Kew Gardens denounce ‘hatred and intolerance’ amid backlash over pronoun signs

The owners of one of the largest botanical gardens in the world have hit back against a backlash and harassment over its staff’s decision to share their pronouns.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, in Kew, south west London, became the centre point of an anti-trans backlash after signs posted around the displays featured information about several members, including their pronouns.

So-called gender-critical users on social media began harassing members of the organisation, telling them that no one “gives a toss” about their gender identity.

Others demanded that Kew remove the signs, which include information on the queer symbolism of certain plants, claiming that they were “absurd” and “embarrassing.”

One person wrote: “I still remember my first visit to Kew when I was about 10. I was captivated. You ruin everything.”

The organisation was forced to share a statement following the backlash, writing in a post on X/Twitter that it was against bigotry and harassment in all its forms.

“We’re deeply disappointed to see some of our staff and students subjected to online harassment,” the post reads. “Hatred and intolerance have no place at Kew, and we’re more committed than ever to embracing diversity and creating an inclusive environment for all.”

It also reiterated a list of its priorities and core missions, which includes community access schemes, ensuring that everyone has access to its educational programmes, and inspiring the next generations of botanists.

Last year, as part of that mission, the botanical gardens hosted an event celebrating queer nature, including the diversity of plants and fungi.

The event aimed to show how the traditional and arguably outdated concepts of gender don’t extend to plants, and how stamens and stigma – commonly referred to as the “male” and “female” parts of a flower – can both develop on certain species.

“For plants and fungi, sex isn’t always static,” an introduction to the event read. “Ruizia mauritiana can change the type of flowers it produces depending on the temperature of the environment. In hot conditions it grows male flowers, while in cooler, it produces female ones.

“The more we discover, the more we learn that nature is wildly diverse in so many ways.”