Stickers saying “I Love JK Rowling” were not a “dog whistle” for transphobia, a university professor has told an employment tribunal. The Times has the story.
Two academics, Deirdre O’Neill and Michael Wayne, are suing the University and College Union (UCU) after its Edinburgh branch said their film Adult Human Female was an attack on transgender identity.
The film challenges trans rights claims and there were protests when they tried to show it at the University of Edinburgh, the tribunal heard.
The academics said this was unlawful discrimination by the UCU against their belief that there are only two sexes.
On Wednesday, the tribunal heard that the film screening took place amid online reports about the discovery of “transphobic” stickers on the campus, including some saying “I Love JK Rowling”.
Rowling, 59, who wrote the Harry Potter books in Edinburgh, has been a prominent voice in the gender debate and strongly opposed plans to introduce self-identification for people wanting to legally transition.
Although it was accepted that Wayne, a professor at Brunel University, may not have been aware of the stickers, he was asked if he believed they could be a “dog whistle”.
He replied: “So you’re saying that the author JK Rowling is what?”
Tom Brown, for the UCU, said: “Professor Wayne, are you saying that you don’t appreciate that JK Rowling is a very well-known proponent of gender-critical views?”
Wayne replied: “Yes, but she’s not a transphobe in my opinion, you used the word ‘dog whistle’, the word ‘dog whistle’ is a reference to coded messages underneath something that is apparently innocuous.
“So I can’t accept that this is a dog whistle because that would be implying that I believe JK Rowling is a transphobe.
“She’s gender critical, the two things are not the same and that is the nub of the disagreement between us.”
Wayne said the stickers were “clearly a statement”, but not transphobic.
In November 2022, O’Neill, a lecturer at Hertfordshire University, and Wayne, released Adult Human Female, which examines claims that “trans women are women and should be treated as women in all legal and social contexts”, the tribunal heard.
When UCU’s Edinburgh branch became aware of a planned screening in December 2022, it demanded the event be cancelled and called the film transphobic, the tribunal was told.
Protesters blocked the venue, preventing 100 to 150 attendees from watching the film, it was said.
The screening was rescheduled for April 2023 but was again blocked by protesters. It went ahead in November 2023 with extra security, the tribunal heard.
The UCU says its actions were in support of the rights of trans and non-binary people, and denies discriminating against or harassing O’Neill and Wayne, according to tribunal documents.
The tribunal, which is being held remotely, continues.
Worth reading in full.
