CW: strong language, violent language, transphobia.
Protesters and counter-protesters assembled on St Michael’s Street on Tuesday, the 30th of March 2023, as The Oxford Union hosted the controversial speaker, Kathleen Stock, a “gender-critical” feminist.
In advance of the event tensions had risen, with the free-speech versus deplatforming debate taking centre stage. Oxford academics published open letters both supporting and opposing Stock’s presence, JCRs and MCRs passed motions of condemnation, and even Rishi Sunak intervened, calling for Stock to speak.
By 4.20pm, forty minutes before the event was scheduled to begin, the queue of those attending stretched from The Union’s gate, the entire length of St Michael’s Street, then rounded the corner and continued onto New Inn Hall Street. There was also a substantial police presence, with approximately 28 officers stationed there and on adjoining Cornmarket Street. This presence only grew as the events of the afternoon unfolded.
Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society, the organisers of the protest, promoted their own event as “Oxford Trans + Pride”, inviting students to “join us in celebrating and cherishing trans joy!” They proceeded to “call upon all of our allies to join us in protest”. This Trans + Pride event consisted of panels titled “Between Free Speech and Hate Speech” and “Trans + Joy Across Generations”. These panels were held at Lincoln College, before the “mass rally and march” and “pride protest” began.
A small number of protesters passed the Union at 4.34pm, and headed towards St Peter’s College, which Oxford LGBTQ+ Society were using as a base for those who wished to take a break should the event become too intense. As they walked down St Michael’s Street, one woman in the queue yelled out “fuck you, stupid bitch”, apparently to a protester carrying a sign which read “The Oxford Union is transphobic”. Police spoke to the woman and no further action was taken.
For those participating in the protest, “trans joy”, a phrase that featured prominently on many of the signs displayed, was the focus. One protester stated that they simply wanted to “show a presence”, to evidence that “trans people are welcome” and “don’t deserve to have their rights debated.”
Another participant described a sense of community, which was especially noticeable during the march from Bonn Square to St Michael’s Street, as they recognised amongst the crowd friends and acquaintances from across Oxford.
The tone of the protest was – despite a few verbal altercations – peaceful. Protesters chanted, blasted pop songs, such as Doja Cat’s ‘Boss Bitch’, and “iconic queer anthems” like Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’. These sounds were frequently audible in the chamber.
During the afternoon, some of the many chants included “Trans Power”, “TERF lies cost lives”, “trans rights human rights”, towards the end of the protest, “we will not be quiet, Stonewall was a riot, we will not play nice, we’re fighting for our lives”, and finally “fuck the Union”.
The Socialist Workers’ Movement set up a stand opposite The Handle Bar Café, adjacent to the protest. Four members of the organisation held signs that read “trans rights now”. The members of the Movement were motivated by a desire to show solidarity; one asserted that a “fundamental principle” of the organisation is to “always support the oppressed.”
Furthermore, this member called the claim that protesting students were opposed to free speech a “rotten slur” deployed in an attempt to “polarise this event.” Many other protesters held a similar view, arguing that “hate speech is not free speech”, and that the issue was the potentially “dangerous impact” of Stock’s presence rather than an attempt to deny her right to free speech.
There were counter protesters present, though the turnout of the opposing protest was relatively low. The Blue spoke to some attendees. One disclosed the reason for her presence as, “I’m here because I’m part of the second-wave feminist movement in the 1970s who fought for women’s rights – we didn’t think we’d have to be fighting again”. She carried a sign that said “we support Kathleen Stock, free speech [and] women’s sex-based rights”.
As she walked down St. Michael’s Street, she was booed. Another counter-protester held a sign which read “Doc Stock Rocks”. When asked why she had attended the protest, she said she had “come to express her opinion”, and that “if you try to debate them [the protesters], they won’t talk to you”. A number of other counter-protesters also argued that “there should be a space for biological womens’ rights”.
Tensions briefly flared between some protesters and counter-protesters. In one incident a protester held a transgender pride flag inscribed with “No More Dead Trans Kids”, while a counter-protester waved a suffragette flag over them.
In another, two protesters got into a heated argument. A young person holding a pink placard emblazoned with “Trans Rights Are Human Rights” was confronted by a counter-protester heard to say “trans women are not women” and ‘trans women are men pretending to be women’. The counter-protester then argued that “transgender women suffer in their own way, but they do not suffer the same as biological women”. Both parties proceeded to accuse the other of being a fascist.
A further moment of tension arose following the removal of one protester from The Union who had apparently glued themselves to the floor. The protester was escorted out of the chamber’s side-entrance onto Cornmarket Street, where a disparate crowd of protesters, counter-protesters and members of both national and student press were waiting. They then walked back to St Michael’s Street, where they were met with cheers and whistles by their fellow protesters.
During the speech this protester subsequently gave tensions once again rose. One counter-protester shouted out “TERF rights… freedom of speech rights… women’s rights.” In response, a member of the protesting group yelled “fuck you.” The protest de-escalated gradually as Stock’s talk came to an end and she left the premises.