Trans talk added to Oxford Literary Festival line-up after backlash over gender-critical speakers
The Oxford Literary Festival has announced a new event (Canva)
Oxford Literary Festival has added a talk by an author presenting a “defence of trans realities” following backlash over gender-critical speakers being included in the LGBTQ+ section of the event’s programme.
In recent weeks, the Oxford Literary Festival, which runs from 29 March to 6 April, has been under fire for including gender critical campaigners Helen Joyce and Julie Bindel as part of its LGBTQ+ line-up despite no trans speakers being scheduled to speak.
At the festival, Joyce, who is the author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality and a director at Sex Matters, will take part an hour-long event entitled Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women’s Rights’ in which she will discuss her book with Bindel, who is co-founder and co-director of The Lesbian Project.
Critics described the line-up as “undermining [the festival’s] commitment to inclusivity and equality” whilst others labelled the festival as a whole a “Mickey Mouse event”.
Amid the backlash, a new talk has been added to the schedule that will see philosopher Constantine Sandis discuss his book Real Gender: A Cis Defence of Trans Realities, co-authored with Danièle Moyal Sharrock, with to Dr Kate Kirkpatrick, fellow in philosophy at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.
The event’s description states Sandis will present “a defence of trans realities by exploring the factors that make the trans experience of gender as natural and unquestionable as that of non-trans people”.
I'm excited to be taking part in this year's Oxford Literary Festival, especially as I'll talking to Dr Kate Kirkpatrick (@philosofemme) about Real Gender, which I co-authored with @moyalsharrock for @politybooks.
— Constantine Sandis (@csandis) January 15, 2025
Tickets via linkhttps://t.co/5TsgcYNoO0
“[Sandis and Sharrock] recognise the undeniable social aspects of gender while also recognising that gender cannot be completely divorced from our biological underpinnings. They argue that gender self-identification does not require denial of biology or sex and that what is needed is a more liberal understanding of gender concepts. The book is grounded in trans theory and contains many trans voices,” it reads.
The event will be also be introduced by Professor Gary Francione and will include 30 minutes for questions and answers with Sandis.
Sharing a link to the event page on 15 January, Sandis said he was “excited” to be taking part in the festival.
In a comment provided to local title the Oxford Mail, a spokesperson for the festival said it was “always going to platform the other viewpoint” and still has a further 20 events to finalise.
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