General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Post removed [View all]LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)First off, let's remember that whether or not one has free speech and whether one's speech constitutes a good use of a limited budget for hiring guest speakers are two very different questions. Greer has free speech: her views are well known and widely published.
Second, let's be clear that the author of the quoted piece is herself a TERF and her agenda is clear in the piece. TERFs are engaged in some seriously fucked up behavior toward trans people, including organized campaigns of outing and workplace harassment. The author is very much an involved party and that should be known in discussing her piece.
Third, comparing canceling a speech to totalitarian thought control is insanity. There are plenty of other avenues for students at Cardiff to hear or read Greer. Her books are in the library and on Amazon, a search for her name on youtube brings up over six thousand videos, no doubt a combination of video of her appearances and of others discussing her views. We live in a society where trans people face horrific violence and discrimination, Greer's transphobia isn't excluded from the discussion, it's the background noise against which others try to raise their voices and be heard.
Fourth, and this is most important: Greer's views on gender are demonstrably wrong. We know that the sense of gender is innate both because trans and non-binary people tell us their experiences, but also because case studies like the John/Joan case tell us so. Her ideas are based on science about gender that is four decades out of date. Wasting students time with her bullshit views on gender makes as much sense as wasting it on Lysenkoism, except that it's actually worse because transphobia has real world consequences and a body count attached.