Angry trans-rights protestors swarmed and shut down a talk at McGill University from an alumnus who was discussing how the trans movement infringes on the rights of women.
Demonstrators packed the hallway outside a classroom hosting the talk from Robert Wintemute – a professor of human rights law specializing in sexual orientation at Kings College in London – who they accused of being associated with a ‘notoriously transphobic and trans-exclusionary’ group.
The talk was eventually cancelled.
Wintemute was discussing how he believes women’s rights are infringed upon when they don’t speak up for themselves out of fear of intimidation from trans activists. He told CTV he had to ‘thank the protestors’ for proving the point of his speech.
The Tuesday talk was hosted by the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP) at McGill, in Montreal. The center said inviting Wintemute to speak was not meant to be an endorsement of his viewpoints, but to serve as a platform for debate on the subject.
Activists demonstrating outside the talk inside Old Chancellor Day Hall at McGill University
Demonstrators packed the hallway outside a classroom hosting the talk from Robert Wintemute – a professor of human rights law at Kings College – who they accused of being ‘notoriously transphobic and trans-exclusionary’
Footage from the scene showed demonstrators packed into a hallway in Old Chancellor Day Hall at McGill.
They could be heard chanting ‘LGB, plus the T!’ and shouting obscenities at people trying to push through the crowd into the talk.
The protest was organized by trans activist Celeste Trianon, who said she was ‘surprised, shocked and disgusted’ by the subject of the talk.
‘I feel like there’s such a tragic irony where someone who is actively working toward dismantling human rights toward one of the most marginalized groups … How such an event can be hosted at the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism,’ she told CTV.
She added that the talk would lead to the deaths of trans people.
A demonstrator holding a sign outside Wintemute’s talk at McGill University on Tuesday
Wintemute’s talk was titled Sex vs. Gender (Identity) Debate In the United Kingdom and the Divorce of LGB from T.
The CHRLP’s website said it was intended to be a conversation over how easy it should be for transgender people to legally change their sex.
It also said it was ‘about exceptional situations, such as women-only spaces and sports, in which the individual’s birth sex should take priority over their gender identity, regardless of their legal sex.’
Wintemute called the reaction to his talk ‘hysterical,’ and said it proved his point that any debate on the subject is labeled as ‘hate speech.’
‘Probably the majority of women in this country disagree with some of transgender demands but they refuse to say so because they will be seen as intolerant,’ he said.
He also denied accusations that he was phobic in any way, saying he has spent 37 years advocating for LGB rights. Much of his academic work focuses on sexual orientation.
Some of that work has been used by the LGB Alliance, a United Kingdom organization that advocates against trans rights. Some UK politicians have labeled it a hate group. Wintemute said he has never associated with any group which ‘promotes hate.’
The protest was organized by trans activist Celeste Trianon, who said she was ‘surprised, shocked and disgusted’ by the subject of the talk
Demonstrators outside Wintemute’s talk at McGill University on Tuesday
The protests outside the talk at McGill University on Tuesday
Demonstrators, McGill students, faculty, and alumni, put together an open letter in which they voiced their disapproval of Wintemute assertions about the trans movement stepping on women’s rights.
‘Undermining the human rights of trans people does not benefit any member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, nor the feminist movement,’ the letter read.
CHRLP professor Frédéric Mégret defended the decision to invite Wintemute to speak.
‘Professor Wintemute is a trustee of the LGB Alliance since 2021 but he is not invited in that capacity,’ he told CTV.
‘We understand that these are not consensual topics. However, we believe they can be productively and robustly discussed in an academic setting and could, in fact, be an opportunity to push back against certain views.’