By V4 Agency
An appeal hearing was held this week for a woman who was sacked for her critical opinion of gender theory. In court her defence attorney argued that biological sex should not be conflated with gender identity, adding that denying the former is detrimental to a just and fair society.
Maya Forstater‘s tribunal appeal hearing took place this week in the UK. The woman used to work as a tax consultant but lost her job in 2019 for criticising gender ideology. Her only sin was to state her belief that it is impossible for people to leave or change their biological gender.
Ms Forstater was attacked and branded transphobic by many for her opinion. She lost her job because her employer refused to renew her contract in light of her personal views. She then took her case to the employment tribunal, which ruled that she had not been treated unfairly by her employer because gender-critical opinions were not protected by Equality Law. In fact, the court found her statements to be offensive and exclusionary.
In her appeal this week, senior counsel Ben Cooper spoke of the fact that “ignoring biological fact is detrimental to an honest, just and fair society.” Mr Cooper said biological sex is real and important, and should not be conflated with gender identity. Changing one’s appearance does not change a person’s sex, he added.
Ben Cooper also pointed out that young people and children are being led to believe that it is possible to change their sex or simply become a member of the opposite gender. Maya Forstater’s legal team called the original tribunal’s approach and verdict Orwellian.
Maya Forstater spoke about her 2019 ordeal in an interview with The Daily Telegraph last week. She recalled how the events unfolded because of her opinion and the hurt and abuse she and her family had to endure. For example, she was slandered in several Youtube videos dealing with her case, which were also seen by her husband and children.
Another shocking blow came when her employer decided not to renew her contract. She says she was shattered by the original 2019 verdict. Ms Forstater believes that freedom of speech is currently under attack and that her statements against gender ideology are being treated on par with Nazi views or the ideas floated by Holocaust deniers.
Ms Forstater also told Sky News that she doesn’t regret speaking out against the ideology. She maintains that recognition of biological sex is significant in a number of realms, for instance in healthcare.
J.K. Rowling, the famous author of the Harry Potter books, also criticised gender ideology, for which she was declared transphobic and received numerous attacks.
Reacting to Maya Forstater’s case in a tweet, Ms Rowling said people can dress however they please and call themselves whatever they like, but she questioned if anyone has the the right to fire a women for stating that biological genders are real.
