Germaine Greer lecture cancelled over ‘transphobic’ comments

She was to speak at Cardiff University in Wales on the 18th of November on “Women and Power: The lessons of the 20th century”.

To previous generations of students she was a icon, a liberation feminist who excited undergraduates with her message that women should be free from men rather than equal to them.

Asked by the interviewer if she would consider saying something “ameliorating”, Ms Greer said without hesitation: “No”.

Ms Greer did say she use female pronouns when referring to someone, if that was their preference, but only “as a courtesy”.

The Australian academic told the Guardian: “I don’t really know what I think of it. It strikes me as a bit of a put-up job really because I am not even going to talk about the issue that they are on about”.

“I’m not saying that people should not be allowed to go through that [gender reassignment] procedure”, she clarified. [This] happens to be an opinion, not a prohibition’.

The petition on Change.org, which was started by Rachael Melhuish, women’s officer at Cardiff University students union, alleged that Greer has “demonstrated misogynistic views towards trans women, including continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether”.

“While debate in a University should be encouraged, hosting a speaker with such problematic and hateful views towards marginalised and vulnerable groups is risky”.

I haven’t published anything about transgender for years.

In an interview on the BBC Newsnight, she said that she would not travel to Cardiff, even if the petition calling on the event to be cancelled fails.

Asked how he felt about Greer’s comments, Dawson said: “It’s disheartening for any woman to feel unwelcomed by someone you previously looked up to”.

Furious students have launched a bid to ban Germaine Greer from giving a lecture at their university because they claim she “discriminates against the transgender community”.

“It’s still causing offence, but they’re people who have always felt like they’re fighting against the power and they suddenly find themselves in a position where they’re the old people in power”. “I’m 76, I don’t want to go down there and be screamed at and have things thrown at me”.

She also said that Caitlyn Jenner “wanted the limelight that the other female members of the (Kardashian) family were enjoying and has conquered it just like that”. Warning: clip actually contains far less swearing than you’re expecting.