Kathleen Stock

Philosopher

A feminist philosophy professor at the University of Sussex might seem an unlikely target for student protests. But such is the heat around the trans debate that the author of Material Girls, who believes in the importance of biological sex distinctions between men and women, felt forced to resign from her position. Stock is now at the vanguard of a movement supported by JK Rowling and others. Often accused of bigotry, Stock stresses her target is not trans people but a strain of trans ideology. Whether she will be proved right or not is an open question. More certain is that her case has become a test of institutions’ willingness to defend free speech.