Trans is too serious an issue to leave to activists
Intimidation of academics stops universities from doing vital research into the rise of transgenderism
The most shocking thing about an Oxford professor of history being given security guards for fear of attack by students angry at her views on transgender issues is that it’s not really shocking. Anyone familiar with the way this issue has been handled in academia and elsewhere won’t really be surprised at the appalling situation Prof Selina Todd finds herself in today. It is sadly normal for women – and women really are treated differently here – who ask questions about transgenderism to face threats and abuse.
Such things naturally have a chilling effect, discouraging others from speaking. That includes MPS, many of whom stay quiet on an issue that they know is of public interest.
This is a grim state of affairs, but it’s particularly troubling when it comes to academia. It has become commonplace to suggest that free speech is under threat on campus, often because outside speakers have been “no-platformed” by student groups. I think that concern is a bit overdone – daft students have always been daft, after all. Instead, the real worry here is about academics and their research, the intellectual inquiry that is the purpose of a university.
Many people who have in recent years become aware of transgender issues will have questions. Why has “transgender” entered public conversation so quickly? How many people are trans? What does it really mean to be “born in the wrong body”? What about children? Are the growing numbers of young people being designated “trans” – and, in some cases, undergoing serious medical interventions – being well-treated? Is “gender dysphoria” a mental illness and, if not, why do NHS mental health services “treat” people with the condition? Are trans people at greater risk of self-harm than others?
There are many other questions I could set out here and few of them have answers, or at least good ones. In two years of researching and writing about this issue, I’ve been struck by how little credible empirical evidence exists. A lot of that is down to the lack of research by academics.
To give an example, it is common to hear campaign groups (and, sadly, some uncritical politicians) tossing around bleak-sounding figures about how many young trans people attempt suicide. These figures are used to demand more NHS support (a reasonable request) but also as a weapon against those who question trans orthodoxy. Those figures are not the result of rigorous study. They dominate public conversation despite being the work of campaign groups.
I’ve spoken to many academics and medics who worry about those statistics. Some fear that a narrative of self-harm might be self-perpetuating. Others note that trans teenagers often have “co-morbid” mental health problems and are probably no more likely to self-harm than others in the much larger population of troubled children. Given that decisions about policy may be made partly on the basis of those suicide figures, this area needs serious and rigorous research. But any academic entering this field must think very hard about the risks.
Many are mindful of James Caspian, a psychotherapist who wanted to do research at Bath Spa University into the experiences of people who changed gender and then changed back again. This is hugely important given the growing numbers of people seeking to change gender and the obvious question of whether they may one day regret it. Yet Caspian’s project was vetoed by the university. “Detransition”, as it is known, remains barely researched and so not understood. That’s bad for everyone, but especially trans people, who need policies based on facts, not lobbying.
Free speech on campus isn’t really about the minds of the young; the ability of university authorities to shape the attitudes of their students is generally overestimated. The real free speech issue is about intellectual inquiry, the freedom of academics to test ideas and assess evidence.
Prof Todd’s case is so troubling because the threats she faced weren’t a reaction to something she said on Twitter or at a public meeting. She needs bodyguards because trans activists don’t like her academic research. Prof Todd suggests that many women in history who are said to be “trans” by activists were in fact lesbians pretending to be men to avoid stigma. That’s a challenge to the narrative that trans people have been present in Western societies for centuries, a claim that campaigners use to rebut suggestions that the growing numbers of trans youngsters are driven by social media trends.
Work like Prof Todd’s isn’t abstract intellectual diversion. It is essential to understanding one of the biggest social questions of the day. Yet some people are threatening to harm her for it, and she is not alone in that.
The trans issue desperately needs better research and evidence, not least for the sake of trans people themselves. Yet a toxic combination of aggressive activism and political neglect has created a vacuum of evidence that risks being filled with propaganda. Free speech for Prof Todd and others like her is anything but academic. follow James Kirkup on Twitter @jameskirkup; read more at telegraph.co.uk/opinion