No-platforming of Linda Bellos

Not long after arriving in Cambridge, a certain angst started to build within me — incited first of all by the no-platforming of Linda…

Not long after arriving in Cambridge, a certain angst started to build within me — incited first of all by the no-platforming of Linda Bellos, a long-time anti-racist activist and a radical, lesbian feminist. Based on her record, any Feminist Society hosting her should feel proud and grateful for the opportunity. As it happened, Peterhouse’s feminism and gender society — the Beard Society — had a different idea.

There have been a lot of articles written online on this issue so I do not want to repeat what has already been said: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/06/feminist-linda-bellos-women-trans-male-violence.

And those interested in what Linda Bellos in the end did say in Cambridge can watch her speech on Youtube:

(Could anybody plausibly argue that this is hate speech or that it would have deeply upset students?)

I do however want to use this particular case as an occasion to explain some ideological premises of radical feminism. So, let’s take a look at Beard Society…