Trans row professor ‘trashed by colleagues’

Kathleen Stock tells BBC ‘Woman’s Hour’ how her fellow academics ‘radically misrepresented’ her views

THE Sussex University professor at the centre of a transgender row has claimed that her pro-trans colleagues turned students against her during lectures.

In her first interview since resigning last week, Prof Kathleen Stock disclosed that the student backlash against her was really “the end point in three and a half years of low-level bullying, harassment and reputation trashing from colleagues”.

The expert in analytic philosophy told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour that her views about gender identity policies became “radically misrepresented” by fellow academics.

“They tell their students in lectures that I pose a harm to trans students or they go on Twitter and they say that I’m a bigot,” she said. “So it just creates an atmosphere in which the students then become much more extreme and much more empowered to do what they did.”

Prof Stock recently published a book questioning the idea that gender identity is more “socially significant” than biological sex and has argued that it should not become easier for trans people to change gender. Amid accusations of “transphobia”, she became the subject of “intense” protests, received death threats and had posters of her put up around the university in which students called for her to be fired.

Prof Stock has previously said: “Any trans women are still males with male genitalia, many are sexually attracted to females, and they should not be in places where females undress or sleep in a completely unrestricted way.”

She told Woman’s Hour that most of the students who protested against her “haven’t got a clue” about what her real views on gender identity policies are.

She said academics would misrepresent her views in departmental meetings by claiming she thinks all trans women are rapists and that she was harmful and did not like trans people.

The accusations of transphobia are “totally false”, she insisted, but added that she is “powerless” to change the narrative herself.

Prof Stock also said the university “didn’t particularly go out of its way” to support her when she expressed concern that colleagues damaging her reputation would lead to her students believing she was a threat to them.

“In some universities they at least have networks of academics that will stand together – and I’ve never had that in Sussex,” she said.

Although people reached out to her by email to express their solidarity and support, she said that none of them could stand with her for fear of losing their job or promotion.

After being a professor at Sussex University for 18 years, Prof Stock said it had felt like home and that she would “really miss” teaching there.

She said that on Tuesday a former student, who is a trans man, had emailed thanking her for all the support she gave him while he studied at Sussex University.

Prof Stock said that she had no regrets dipping into the trans debate and described it as the “defining moment” in her life so far.