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Kathleen Mary Linn Stock OBE (born November 1972) is a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex. She has published on aesthetics, fiction, imagination, sexual objectification, sex, gender, and sexual orientation.

She has gained public attention for her views and activism relating to gender identity, which have been described as unscholarly "transphobic fear mongering" in a letter signed by 600 philosophers when Stock received her OBE. In October 2021, Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex, said the institution has an obligation "to ensure people can speak freely" after the campus had been the venue for protests calling for Stock to be removed from her post. The University and College Union has urged the university "to take a clear and strong stance against transphobia at Sussex."

Academic work

Until 2020, Stock was the vice-president of the British Society of Aesthetics. In her monograph Only Imagine: Fiction, Interpretation and Imagination (2017), she examines the nature of fictional content.

Stock has written one monograph as well as articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, and has contributed several chapters to edited volumes. She edited Philosophers on Music: Experience, Meaning, and Work (first edition 2007), and together with Katherine Thomson-Jones, she edited New Waves in Aesthetics (2008).

Stock has given lectures at the University of York, the Aristotelian Society, the London Aesthetics Forum, the University of Wolverhampton, the American Society for Aesthetics, and other places.

In 2021, Stock made a submission to the proposed Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, highlighting harassment and a culture of fear and self-censorship in British universities.

Journalist Janice Turner wrote in The Times that Stock is a "mild-mannered, dry-humoured, left-wing lesbian. An acclaimed philosopher who...teaches trans students, respecting their pronouns, and has written repeatedly in support of their human rights".

Views on gender identification

Stock has expressed gender critical views on proposed reforms to the UK Gender Recognition Act and trans self-identification. She has called for trans women who have male genitalia to be excluded from women's changing rooms, characterising them as "still males" who may be sexually attracted to women. She has denied opposing trans rights, saying, "I gladly and vocally assert the rights of trans people to live their lives free from fear, violence, harassment or any discrimination" and "I think that discussing female rights is compatible with defending these trans rights".

Students and academics began to criticise Stock's gender critical views in 2018, when she spoke against changes to the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to choose which gender to identify as without needing a medical opinion. She received death threats. In 2019, when Stock was due to give a lecture, graduate students ran a simultaneous talk to denounce her views.

Her 2021 book, Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism, offers a critical discussion of gender identity theory. Her thesis, according to a reviewer, is that there is "a new orthodoxy, one in which sex gives way to feeling, and feeling trumps facts". In it, Stock supports protective laws for trans people, but opposes the institutionalisation of the idea that gender identity is all that matters—that how one identifies automatically confers all the entitlements of that sex.

In June 2021, Stock was appointed as a trustee of the LGB Alliance.

Campaign by students at Sussex University

In October 2021, a group of LGBT+ University of Sussex students began a campaign for Stock to be fired, stating that she was "espousing a bastardised version of radical feminism that excludes and endangers trans people". The group, Anti Terf Sussex, said Stock was a danger to transgender people and that "We're not up for debate. We cannot be reasoned out of existence". A statement on Instagram said it was from "an anonymous, unaffiliated group of queer, trans and non-binary students who will not allow our community to be slandered and harmed by someone who's salary comes from our pockets". Police advised Stock to take precautions for her safety, including installing CCTV at her home and using bodyguards on campus.

Reactions

Stock herself said: "Universities aren't places where students should just expect to hear their own thoughts reflected back at them. Arguments should be met by arguments and evidence by evidence, not intimidation or aggression". She said that months previously, she had complained to the University of Sussex, alleging it had failed to protect her and to safeguard her academic freedom.

Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, barrister Allison Bailey, and writer Julie Bindel spoke in Stock's defence, while vice-chancellor Adam Tickell condemned the campaign as a threat to academic freedom and said an investigation was underway. "I'm really concerned that we have masked protesters putting up posters calling for the sacking of somebody for exercising her right to articulate her views", he said. The university's LGBT+ society and the Student Union Women's Officer both criticised the Vice Chancellor's response.

The University and College Union (UCU) strongly criticized Tickell over his statement, and said Tickell had not upheld the dignity and respect of trans students and staff. UCU said it stands in solidarity with the students and their right to protest, and that "we urge our management to take a clear and strong stance against transphobia at Sussex." UCU also called for an investigation into "institutional transphobia" at the University of Sussex.

The head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, described the criticism of Stock as "disgraceful" and said further regulation is needed. She said: "The rights of trans people must of course be protected, but the attempt to silence academic freedom of expression is the opposite of what university life is about". Minister for women and equalities Liz Truss gave Falkner's letter her "full support". Oxford historian Selina Todd described Tickell's statement as paying "lip service to academic freedom while assuring students of the university's 'inclusivity'" and criticised the Universities and Colleges Union for their silence.

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Stock was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to higher education. In response, over 600 academics signed a letter criticising the government's decision and expressing concern about a "tendency to mistake transphobic fear mongering for valuable scholarship, and attacks on already marginalised people for courageous exercises of free speech".

Selected works

• Philosophers on Music: Experience, Meaning, and Work (Oxford University Press, 2007), ed.
• New Waves in Aesthetics, edited with Katherine Thomson-Jones (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008).
• Fantasy, imagination, and film. British Journal of Aesthetics, 2009. 49 (4): 357–369.
• Fictive Utterance and Imagining. Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume. 2011, 85 (1): 145–161.
• Some Reflections on Seeing-as, Metaphor-Grasping and Imagining. Aisthesis: Pratiche, Linguaggi E Saperi Dell'Estetico. 2013, 6 (1): 201–213.
• Imagining and Fiction: Some Issues. Philosophy Compass. 2013, 8 (10): 887–896.
• Sexual Objectification. Analysis, 2015, 75 (2): 191–195.
• Learning from fiction and theories of fictional content. Teorema: International Journal of Philosophy, 2016, (3): 69–83.
• Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism (Fleet, 2021).

References

1. "Kathleen Stock : University of Sussex". University of Sussex. 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
2. ^ "Kathleen Stock (University of Sussex): Publications". PhilPeople. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021.
3. Badshah, Nadeem (7 October 2021). "University defends 'academic freedoms' after calls to sack professor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. A university has said it will not tolerate threats to 'academic freedoms' after a professor faced calls to be sacked over her views on gender identification.
4. ^ Lawrie, Eleanor (8 October 2021). "University of Sussex backs professor in free speech row". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. The University of Sussex's vice chancellor has defended a professor after protesters tried to have her sacked for her views on gender identity.
5. Grove, Jack (7 October 2020). "Kathleen Stock: life on the front line of transgender rights debate". Times Higher Education (THE). Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. "It is quite a strange situation to work somewhere where people make it clear that they loathe you," reflected Kathleen Stock, professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, on the backlash she faced for her views on gender identification.
6. ^ "Free speech is a moral issue". The Telegraph. 8 October 2021. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021.
7. ^ Kelleher, Patrick (7 October 2021). "Students demand Sussex uni fire anti-trans professor Kathleen Stock: 'We've f**king had enough'". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
8. ^ Woolcock, Nicola (12 October 2021). "Universities union backs trans rights over threatened professor Kathleen Stock". The Times. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
9. "About the Society". The British Society of Aesthetics. 2019. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019.
10. Gilmore, Jonathan (4 May 2018). "Review of Only Imagine: Fiction, Interpretation, and Imagination". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
11. "Visiting Speaker: Kathleen Stock - Philosophy". University of York. January 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
12. "Kathleen Stock". The Aristotelian Society. 8 December 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019.
13. "Kathleen Stock". London Aesthetics Forum. 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
14. "Dr Kathleen Stock". University of Wolverhampton. December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
15. "67th Annual Meeting" (PDF). The American Society for Aesthetics. October 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 October 2021.
16. Stock, Kathleen (16 September 2021). "Written evidence on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill". www.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
17. ^ Turner, Janice (8 October 2021). "The silent majority must stand up to student bullies". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
18. "Changing the concept of "woman" will cause unintended harms". The Economist. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
19. "A conversation with Kathleen Stock on Transgender Identity". The Badger. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
20. Fazackerley, Anna (30 October 2018). "UK universities struggle to deal with 'toxic' trans rights row". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019.
21. Doherty-Cove, Jody (5 July 2018). "'Trans women are still males with male genitalia' - university lecturer airs controversial views". The Argus. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
22. ^ Griffiths, Sian (9 October 2021). "Kathleen Stock, the Sussex University professor in trans row, urged to get bodyguards". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
23. O'Malley, Stella (27 April 2021). "Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism by Kathleen Stock review". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021.
24. Bindel, Julie (15 May 2021). "The gender identity issue: Kathleen Stock puts her head above the parapet". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021.
25. ^ Patterson, Christina (25 April 2021). "Material Girls by Kathleen Stock, review — a controversial look at transgender issues". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021.
26. O'Grady, Jane (30 April 2021). "If biological sex is a myth, so is evolution". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021.
27. Moorhead, Joanna (22 May 2021). "Kathleen Stock: taboo around gender identity has chilling effect on academics". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021.
28. "LGB Alliance appoints trustees". LGB Alliance. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
29. ^ Woolcock, Nicola (7 October 2021). "Sussex University students campaign to have 'transphobic' professor Kathleen Stock sacked". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021.
30. ^ Woolcock, Nicola (9 October 2021). "Professor hits back in 'toxic' transgender row". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021.
31. "Une universitaire britannique accusée de transphobie dénonce une campagne de « harcèlement »". KOMITID (in French). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
32. Evans, Lucy (7 October 2021). "So for anyone who doesn't know..." Twitter. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021.
33. Knowles, Tom (11 October 2021). "Liz Truss hits out at abuse of Kathleen Stock, professor in trans dispute". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021.
34. "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N14.
35. le Duc, Frank (30 December 2020). "Actors, academics and ambulance service veteran honoured by the Queen". Brighton & Hove News. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

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