Why the trans lobby loves censorship
Twitter’s suspension of Maya Forstater is yet more proof that gender ideologues cannot abide any scrutiny.
Declare, in public, that you do not think a man can become a woman and you will quickly discover the limits that are currently placed on free speech. More than any other issue, it is transgender ideology that drives cancel culture, social-media bans, campus No Platforming and all the other forms of censorship that have become horribly routine features of public life. And despite powerful trans lobby groups like Mermaids and Stonewall finally facing some welcome scrutiny in recent weeks and months, this censorship continues largely unabated.
Just this week, Maya Forstater, who lost her job in 2019 for speaking out about women’s rights, has had her Twitter account suspended after she criticised Mermaids for its alleged safeguarding failures. Forstater’s offence was to have shared pornographic images that a former Mermaids employee, Darren Mew, had created and had previously shared himself, without facing any censure at the time.
This truly beggars belief. A man who is known to have taken part in pornographic photoshoots was employed by a children’s charity. His role granted him access to online forums with vulnerable children. He was also expected to ‘attend events and residential weekends’ for teenagers. All the while, he maintained a public Instagram account, posting images such as one of himself dressed as a schoolgirl, leaning back on a bed, with his legs spread. Despite these posts, which date back to February 2021 according to The Times, he kept his job, salary and social-media accounts, seemingly until this month.