Gender Critical Feminism

Which philosophers on our syllabus: Holly Lawford-Smith, Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, Kathleen Stock

The larger GCF movement: people from all walks of life; mostly women, often lesbians; mostly in the UK and Australia

Label: they call themselves "gender critical feminists"; their critics call them "trans exclusionary radical feminists" (TERFS), which GCFs regard as derogatory

Why all the controversy?

1. Holly Lawford-Smith's views fairly typical 
2. Views often expressed much less respectfully than she expresses them

Activism vs. philosophy:

1. GCFs are working against the liberal reform of the Gender Recognition Act in the UK (we will discuss later)
2. GCFs are against the way sport governing bodies are increasingly permitting trans women to compete in women's sports

Some reactions to these philosophers in the philosophical community in the last year:

1.  Calls for exclusion of GCFs from campuses, publications, conferences, etc.
2. 12 philosophers challenge exclusion of GCFs
3. 33 philosophers defend exclusion of GCFs 
4. GCFs protest their exclusion

Why are we reading GCFs in this class?

1. They are politically influential, at least in the UK
2. Some of their views are aligned with conservative views in the US, and the conservative views are influential here
3. So that you have an accurate picture of debates in the philosophy of gender
4. Because "philosophy needs friction" (but let's keep it polite and respectful)

Question: Why do you think Sophie-Grace Chappell was willing to talk to Holly Lawford-Smith?