116-664: Maya Forstater (born 3 July 1973) is a British gender-critical activist who was the claimant in Forstater v Centre for Global Development Europe . The case established that gender critical views are protected as a belief under the Equality Act 2010 , while stating that the judgment does not permit misgendering transgender people with impunity. At a subsequent full merits hearing, the Employment Tribunal upheld Forstater's case, concluding that she had suffered direct discrimination on
232-425: A slogan in gender-critical politics, and has been described as transphobic. Gender critical feminists advocate what they call "sex-based rights", arguing that "women's human rights are based upon sex" and that "these rights are being eroded by the promotion of 'gender identity'". Human rights scholar Sandra Duffy described the concept of "sex-based rights" as "a fiction with the pretense of legality", noting that
348-463: A "proudly liberal newspaper". The paper has highlighted what it refers to as war crimes being committed by pro-government forces in the Darfur region of Sudan. The paper has been a strong supporter of electoral reform . In 1997, The Independent on Sunday launched a campaign for the decriminalisation of cannabis. Ten years later, it reversed itself, arguing that skunk, the cannabis strain "smoked by
464-425: A "self-definition by some individuals and groups labelled TERFs" and argue that the term is problematic because it serves to rebrand anti-trans activism. Gender-critical feminists equate "women" with what they consider to be a "female sex class", and view historical and contemporary oppression of women as being rooted in their being female, while "gender" is a system of social norms which functions to oppress women on
580-508: A "viewspaper", saying it "was started as an antidote to the idea of journalism as views not news. That was why it was called the Independent. Today it is avowedly a viewspaper not merely a newspaper". The Independent criticised Blair's comments the following day; it later changed format to include a "Viewspaper" insert in the centre of the regular newspaper, designed to feature most of the opinion columns and arts reviews. A leader published on
696-528: A barrister's chambers , Arts Council England , Westminster Council and Social Work England. Claims against Girlguiding UK and United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy ended in settlements, while a claim against the Department for Work and Pensions failed after the claimant was deemed to have gone too far by misgendering service users. The barrister Georgiana Calvert-Lee commented to the Guardian : "Above all, in
812-711: A blog post she wrote reacting to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival 's policy of denying admittance to trans women. Though it was created as a deliberately neutral descriptor, "TERF" is now typically considered derogatory . Claire Thurlow said that since the 2010s, there has been a shift in language from "TERF" to "gender critical feminism", which she described as a dog whistle for anti-trans politics. Researcher Aleardo Zanghellini argues that "gender-critical feminism advocates reserving women's spaces for cis women". Mauro Cabral Grinspan , Ilana Eloit, David Paternotte and Mieke Verloo describe "gender-critical feminism" as
928-416: A bloodless, value-free news-sheet. We have always been committed to social justice", but the paper recognised that it was up the readers to "make up [their] own mind about whether you agree with us or not". Rather than support a particular party, the paper urged all its reader to vote as "a responsibility of common citizenship". On 4 May 2015, the weekday version of The Independent said that a continuation of
1044-752: A destroyer – with the mentality of a rapist". An impromptu vote was held with the majority supporting her inclusion in the conference; when Elliott subsequently entered the stage to perform the Gutter Dykes rushed to the stage to attack her and attacked performers Robin Tyler and Patty Harrison who had stepped in to defend her. At the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day rally, trans-exclusionary radical feminists tried to stop Sylvia Rivera from speaking. Jean O'Leary publicly denounced Sylvia Rivera as "parodying womanhood" and Lesbian Feminist Liberation distributed flyers seeking to keep "female impersonators" off
1160-432: A different sex are not the different sex that they self identify." Forstater was an invited speaker to a University of Cambridge student event on the topic of freedom of speech and belief. In December 2021, Forstater received an apology from The Scout Association after a complaint was made against her, and published the text of the apology on her website. Forstater had described the complaint as " vexatious ". Forstater
1276-550: A long-term partnership with the Saudi Research & Media Group, who operate under license the Independent Arabia, Independent Turkish, Independent Persian and Independent Urdu language editions. In September 2020, The Independent launched Independent en Espanol, a wholly owned and operated Spanish language edition. The Independent began publishing as a broadsheet, in a series of celebrated designs. The final version
SECTION 10
#17328762750991392-456: A man and had children with a woman and enjoyed the services—the unpaid services of a wife, which most women will never know…then decides that the whole time he's been a woman". These ideas have been met with criticism from believers in other branches of feminism. Sociologist Patricia Elliot argues that the view that one's socialization as a girl or woman defines "women's experience" assumes that cis women's experiences are homogeneous and discounts
1508-569: A manifesto titled the Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights , which argued that recognising trans women as women "constitutes discrimination against women" and called for the "elimination of that act". A 2020 paper in SAGE Open said that "the case against trans inclusion in the United Kingdom has been presented primarily through social media and blog-type or journalistic online platforms lacking
1624-616: A men's sexual rights movement, designed to pressure lesbians into having sex with trans women. Ray Blanchard's theory of autogynephilia is a recurrent talking point in TERF discourse, where it is usually presented as established science. It characterises trans women's gender identities as caused by sexual orientation or sexual deviance . The theory has never received wide acceptance in sexology or psychology. Kathleen Stock has argued that definitions of conversion therapy and bans against it should not include gender identity conversion therapy on
1740-503: A minority in the UK: polls show that cisgender lesbians and bisexual women are among the most trans-inclusive groups in Britain. Kathleen Stock , for instance, has said that allowing trans women to call themselves women "threatens a secure understanding of the concept 'lesbian ' ". Magdalen Berns , co-founder of the group For Women Scotland , has said that "there is no such thing as a lesbian with
1856-441: A mixed sociological perspective of sex and gender , and as trans legislation and subjects overlaps heavily with intersex legislation, intersex people are often involved in trans activism . Intersex women who display a mixed sexual phenotype often face attacks similar to trans people . Gender critical feminists believe that transgender rights are a threat to the rights of gay people. Gender critical lesbians and feminists are
1972-588: A more European feel, similar to France's Libération . The redesign was carried out by a Barcelona-based design studio. The weekday second section was subsumed within the main paper, double-page feature articles became common in the main news sections, and there were revisions to the front and back covers. A new second section, "Extra", was introduced on 25 April 2006. It is similar to The Guardian ' s "G2" and The Times ' s "Times2", containing features, reportage and games, including sudoku . In June 2007, The Independent on Sunday consolidated its content into
2088-448: A new look, better access to the blog service, priority on image and video content, and additional areas of the site including art, architecture, fashion, gadgets and health. The paper launched podcast programmes such as "The Independent Music Radio Show", "The Independent Travel Guides", "The Independent Sailing Podcasts", and "The Independent Video Travel Guides". Since 2009, the website has carried short video news bulletins provided by
2204-517: A new pullout "Viewspaper" section, which contained the paper's comment and feature articles. Following the 2003 switch in format, The Independent became known for its unorthodox and campaigning front pages, which frequently relied on images, graphics or lists rather than traditional headlines and written news content. For example, following the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, it used its front page to urge its readers to donate to its appeal fund, and following
2320-466: A news section which included sports and business, and a magazine focusing on life and culture. On 23 September 2008, the main newspaper became full-colour, and "Extra" was replaced by an "Independent Life Supplement" focusing on different themes each day. Three weeks after the acquisition of the paper by Alexander Lebedev and Evgeny Lebedev in 2010, the paper was relaunched with another redesign on 20 April. The new format featured smaller headlines and
2436-413: A penis" in regards to the idea of some trans women being lesbians. Julie Bindel has said that transgender women cannot be lesbians, instead qualifying them as straight men trying to "join the club", and has compared transgender activism to men sexually assaulting lesbian women for rejecting their advances. Many other gender critical groups and pundits have spoken of the transgender rights movement as
SECTION 20
#17328762750992552-618: A pluralistic society, which is what we want, you have to accept that people are going to have different views." In January 2024, Jo Phoenix was successful in a claim against the Open University for discrimination on the grounds of gender-critical beliefs. The tribunal ruled that she had been constructively unfairly dismissed, and that she had suffered victimisation and harassment in the form of an open letter from 386 of her colleagues, as well as individual disparagement for her views, including one professor comparing her to "the racist uncle at
2668-525: A protected belief under the Equality Act 2010 . Judge Tayler ruled that they did not, stating that her gender critical views were "incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others". Forstater appealed against the judgment, and this was heard by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in April 2021. Judgment was reserved , and the decision in her favour was published on 10 June 2021. As with
2784-510: A public consultation opening in 2018. This proposed reform became a key locus of conflict for the emerging gender-critical movement, seeking to block reform of the Act, with a number of groups such as Fair Play For Women , For Women Scotland , and Woman's Place UK being formed. 2018 found a significant majority of respondents in favour of the GRA reforms, however, in 2020, Boris Johnson's government dropped
2900-450: A quarter of a million. On 14 May 2004, The Independent produced its last weekday broadsheet, having stopped producing a Saturday broadsheet edition in January. The Independent on Sunday published its last simultaneous broadsheet on 9 October 2005, and thereafter followed a compact design until the print edition was discontinued. On 12 April 2005, The Independent redesigned its layout to
3016-549: A result of a limited promotional budget. Marr admitted his changes had been a mistake in his book, My Trade . The newspaper was owned by Tony O'Reilly 's Irish Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to Alexander Lebedev in 2010. Boycott left in April 1998 to join the Daily Express , and Marr left in May 1998, later becoming the BBC 's political editor. Simon Kelner
3132-439: A result of controversy around Murdoch's move to Wapping, the plant was effectively having to function under siege from sacked print workers picketing outside. The Independent attracted some of the staff from the two Murdoch broadsheets who had chosen not to move to his company's new headquarters. Launched with the advertising slogan "It is. Are you?", and challenging both The Guardian for centre-left readers and The Times as
3248-481: A tendency to emphasize the identity of the 'female body' as based on the category of the 'biological woman,' taking an attitude of excluding 'biological' men refugees, and transgender people". Jinsook Kim has noted that "in Korean contexts, there have been increasing concerns over popular forms of feminism based on a strong female identity rooted in notions of biological sex, the pursuit of female-only and -first politics, and
3364-468: A trans woman, was ejected from the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (MWMF), after refusing to answer when another woman asked her whether or not she was transgender. This removal was justified by the retroactive instatement of a womyn-born womyn policy by the MWMF organisers. For both the 1992 and 1993 MWMF events, Janis Walworth , a cisgender lesbian feminist, organised an educational and outreach program at
3480-572: A way that males can be, 'masculine' will be a way that women can be, and 'androgynous' will be a way that anyone can be." In gender-critical discourse, the terms man and woman are used as sex-terms, assigned no more meaning than adult human male and adult human female respectively, in contrast to feminist theorists who argue these terms embody a social category distinct from matters of biology (usually referred to as gender ), with masculinity and femininity representing normative characteristics thereof. The phrase adult human female has become
3596-443: Is about sex." Lawford-Smith said of gender-critical feminism: "It is about being critical of gender, and this has implications for a wide range of feminist issues, not just gender identity." Writing of her view of a "gender-critical feminist utopia", she said: "While there will still be the same people who think of themselves as 'transmen', 'transwomen' or 'non-binary' today, they will not use those labels, because 'feminine' will be
Maya Forstater - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-499: Is a British online newspaper . It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the Indy , it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards . The Independent won
3828-455: Is a daughter of film producer Mark Forstater . The legal case Forstater v Centre for Global Development Europe is the inspiration for the satirical novel In the Beginning by Simon Edge . Gender-critical Gender-critical feminism , also known as trans-exclusionary radical feminism or TERFism , is an ideology or movement that opposes what it refers to as " gender ideology ",
3944-467: Is also considered to be a form of conversion therapy . They argue that transgender identities stem from unprocessed trauma, childhood abuse, internalized homophobia or misogyny, sexual fetishism, and autism. Although trans people were active in feminist movements in the 1960s and earlier, the 1970s saw conflict among some early radical feminists over the inclusion of trans women in feminism. In 1973, trans-exclusionary radical feminist activists from
4060-631: Is published under license, and owned and managed by Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), a major publishing organization with close ties to the Saudi royal family. In the 2024 United Kingdom general election , The Independent endorsed the Labour Party , although added what it termed as a warning that: “Labour must turn its promises into policies that benefit the hardworking and hopeful people of this country”. The Independent : The Independent on Sunday : There have also been various guest editors over
4176-579: The Maya Forstater v Centre for Global Development tribunal case was launched by Maya Forstater , crowdfunding over £120,000. Earlier that year, Forstater's consulting contract for the Centre for Global Development was not renewed after she made a number of social media posts saying that men cannot change into women. Forstater subsequently sued the centre, alleging that she had been discriminated against because of her views. Forstater lost her initial case, with
4292-551: The Al Jazeera English news channel. From 2009, the website started carrying short video news bulletins provided by the al Jazeera English news channel. Over the years this developed to the point that the website regularly featured video content in its news reports. Some of this was syndicated and sourced from other news channels and providers, but The Independent gradually increased numbers in its own video team. In addition to putting together short-form video news reports,
4408-508: The Brexit referendum . In March 2016, The Independent decided to close its print edition and become an online newspaper ; the last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016. The Independent on Sunday published its last print edition on 20 March 2016 and was closed following that. In 2017, Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in The Independent . Geordie Greig
4524-648: The Daughters of Bilitis voted to expel Beth Elliott , an out trans woman, from the organization. The same year, Elliott was scheduled to perform at the West Coast Lesbian Conference, which she had helped organize; a group of trans-exclusionary radical feminist activists calling themselves the Gutter Dykes leafletted the conference protesting her inclusion and keynote speaker Robin Morgan updated her speech to describe Elliott as "an opportunist, an infiltrator, and
4640-586: The Human Resources policies of public institutions. Later that month, the EHRC withdrew its membership of the Stonewall scheme. In 2021, Baroness Falkner of Margravine , the new EHRC chair, mentioned Forstater in her first interview after taking office, citing her as someone who had faced abuse for her views and stating that "a lot of people would find [it] an entirely reasonable belief" that "people who self identify as
4756-564: The LGB Alliance was founded in opposition to Stonewall, accusing the organization of having "undermined women's sex-based rights and protections" and attempting "to introduce confusion between biological sex and the notion of gender". The year 2019 saw the formation of the Women's Human Rights Campaign (now Women's Declaration International) by noted gender-critical feminist Sheila Jeffreys and co-founder Heather Brunskell-Evans. The group published
Maya Forstater - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-684: The United Nations Environment Programme Inquiry into The Design of a Sustainable Financial Systems and in 2015 she became a consultant at the Center for Global Development (CGD), a think-tank that campaigns against poverty. She described her work as being "in a field of technocratic activism: think tank research, where people are expected to be mission driven and to share their personal, evidence based, opinion in order to influence public policy debates towards socially beneficial goals". In 2019, Forstater's consulting contract for CGD
4988-514: The United States , trans-exclusionary radical feminism has achieved prominence in the United Kingdom and South Korea , where it has been at the centre of high-profile controversies. It has been linked to promotion of disinformation and to the anti-gender movement . Anti-gender rhetoric has seen increasing circulation in gender-critical feminist discourse since 2016, including use of
5104-604: The i , a compact sister newspaper, was launched. The i is a separate newspaper but uses some of the same material. It was later sold to regional newspaper company Johnston Press , becoming that publisher's flagship national newspaper. The online news site indy100 was announced by The Independent in February 2016, to be written by journalists but with stories selected by 'upvotes' from readers. The Independent supported U2 lead singer Bono's Product RED brand by creating The (RED) Independent , an occasional edition that gave half
5220-443: The radical feminist online community Womad split from the larger radical feminist online community Megalia after Megalia issued a ban on the use of certain explicit slurs against gay men and transgender people. This change in policy led to the migration of anti-LGBT members. In February 2020, Sookmyung Women's University accepted its first transgender student. The decision prompted a strong backlash both within and outside of
5336-564: The Brand of the Year Award in The Drum Awards for Online Media 2023. Launched in 1986, the first issue of The Independent was published on 7 October in broadsheet format. It was produced by Newspaper Publishing plc and created by Andreas Whittam Smith , Stephen Glover and Matthew Symonds . All three partners were former journalists at The Daily Telegraph who had left the paper towards
5452-545: The British press was "unduly besotted" with the Royal Family and that a newspaper could "manage without" stories about the monarchy. In 2007, Alan Rusbridger , editor of The Guardian , said of The Independent : "The emphasis on views, not news, means that the reporting is rather thin, and it loses impact on the front page the more you do that". In a 12 June 2007 speech, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called The Independent
5568-739: The Catholic priesthood, and claimed that it represented a male technological attempt to replace women altogether. She also compared the idea that a trans woman could be a woman despite lacking a clitoris to the ideology behind "African female genital mutilation ". In a response to remarks by Elizabeth Grosz , philosopher Eva Hayward characterized this type of view as telling trans people who have had sex reassignment surgery: "Don't exist." Radical feminist Germaine Greer called women with XY AIS "men" and "incomplete males" in her 1999 book The Whole Woman . Iain Morland responded that "in trying to criticize
5684-511: The Christmas table". In August 2024, Cambridgeshire County Council conceded that it had discriminated against Lizzie Pitt, a social worker, by initiating a disciplinary process against her following her gender-critical statements made at an LGBT support group. Pitt described the concession as a "win for the right side of history". The council admitted liability and agreed to pay compensation of £54,000. The Independent The Independent
5800-574: The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition after the general election would be a positive outcome. At the end of July 2018, The Independent led a campaign they called the "Final Say", a change.org petition by former editor Christian Broughton , for a binding referendum on the Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union. As of October 2018, Independent Arabia was launched. It
5916-405: The MWMF distributing pamphlets titled "Gender Myths". During the 1993 MWMF event, Walworth was told by event security that she and any trans women in their group would be required to leave the event "for their own safety". Although an offer of bodyguard protection was provided by a group of leather lesbians attending the festival, Walworth's group decided instead to set up an outreach camp outside
SECTION 50
#17328762750996032-548: The Sunday paper retained a largely distinct editorial staff. In the 1990s, The Independent was faced with price cutting by the Murdoch titles, and started an advertising campaign accusing The Times and The Daily Telegraph of reflecting the views of their proprietors, Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black . It featured spoofs of the other papers' mastheads with the words The Rupert Murdoch or The Conrad Black , with The Independent below
6148-603: The Tribunal clarified that this finding does not mean that people with gender-critical beliefs can express them in a way that discriminates against trans people. A full merits hearing on Forstater's claim that she lost her employment as a result of these beliefs was heard in March 2022, and the decision was delivered in July 2022. The decision of the Employment Tribunal upheld Forstater's case, concluding that she had suffered direct discrimination on
6264-526: The UK government remove gender identity change efforts from a proposed ban on conversion therapy . The Trevor Project and International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association have stated "gender critical therapy" is another name for conversion therapy. Heron Greenesmith has reported on gender critical boards sharing lists of therapists whose end goal is the rejection of trans identity for parents of trans youth. The gender-critical group Genspect promotes "gender exploratory therapy", which
6380-507: The US version of The Guardian published an editorial condemning an editorial in the UK version of The Guardian for transphobia, because it portrayed trans rights as being opposed to the rights of cis women. Drawing on theory of radicalization , Craig McLean argues that discourse on transgender-related issues in the UK has been radicalized in response to the activities of what he terms the anti-transgender movement that pushes "a radical agenda to deny
6496-503: The United Kingdom such as Sex Matters have described the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender youth as "modern conversion therapy" which erases gay identities and argued it should be criminalized. Trans-exclusionary radical feminists in France campaigned against a ban on conversion therapy arguing that most transgender teenagers assigned female at birth aren't really trans. In March 2022, gender-critical groups campaigned to have
6612-624: The ability to become pregnant". In an article published in March 2021 in the Journal of Philosophy of Education , Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan cited Forstater's case as an example of women who "face campaigns of harassment, including attempts to get them fired" for discussing the rights of women and girls and the potential conflicts this may have with campaigns for transgender rights. Forstater's experiences are referred to in Kathleen Stock 's book Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism in
6728-486: The act of transition as "rape", by virtue of "reducing the real female form to an artifact, appropriating this body for themselves". Helen Joyce has described people who undergo transition, whether happier for it or not, as "a huge problem to a sane world". In her own book Gyn/Ecology (1979), originally published one year earlier, Mary Daly , who had served as Raymond's thesis supervisor, insisted that as sex reassignment surgery could not reproduce female chromosomes,
6844-599: The affirmative sense some in this group seem to think". Gender critical feminists generally see gender as a system in which women are oppressed for reasons intrinsically related to their sex, and emphasize male violence against women, particularly involving institutions such as the sex industry , as central to women's oppression. Holders of such views often contend that trans women cannot fully be women because they were assigned male at birth and have experienced some degree of male privilege . Germaine Greer has said that it "wasn't fair" that "a man who has lived for 40 years as
6960-476: The app, and on Smart TV. In March 2023 The Independent released The Body in the Woods, a feature-length documentary by its Chief International Correspondent, Bel Trew. In 2014, The Independent launched a sister website, i100 , a "shareable" journalism site with similarities to Reddit and Upworthy . The Independent is generally described as centrist , centre-left , liberal , and liberal-left . When
7076-826: The basic rights of trans people (...) under the cover of 'free speech'". In Resolution 2417 (2022), the Council of Europe condemned "the highly prejudicial anti-gender, gender-critical and anti-trans narratives which reduce the fight for the equality of LGBTI people to what these movements deliberately mischaracterise as 'gender ideology' or 'LGBTI ideology'. Such narratives deny the very existence of LGBTI people, dehumanise them, and often falsely portray their rights as being in conflict with women's and children's rights, or societal and family values in general. All of these are deeply damaging to LGBTI people, while also harming women's and children's rights and social cohesion". The resolution further deplored "the extensive and often virulent attacks on
SECTION 60
#17328762750997192-812: The basis of her gender critical beliefs. In a judgement for remedies handed down in June 2023, Forstater was awarded compensation of £91,500 for loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated damages, with an additional £14,900 added as interest. Forstater holds a degree from Newcastle University . In 2002, she co-authored a technical report for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization on corporate social responsibility for small and medium enterprises . She has published academic research on corporate responsibility and illicit financial flows. Her collaborators include Simon Zadek and Peter Raynard. She has been senior researcher for
7308-696: The basis of her gender-critical beliefs. The judgment for remedies was handed down in June 2023, with Forstater awarded compensation of £91,500 for loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated damages, with an additional £14,900 added as interest. In March 2019, Forstater criticised the Minister for Women and Equalities , Penny Mordaunt , for her Mumsnet webchat on International Women's Day . Mordaunt received many questions regarding women and transgender people that she did not answer. Forstater wrote in The Independent that Mordaunt had asked for "discussions on
7424-460: The basis of their sex. They believe sex is biological and cannot be changed, and that equity legislation protecting against discrimination based on sex should be interpreted as solely referring to biological sex. Furthermore, gender critics emphasise the view that sex is binary, as opposed to a continuous spectrum, and that the two sexes have an objective, material basis as opposed to being socially constructed. Gender-critical feminists promote
7540-486: The basis that it risks criminalising "proper therapeutic exploration", and that she believes it comes into conflict with bans against sexual orientation conversion therapy . This latter argument has been criticized on the basis that doctors affirming transgender youth do not attempt to alter sexual orientation , which is understood to define who they are attracted to, and respect the person's expressed gender identity and sexual orientation. Gender-critical campaign groups in
7656-469: The board since 1995 and formerly a key figure at The Sunday Times , replaced Hopkins as head of Independent News & Media in July 2002. By mid-2004, the newspaper was losing £5 million per year. A gradual improvement meant that by 2006, circulation was at a nine-year high. In November 2008, following further staff cuts, production was moved to Northcliffe House, in Kensington High Street,
7772-489: The case was found by the court to be unarguable, Justice Henshaw stating that "the claimant has shown no arguable reason to believe the Code has misled or will mislead service providers about their responsibilities under the Act". The Forstater case has been used as a precedent for several claims of discrimination against people holding gender-critical views. Employment tribunals have delivered successful judgements in cases against
7888-402: The clitoris, the ability to give birth, the ability to menstruate, or a female life history, it could "not produce women". Sheila Jeffreys and Germaine Greer have made similar remarks. Daly presented gender transition as the result of a grotesque patriarchal urge to violate natural boundaries and imitate motherhood, assimilating it to a broader concept of "male motherhood" that also included
8004-442: The closet ", and has compared it to saying that a cisgender gay person experienced straight privilege before coming out. She has also compared it to if a cisgender girl was raised as a boy against her will, and how the two scenarios tend to be viewed differently by a cisgender audience, despite being ostensibly similar experiences from a transfeminine perspective. In The Transsexual Empire (1979), feminist Janice Raymond denounces
8120-456: The collection of sex data for medical matters. The authors of the article responded that she had "misrepresented" their point, as they were not advocating that gender identity be used as a proxy for sex, but rather that "relevant and accurate information about a person’s body and health needs cannot reliably be assumed with sex assigned at birth data." In their response, the article's authors emphasised that "many cisgender and transgender people have
8236-405: The concept of gender identity and transgender rights , especially gender self-identification . Gender-critical feminists believe that sex is biological and immutable, while believing gender, including both gender identity and gender roles , to be inherently oppressive. They reject the concept of transgender identities. Originating as a fringe movement within radical feminism mainly in
8352-644: The context of how the charity Stonewall might influence court rulings. In May 2021, she was among 41 signatories to an open letter calling on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to end its membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme, and on the Committee on Standards in Public Life to oversee a review of "the role of Stonewall in public life" and its "influence and control" over
8468-623: The day of the 2008 London mayoral election compared the candidates and said that, if the newspaper had a vote, it would vote first for the Green Party candidate, Siân Berry , noting the similarity between her priorities and those of The Independent , and secondly, with "rather heavy heart", for the incumbent, Ken Livingstone . An Ipsos MORI poll estimated that in the 2010 United Kingdom general election , 44% of regular readers voted Liberal Democrat , 32% voted Labour , and 14% voted Conservative , compared to 23%, 29%, and 36%, respectively, of
8584-432: The decision, delivered in July 2022, was that Forstater had been subjected to direct discrimination and victimisation because of her gender-critical beliefs. In October 2020, Ann Sinnott, at the time a director of the LGB Alliance , initiated a legal case calling for a judicial review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission 's guidance on the Equality Act 2010 , crowdfunding almost £100,000 for legal fees. In May 2021
8700-516: The end of Lord Hartwell 's ownership. Marcus Sieff was the first chairman of Newspaper Publishing, and Whittam Smith took control of the paper. The paper was created at a time of a fundamental change in British newspaper publishing. Rupert Murdoch was challenging long-accepted practices of the print unions and ultimately defeated them in the Wapping dispute . Consequently, production costs could be reduced which created openings for more competition. As
8816-419: The existence of intersex conditions does not impact the usefulness of sex categories, with Lawford-Smith saying that the term "assigned female at birth" has been "appropriated from people with differences of sexual development", and "used by trans activists for everyone, even though in more than 99% of cases, as we have seen, sex is accurately observed, not 'assigned'". Most intersex organizations subscribe to
8932-416: The festival gates. This camp, later known as Camp Trans , continued to provide education and outreach attempts while protesting the festival's trans exclusionary practices until the festival's final event in 2015. In Russia, trans-exclusionary feminists, who position themselves as radical , constitute one of the two main streams of feminism . Unlike their opponents adhering to intersectional feminism ,
9048-458: The group. Janice Raymond 's The Transsexual Empire , published in 1979, examined what she considered to be the role of transgender identity in reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes, in particular the ways in which the "medical-psychiatric complex" was medicalizing gender identity, and the social and political context that contributed to the image of gender-affirming treatment and surgery as therapeutic medicine. Raymond maintained that this
9164-424: The headquarters of Associated Newspapers . The two newspaper groups' editorial, management and commercial operations remained separate, but they shared services including security, information technology, switchboard and payroll. On 25 March 2010, Independent News & Media sold the newspaper to a new company owned by the family of Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev for a nominal £1 fee and £9.25 million over
9280-413: The idea that sex is important. In Material Girls , Kathleen Stock discusses four areas in which she expresses the view that sex-associated differences are important, regardless of gender: medicine , sport, sexual orientation , and the social effects of heterosexuality (such as gender pay gaps and sexual assault ). Holly Lawford-Smith states: "Gender critical feminism is not 'about' trans. It
9396-461: The judge ruling that her beliefs were not protected under the Equality Act due to their absolutism. However, in April 2021, the initial judgement was reversed, with the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that gender-critical beliefs were protected under the Equality Act. A full merits hearing on Forstater's claim that she lost her employment as a result of these beliefs was heard in March 2022, and
9512-488: The main title. Newspaper Publishing had financial problems. A number of other media companies were interested in the paper. Tony O'Reilly 's media group and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) had bought a stake of about a third each by mid-1994. In March 1995, Newspaper Publishing was restructured with a rights issue, splitting the shareholding into O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (43%), MGN (43%), and Prisa (publisher of El País ) (12%). In April 1996, there
9628-507: The majority of young Britons" in 2007, had become "25 times stronger than resin sold a decade ago". The paper's opinion on the British monarchy has sometimes been described as republican , though it officially identifies as reformist, wishing for a reformed monarchy that "reflects the nation over which it reigns and which is accountable to the people for its activities". Originally, it avoided royal stories, Whittam Smith later saying he thought
9744-466: The newspaper of record, The Independent reached a circulation of more than 400,000 by 1989. When The Independent launched The Independent on Sunday in 1990, sales were less than anticipated, partly due to the launch of the Sunday Correspondent four months prior, although this direct rival closed at the end of November 1990. Some aspects of production merged with the main paper, although
9860-547: The next 10 months, choosing this option over closing The Independent and The Independent on Sunday , which would have cost £28 million and £40 million respectively, due to long-term contracts. Alexander's son Evgeny became chairman of the new company, with Alexander becoming a board director. In 2009, Lebedev had bought a controlling stake in the Evening Standard . Two weeks later, editor Roger Alton resigned. In July 2011, The Independent ' s columnist Johann Hari
9976-448: The original hearing, the appeal was on the narrow issue of whether her beliefs were protected under the Equality Act, therefore amounting to a protected belief. The judgment found that Forstater's gender-critical beliefs were protected, meeting the final requirement in Grainger plc v Nicholson , specifically that they were "worthy of respect in a democratic society". However, in its judgment,
10092-617: The overall electorate. On the eve of the 2010 general election, The Independent supported the Liberal Democrats, arguing that "they are longstanding and convincing champions of civil liberties, sound economics, international co-operation on the great global challenges and, of course, fundamental electoral reform. These are all principles that this newspaper has long held dear." Before the 2015 United Kingdom general election , The Independent on Sunday desisted from advising its readers how to vote, writing that "this does not mean that we are
10208-497: The paper was established in 1986, the founders intended its political stance to reflect the centre of the British political spectrum and thought that it would attract readers primarily from The Times and The Daily Telegraph . It has been seen as leaning to the left-wing of the political spectrum, making it more a competitor to The Guardian ; however, The Independent tends to take a liberal, pro-market stance on economic issues. The Independent on Sunday referred to itself as
10324-543: The paper was produced in both broadsheet and tabloid-sized versions, with the same content in each. The tabloid edition was termed "compact" to distance itself from the more sensationalist reporting style usually associated with "tabloid" newspapers in the UK, preferring to remain focused on hard news (similarly to the tabloid-size edition of The Times . ) After launching in the London area and then in North West England ,
10440-552: The possibility that trans and cis women may share the experience of being disparaged for their perceived femininity. Others argue that expectations of one's assigned sex are something enforced upon them, beginning at early socialization, and transgender youth, especially gender-nonconforming children, often experience different, worse treatment involving reprisals for their deviation therefrom. Transfeminist Julia Serano has referred to implying that trans women may experience some degree of male privilege pre-transition as "denying [them]
10556-591: The publication of the Hutton Report into the death of British government scientist David Kelly , its front page simply carried the word "Whitewash?" In 2003, the paper's editor, Simon Kelner, was named "Editor of the Year" at the What the Papers Say awards, partly in recognition of, according to the judges, his "often arresting and imaginative front-page designs". In 2008, as he was stepping down as editor, he stated that it
10672-407: The reforms, instead reducing the cost of a gender recognition certificate and moving the application process online. Another key locus of conflict for the emerging movement was the stance of LGBT rights charity Stonewall on trans issues. In 2015, Stonewall had begun campaigning for trans equality, with Stonewall head Ruth Hunt apologising for the organisation's previous failure to do so. In 2019,
10788-584: The refusal of solidarity with other social minority groups". In 2016, the House of Commons ' Women and Equalities Committee issued a report recommending that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 be updated "in line with the principles of gender self-declaration ". Later in 2016, in England and Wales , a proposal was developed under Theresa May 's government to revise the Act to introduce self-identification, with
10904-518: The rights of LGBTI people" in Hungary , Poland , Russia , Turkey , the United Kingdom, and other countries. UN Women has described the gender-critical movement, among other movements, as extreme anti-rights movements that employ hate propaganda and disinformation. Trans-inclusive cisgender radical feminist blogger Viv Smythe has been credited with popularizing the term "trans-exclusionary radical feminism" in 2008 as an online shorthand . It
11020-497: The rights of LGBTI people that have been occurring for several years in, among other countries, Hungary, Poland, the Russian Federation, Turkey and the United Kingdom". The term "sex-based rights" is used, primarily in the UK, to refer to a variety of legal positions and political objectives, including: The gender-critical movement argues that recognition of transgender women as women conflicts with these rights. In 2019,
11136-534: The scandal unfavourably with the reaction of American newspapers to similar incidents such as the Jayson Blair case, which led to resignations of editors, "deep soul-searching", and "new standards of exactitude being imposed". The historian Guy Walters suggested that Hari's fabrications had been an open secret among the newspaper's staff and that their internal inquiry was a "facesaving exercise". The Independent and The Independent on Sunday endorsed "Remain" in
11252-402: The smaller format appeared gradually throughout the UK. Soon afterwards, Rupert Murdoch's Times followed suit, introducing its own tabloid-sized version. Prior to these changes, The Independent had a daily circulation of around 217,500, the lowest of any major national British daily, a figure that climbed by 15% as of March 2004 (to 250,000). Throughout much of 2006, circulation stagnated at
11368-656: The social construction of femaleness and intersex, Greer disenfranchised precisely those people who live at the intersection of the two categories". Greer admitted in 2016 that defining men and women solely using chromosomes was wrong. Later gender-critical feminists have disputed the prevalence of intersex conditions, arguing that Anne Fausto-Sterling 's estimate of 1.7% comprises mostly cases not normally considered ambiguous "in genitalia or in reproductive organs", like nonclassic CAH , Turner syndrome , or Klinefelter syndrome . Citing research showing much lower prevalence, Kathleen Stock and Holly Lawford-Smith have both argued that
11484-414: The stage. Trans-exclusionary radical feminist activists protested Sandy Stone 's position at Olivia Records , a trans-inclusive lesbian separatist music collective. In 1977 The Gorgons, a trans-exclusionary lesbian separatist paramilitary group, issued a death threat to Stone and came to the event armed though were intercepted by security. Escalating threats against the collective motivated Stone to leave
11600-485: The term " gender ideology ". In several countries, gender-critical feminist groups have formed alliances with right-wing, far-right , and anti-feminist organisations. Gender-critical feminism has been described as transphobic by feminist and scholarly critics, and is opposed by many feminist, LGBT rights , and human rights organizations . The Council of Europe has condemned gender-critical ideology, among other ideologies, and linked it to "virulent attacks on
11716-595: The topic of sex and gender identity to take place in a 'climate of respect, empathy and understanding', but when faced with a group of mothers asking respectful and carefully researched questions, she ducked and ran". In October 2020, she became a founding officer of advocacy group Sex Matters. The Charity Commission registered Sex Matters as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 3 April 2024. In late-May 2021, Forstater commented under an article published in The BMJ that she believed gender identity should not be used in
11832-458: The traditional prepublication checks of academic peer review". Some public figures such as Graham Linehan and J. K. Rowling have often been featured in gender-critical social media posts. The Internet forum Mumsnet has also been a prominent hub of online gender-critical discourse. Gender-critical views are common in the British media. The British press frequently publishes articles critical of trans people and trans issues. In 2018,
11948-532: The trans-exclusionary group Womenation and a number of other trans-exclusionary feminists supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and came into conflict with Ukrainian feminist movement. Vanya Mark Solovey, a gender researcher, argues that the solidarity of Russian trans-exclusionary feminists with Russian policy towards Ukraine is closely related to the anti-trans sentiments of the Russian authorities. In 2016,
12064-515: The university, including from radical feminist student organizations. However, some students, and the university's Student and Minority Human Rights Commission, supported the decision. Lee Hyun-Jae has noted that in the South Korean " feminism reboot " of the early 21st century, the radical stance of recent feminists have been "oriented in an identity politics based on biological sex ", and that "the radical stance of today's [young] feminists has
12180-416: The website soon began producing its own video and podcast series, including explainers, short documentary ‘on the ground’ style reports, and lifestyle and culture videos, including since 2017 the award-nominated series Millennial Love, later rebranded Love Lives. In late 2020 The Independent launched Independent TV, which saw the title’s video offering provided on many formats including on the web browser, in
12296-522: The word "sex" in international human rights law does not share the implications of the word "sex" in gender-critical discourse and is widely agreed to also refer to gender . Catharine A. MacKinnon noted that "the recognition [that discrimination against trans people is discrimination on the basis of sex, that is gender, the social meaning of sex] does not, contrary to allegations of anti-trans self-identified feminists, endanger women or feminism", they expand by saying "women do not have 'sex-based rights' in
12412-455: The years, such as Elton John on 1 December 2010, The Body Shop 's Anita Roddick on 19 June 2003 and U2 's Bono in 2006. The Independent sponsors the Longford Prize , in memory of Lord Longford . The Independent on Sunday ( IoS ) was the Sunday sister newspaper of The Independent . It ceased to exist in 2016, the last edition being published on 20 March. In October 2010,
12528-426: Was another refinancing, and in March 1998, O'Reilly bought the other shares of the company for £30 million, and assumed the company's debt. Brendan Hopkins headed Independent News, Andrew Marr was appointed editor of The Independent , and Rosie Boycott became editor of The Independent on Sunday . Marr introduced a dramatic if short-lived redesign which won critical favour but was a commercial failure, partly as
12644-455: Was appointed The Independent’s Editor-in-Chief in January 2023. He oversaw a period of editorial investment. Later in 2023, Chief Executive of IDNML Zach Leonard moved to the United States as Global COO and President (North AmericaUS), and former Editor Christian Broughton was appointed Chief Executive. In March 2024, Louise Thomas was appointed US Editor. In 2019, The Independent entered
12760-421: Was appointed as the editor. By this time, the circulation had fallen below 200,000. Independent News spent heavily to increase circulation, and the paper went through several redesigns. While circulation increased, it did not approach the level which had been achieved in 1989, or restore profitability. Job cuts and financial controls reduced the morale of journalists and the quality of the product. Ivan Fallon, on
12876-617: Was based in the "patriarchal myths" of "male mothering", and "making of woman according to man's image", and that transgender identity aimed "to colonize feminist identification, culture, politics and sexuality". The book goes on to say that "All transsexuals rape women's bodies by reducing the real female form to an artifact" and that "the problem of transsexualism would best be served by morally mandating it out of existence". Several authors have since characterized this work as transphobic and constituting hate speech, as well as lacking any serious intellectual basis. In 1991 Nancy Burkholder,
12992-473: Was designed by Carroll, Dempsey and Thirkell following a commission by Nicholas Garland who, along with Alexander Chancellor , was unhappy with designs produced by Raymond Hawkey and Michael McGuiness – on seeing the proposed designs, Chancellor had said "I thought we were joining a serious paper". The first edition was designed and implemented by Michael Crozier, who was Executive Editor, Design and Picture, from pre-launch in 1986 to 1994. From September 2003,
13108-526: Was not renewed after – during online discourse regarding potential reforms to the Gender Recognition Act – she published a series of social media messages describing transgender women as still being men, which led to concerns being raised by staff at CGD. Forstater challenged the non-renewal of her contract at the Central London Employment Tribunal . In December 2019, a hearing was held to establish whether Forstater's beliefs qualified as
13224-602: Was possible to "overdo the formula" and that the style of the paper's front pages perhaps needed "reinvention". Under the subsequent editorship of Chris Blackhurst , the campaigning, poster-style front pages were scaled back in favour of more conventional news stories. The weekday, Saturday and Sunday editions of The Independent all included supplements and pull-out subsections: Daily (Monday to Friday) The Independent : Saturday's The Independent : The Independent on Sunday : On 23 January 2008, The Independent relaunched its online edition. The relaunched site introduced
13340-627: Was stripped of the Orwell Prize he had won in 2008 after claims, to which Hari later admitted, of plagiarism and inaccuracy. In January 2012, Chris Blackhurst , editor of The Independent , told the Leveson inquiry that the scandal had "severely damaged" the newspaper's reputation. He nevertheless told the inquiry that Hari would return as a columnist in "four to five weeks". Hari later announced that he would not return to The Independent . Jonathan Foreman contrasted The Independent ' s reaction to
13456-404: Was used to describe a minority of feminists who espouse sentiments that other feminists consider transphobic , including the rejection of the predominant view in feminist organizations that trans women are women, opposition to transgender rights , and the exclusion of trans women in women's spaces and organizations. Smythe has also been credited with having coined the acronym "TERF", due to
#98901