The Guardian accused of ‘censoring’ Judith Butler interview comparing TERFs to fascists: ‘Cowards’

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09/08/2021

The Guardian has been accused of “censoring” feminist icon Judith Butler after the newspaper deleted part of an interview in which they compared trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) to fascists. This week, an interview was published by The Guardian with the feminist philosopher, and Butler discussed the links between anti-trans “feminists” and the far-right. One of the questions asked by interviewer Jules Gleeson, a queer writer and historian, referenced the recent violence outside Wi Spa in Koreatown, Los Angeles, as anti-trans campaigners and far-right groups both protested against the spa for their refusal to discriminate against a trans woman. Butler said the fact that “trans-exclusionary feminists have allied with right-wing attacks on gender” was “appalling and sometimes quite frightening”, and added: “The TERFs and the so-called gender critical writers have also rejected the important work in feminist philosophy of science showing how culture and nature interact… in favour of a regressive and spurious form of biological essentialism.” “Anti-gender ideology is one of the dominant strains of fascism in our times”, Butler explained, and so TERFs “will not be part of the contemporary struggle against fascism”. However on Tuesday (7 September), the entire section of the interview discussing the links between TERFs and the far-right had been deleted. Underneath the edited interview, it now reads: “This article was edited on 7 September 2021 to reflect developments which occurred after the interview took place.” It appears that the development since the interview was conducted is that a trans woman has been charged with, although not convicted of, indecent exposure over the Wi Spa incident. Butler’s comments, however, made no reference to Wi Spa in particular, and were broader observations about the links between so-called “gender critical feminists” and the far-right.

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