I’m just standing up for free speech says trans row mum
A RESEARCHER who lost her job after posting that people cannot change their biological sex said she feels a champion for free speech.
Maya Forstater, 47, did not have her contract renewed at the Center for Global Development (CGD) after posting tweets on gender recognition.
She lost her original case at a tribunal in 2019, but last week High Court judge Mr Justice Choudhury ruled her “gender-critical” beliefs fell under the Equalities Act.
Vindicated
Ms Forstater proved she was discriminated against because of her beliefs, which include “that sex is immutable and not to be conflated with gender identity”.
She said she was “delighted to have been vindicated” but CGD described it as a “step backwards for inclusivity and equality for all”.
Now the married mum of two, from St Albans, Herts, said the support of Harry Potter feminist author JK Rowling turned her into a cause celebre. She said: “I was the right person in the right place to take this to court because it takes a certain amount of resilience and bloody mindedness.
“I’ve gone from being a tired mum doing the weekly Tesco shopping to being the figurehead for a cause. It’s taking some getting used to.”
Her biggest support came in a 2019 tweet with the hashtag IStandWithMaya from Rowling, who has 14 million followers on Twitter.
This was the author’s first foray into the trans Twitter debate and further comments from Rowling left her “cancelled” on social media. Some of the stars of her Harry Potter films joined a chorus of disapproval after she responded to a headline on an online article discussing “people who menstruate”. Rowling wrote in a tweet: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Critics accused her of being transphobic, but the author said she stood by her comments, adding, it “isn’t hate to speak the truth”. Ms Forstater says: “I had no contact with JK Rowling. The tweet just came out of nowhere. It was amazing to get her support.” Last week, Rowling sent a private message of congratulations and retweeted Ms Forstater’s celebratory declaration of: “We won!”
Ms Forstater said she was sad that generally “workplaces are increasingly intolerant to differences in viewpoints”.
Heroine
She said: “I think this judgment is going to make organisations think again. It says people should be able to have a debate about contentious issues without taking offence.”
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan, who was banned from Twitter over remarks about the transgender lobby, described her as “the heroine we need right now”.
Reflecting on the case, Ms Forstater said: “I just wanted to contribute to a Government consultation on women’s rights [the Government had proposed – but later scrapped – a plan to let people declare their own gender].”