protests against Government policies.
Also in November 2023, the Scottish Government is releasing a paper on immigration in an independent Scotland, emphasising the value of diversity, and the contribution that can be made to society by those with differing views and experience from the norm. This aligns with the current UK values of tolerance and acceptance of minorities.
Yet, also in November 2023, the Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom, at Edinburgh University, still proposes to screen the film ‘Adult Human Female’, which many consider extremist since it is skilfully constructed to argue against tolerance and acceptance of transgender people. This film has been protested against by many, including staff and students at Edinburgh University, on the grounds that it is extremist and biassed, and draws generalised conclusions from scant evidence.
The Trans Liberation movement has much in common with other liberation movements, e.g. Black Liberation and Female Liberation, in trying to overcome the straitjacket of our patriarchal society. Currently, full legal recognition for trans people can only come after a process involving a medical model which the World Health Organisation classed as obsolete several years ago, and a legally-set minimum period of two years. However, due to under-resourcing of gender services and current application levels, there are examples where the time to see a clinician could be decades. There is no other branch of medicine in which a wait of decades for a first appointment would be considered, let alone accepted.
Protesting against this can only be seen as reasonable, not extremist.
In the same way, transgender people and their allies must protest against the screening of a film that opposes their very existence. This protest is in the cause of tolerance and acceptance of minorities, not extremism.
References
https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-migration-scotland-independence/
https://genderkit.org.uk/resources/wait-times/
https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/09/30/trans-healthcare-good-law-project/
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23496221.adult-human-female-screening-not-followed-debate/
Resisting Transphobia in Edinburgh 