Connie Shaw, the 20 year-old Leeds University undergraduate suspended from hosting a student radio show after expressing gender-critical views has written for the Telegraph about why her treatment at the hands of peers who appear to equate any questioning of gender ideology with evidence of ‘transphobia’ has only strengthened her resolve to campaign for open debate on campus. Here’s an extract:
My suspension from the student radio station did not exactly come as a shock. Someone had made a complaint about my “conduct”, I was told. An investigation had been launched. Why? Because outside of my work on the station, I had expressed gender critical beliefs. My conduct online had apparently brought Leeds Student Radio (LSR) into disrepute.
I am a feminist, I believe in gay rights and I am not transphobic (though the word has become so broad and ill-defined, it is now applied to anyone who deviates from an agreed viewpoint, or even dares to raise questions or concerns). I believe in free speech and open debate – the sort one would hope to find at a university. My experience in recent weeks has proven how sorely this is lacking.
In my teens, I had no doubts about gender issues. I thought it was inarguably transphobic to question the idea that a person was the gender they said they were.
But over time, my opinions shifted. At the end of Year 13, I interviewed a trans student for a podcast we produced at school. Our chat was emotional and upsetting: she said her life expectancy was 30 because she was trans, and talked about the likelihood of suicide. I felt extremely sympathetic and was moved by her distress. I also felt confused.
“It’s strange,” I told a friend. “As feminists, we’re trying to move away from gender stereotypes. So why are we now reaffirming them, rather than teaching children that whatever body they have, they can do what they want?”
It occurred to me then that the concept of switching genders relied on the reinforcement of gender stereotypes. It was this that planted a seed of doubt in my mind.
When I started my degree at the University of Leeds, I found myself surrounded by pronouns and Progress Pride flags (a redesign of the original rainbow flag to represent the trans community). It was hard to avoid, and made me think more and more about it all.
It was a legal decision on the other side of the world that galvanised me to speak up. In August this year, a transgender woman from Australia won a discrimination case against a women-only social media app called Giggle for Girls, which was meant to be a safe space for women. In a landmark ruling by the country’s Federal Court, Roxanne Tickle, who identifies as a woman, was found to be a victim of unlawful discrimination after having her membership revoked. The app was ordered to pay her A$10,000 (£5,100) plus costs.
I had never felt so angry about something happening so far away, and decided I could not stay quiet any more. So I started posting on X (formerly Twitter) in support of Giggle’s founder Sall Grover.
In September I launched my own podcast, but decided to keep it separate from LSR, where I was head of daytime radio, as I knew it would not go down well there.
For my podcast, a personal side-project, I interviewed a prominent “detransitioner” called Charlie Bentley-Astor. I also interviewed Graham Linehan, the Irish comedy writer who has been widely criticised for his gender-critical beliefs. A post I wrote about my own gender-critical views was published on Linehan’s Substack on October 29.
The storm broke the following day when I was informed by Leeds University Union (LUU) I had been suspended from LSR. A complaint had been made about my conduct and was being investigated. I wasn’t given much detail at that stage, only that the complaint related to my social media, Substack and media productions.
I was actually surprised it hadn’t come sooner, given the backlash already experienced by a friend who had helped me edit the podcast interview with Bentley-Astor. After this, I was braced for something similar.
As part of the investigation I was invited to attend an interview. Here I was told the inquiry did not concern my right to hold gender-critical views, but I was asked how I maintained an inclusive environment within LSR given that my media “might make some feel excluded”.
I explained that I had deliberately appointed pro-trans rights presenters, as I believed a student radio station should reflect what students think.
I was asked how I effectively supported trans people and their allies. I explained that I support everyone, regardless of their views or of who, or what, they are.
My picture on the display board at LSR was taken down when I was suspended, as if I had already been found guilty. Then, on November 29, I was told the outcome of the investigation: it was found that my conduct online had brought LSR into disrepute. It was recommended that I be permanently removed from my position for the rest of the academic year, my final year at Leeds. I would be eligible to run again next year, if I produced a written apology and attended an e-learning course on online conduct.
There aren’t many other 20-year-old women saying what I am saying: that people can identify as whatever they like, but that policy should be on the basis of sex rather than gender; that men shouldn’t be able to enter female-only spaces just by saying they identify as female; that children who are most likely gay should not be encouraged to believe they have instead been born into the wrong body, and given puberty blockers.
I don’t have an issue with trans people and am all in favour of third spaces for men who don’t feel comfortable using men’s toilets. I just don’t think female toilets should be co-opted for this purpose.
An LUU spokesman has said that “inclusivity is one of our core values, helping to ensure that everyone can enjoy their university experience, free from discrimination”. They say they can’t comment further, due to the ongoing appeal.
In the meantime, I want to use what’s happened to me to highlight the lack of freedom of speech at universities. I hope to encourage students to have more open discussions and not to react with disgust at the idea someone might disagree with you.
I want to break down the echo chambers I was once trapped in myself. In the future, I hope that when student bodies say they believe in free speech they really mean it.
Worth reading in full.
Ms Shaw is a member of the FSU, and we are appealing the suspension on her behalf.
We have also warned the University of Leeds of potential legal action – in a letter to administrators, we’ve pointed out that the institution’s treatment of our member amounts to direct discrimination contrary to the Equality Act 2010, which counts gender critical beliefs as protected beliefs.
With campus cancel culture on the rise across the UK, growing numbers of students are joining the FSU — you can find out more about our special discretionary rate membership here.
The FSU has provided support to 4,500 people since formation in 2020 – and when we see a case through from beginning to end, our members achieve a favourable outcome 77 per cent of the time.
In an era when speaking your mind can have unforeseen, sometimes dreadful consequences, it’s reassuring to know that with the FSU and it’s 23,000+ members behind you, you won’t have to navigate the challenges alone.
