“I don’t believe in transphobia” — Germaine Greer
Image: Germaine Greer
FEMINIST writer and academic Germaine Greer’s appearance at a Cambridge University Student’s Union (CUSU) event sparked protests from CUSU’s LGBT+ society this week when she was accused, then denied the existence of transphobia.
“I don’t believe in transphobia”, the bestselling author of The Female Eunuch said, according to the Cambridge Student.
“I didn’t know there was such thing [as transphobia]. Arachnophobia, yes. Transphobia, no.”
Greer’s history against trans* women prompted CUSU LGBT+ to boycott CUSU’s weekly Monday drinks and speaker event.
In 1996, she opposed the Newnham College fellowship of trans* colleague Rachael Padman.
She described trans* women in her 1999 book The Whole Woman as “Pantomime Danes” and “men who believe that they are women and have had themselves castrated”.
In 2009, Greer called trans* women “ghastly parodies” of “real” women.
Her controversial opinion attracted the attention of the Queer Avengers, who glitterbombed her at a book signing in 2012.
CUSU LGBT+ with CUSU Women’s Campaign hosted an alternative event that was inclusive of “trans* positive feminism” where trans* feminist activist Roz Kaveny spoke.
CUSU LGBT+ told The Huffington Post UK: “We felt that to invite Germaine Greer back to speak in Cambridge after her actions against Rachael Padman and given her wider transmisogynistic stance was to sweep these things under the carpet and, as such, implicitly condone them by failing to take a stand against them.”
CUSU told Varsity: “The Union maintains its commitment to free speech and, as ever, rejects no platform policies. We neither condemn nor condone the viewpoints of any of our speakers, but provide a neutral forum where they may be questioned and challenged by our members.”
We don’t need PC rubbish in here or censorship. People should be free to express their views whether you like it or not. We are adult enough to be able to decide for ourselves about the comments made and their value.
I don’t believe in her capacity to grasp the world and society we currently live in from her place of privilege and tiresome unwarranted adoration has made her a vacuous creature.
Dysphoria manifests in several ways, not just gender (which once was just a grammatical term). There’s species dysphoria where the individual believes they are another sort of animal. And racial dysphoria (look it up) who are mostly Caucasians that darken their skin colour and get afro hairstyles because they really feel they belong amongst “da homeboys”.
Surely a lot of black people will take exception to the latter. Just as some women baulk at men going to extraordinary lengths to present themselves as women. Germain Greer is one of the few prepared to speak up.
Politically correct fascism has brought us to the point where psychological disorders are being accepted as natural, normal or even desirable. No. A line has to be drawn.
Would you tell a schizophrenic that you can hear the voices in their head?
Well I will say something in Germaine’s defense. She taught me for two years in high school. Her presence was daunting but she was brilliant! She refused to have anyone fail an exam staying back after school to make sure that everyone passed the tests. She often taught us things that were not even on the curriculum. Whilst we didn’t always agree with her at least she had an opinion and wasn’t afraid to air it!! She has always been an inspiration to me!! There is a high school reunion on 14th February 2015 at Marrickville Girls High School. Would be great is she could be there!!
The proof is actually that gender is culturally constructed, and that is the very reason why people should be able to choose how they identify. Gender-queer, bi-gender, male, female: it is all an arbitrary social construct. So why then say that someone cannot choose how they identify just because of xy or xy chromosomes. Why say that they are a ghastly parody of a woman if gender is a construct? That’s arbitrary oppression in the same way that giving women less pay because they have xx chromosomes is.
please post proof of this overwhelming evidence that women is in internal state of a human, not a culturally constructed tool of oppression.
Used to admire her, no longer! Same as those African Americans who deny people marriage equality. Rights for some and not for others! Dare I say it, Germaine and her buddies have created instead the ‘old girl’s club’, ,just as they railed against ‘the old boy’s club’
No Germaine NO, not you