Gender Wars slammed as Kathleen Stock 'puff piece' giving 'false legitimacy' to anti-trans hate

Channel 4’s Gender Wars documentary has been slammed as a “puff piece” for gender-critical campaigner Kathleen Stock that gives "false legitimacy" and an "unchallenged platform" to anti-trans hate.

The almost hour-long programme aired Tuesday (30 May) sells itself as hearing from “both sides of the argument” in the UK. 

Yet, the narrative focus is led largely by Stock, who quit her role at the University of Sussex in 2021 following protests from students over her anti-trans views. Since then, Stock has become a loud voice in the gender-critical community. 

Gender Wars has also been mired by complaints from several trans and non-binary contributors to the documentary. The participants claimed they were  “misled” and “misinformed”  regarding Stock’s involvement, and were “shocked” to find out that “this is a film about Kathleen Stock”. 

jane fae, chair Trans Media Watch, told PinkNews that yet again the community is “seeing the much vaunted journalistic ‘balance’ become the vehicle for a complete lack of balance and a programme that appears to both sides the existence of trans people”. 

“Yet again, what we see is a radical anti-woman, anti-trans position rebranded by British media as the only voice of women and feminism,” fae said. “This does an enormous disservice to all concerned.”

Trans broadcaster India Willoughby slammed Gender Wars as “one of the lowest points in Channel 4 history” in a scathing post on Twitter. 

“One of the lowest points in Channel 4 history tonight screening Gender Wars, a programme where LGBT contributors were duped into taking part, and Stock – who signed a declaration calling for the ELIMINATION of trans – is portrayed as the victim. Dreadful. V GBNews,” Willoughby wrote. 

Others on Twitter characterised the Channel 4 documentary as a “puff piece for Kathleen Stock”, a “TERF power hour” and a “desperately depressing” programme that gives "false legitimacy" and an "unchallenged platform" to anti-trans hate.

Also, just a good reminder to anyone who was in a bad space after watching Channel 4’s Gender Wars. 

Kathleen Stock is a so-called gender critical activist with a  long history of grim, trans-exclusionary views , which were largely not covered in the Channel 4 documentary.

In 2018, Stock  said  that “many trans women are still males with male genitalia, many are sexually attracted to females”, and she believed they shouldn’t “be in places where females undress or sleep in a completely unrestricted way”. 

She’s  argued against self-ID , claiming it “threatens a secure understanding of the concept ‘lesbian’”.

Stock also campaigned as a trustee of LGB Alliance, which regularly attacks trans inclusion efforts and once  compared “adding the + to LGB” to bestiality . 

Despite regularly being called out for her anti-trans views, Stock has denied she is transphobic. 

Instead, she has claimed she’s been ‘silenced’ for holding gender-critical beliefs even though this Gender Wars documentary exists, and she just did a high-profile  talk at the University of Oxford's debating society .

Several of the trans participants in the Channel 4 documentary told PinkNews about their concerns over the programme, saying it adds  “fuel to that fire”  of anti-trans hate in the UK. 

They said the programme doesn’t delve into the fact that trans people face immense waiting lists on the NHS, how the far-right are leading a campaign attacking the trans community, how the government is attempting to rollback protections for trans people under the Equality Act and that a young trans girl was murdered earlier this year amid this toxic anti-trans atmosphere.

Channel 4 told PinkNews that, “as explained to all contributors”, Gender Wars “hears from a range of voices on this issue”.

“It aims to create a respectful and inclusive look at what gender means in 2023, and is an opportunity for all to listen and find common ground,” Channel 4 said. “All of the contributors have been shown the film.”