Concern expressed over ‘transphobic’ language
A University of Rhode Island professor is facing backlash after writing an article that many community members have described as transphobic.
The article in question,“Fantasy Worlds on the Right and Left: QAnon and Trans-Sex Fantasy,” was written by professor Donna Hughes of the gender & women’s studies (GWS) department. It was published on February 28 on 4w, a website that “exists to give a platform to today’s feminists who are stepping outside of the liberal mainstream.”
The article compares the spreading of what Hughes referred to as “the trans-sex fantasy, the belief that a person can change his or her sex, either from male to female or from female to male” to the spreading of the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory that alleges that a pedophilic, satanic “deep state” controls the world.
“Too often when someone disagrees with someone’s view, they accuse them of being ‘phobic,’” Hughes said to the Cigar in an email. “In reality, there are complicated questions surrounding issues. Instead of name-calling, I think we need more discussions instead of personal attacks or calls for censorship and punishment.”
Hughes, however, disagreed with comments that her words were transphobic.
“I was not criticizing trans people,” Hughes added, “I support all people’s gender expressions, whatever they choose. I was criticizing the belief that a person can change their sex.”
Hughes said that she chose to use “trans-sex” in the article rather than “transgender” for this reason.
Many URI students and alumni, however, have said that they still view the piece by Hughes as transphobic.
“To be honest, I couldn’t even finish reading it,” said Sarah LeClair, a junior studying natural resource economics, about the piece in an email to the Cigar. “I felt invalidated in my identity and disrespected by someone who’s supposed to provide unbiased, accessible and truthful education.”
LeClair, who is queer and nonbinary, attended a community forum on Monday night hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) where those who were impacted by the article could express their feelings and concerns.
According to LeClair, several students at the meeting shared their own experiences with Hughes. She said that some students admitted that they felt “forced” to avoid Hughes’ classes in order to “avoid being faced with her prejudice.”
A former student named Avery, who declined to give their last name, told the Cigar via email that they had initially avoided adding a major in gender and women’s studies for two years because they had heard about Hughes’s “transphobic views.”
“I was afraid that I would be unable to avoid her classes and that the entire GWS department would be like her,” they said.
Avery graduated in May 2020 with a double major in psychology and gender and women’s studies.
“Thankfully, I ultimately went through with the major and was proven wrong about the department,” they said, and they were able to avoid taking a class with Hughes.
Some of their friends, though, were not, including some of their trans friends, who they said had “negative experiences across the board” with Hughes.
“I can’t even describe how gobsmacked I was just to know that [Hughes] has been here for 25 years teaching people these sort of transphobic ideologies, even if she’s not being as upfront about it in class,” Lawrence James ‘19 said.
James, who is trans, never came into contact with Hughes but had worked with the GWS department to produce a film on sexual assault during their senior year.
“I didn’t realize that there was that kind of person there,” James said.
LeClair and James are among many other students who are demanding for Hughes to be fired.
“I cannot even describe how dangerous [Hughes’] rhetoric is,” James said, citing the high rates of suicide and attempted suicide among the trans and nonbinary community.
According to a study done by The Trevor Project, an organization that supports LGBTQIA+ youth, more than half of trans and nonbinary individuals surveyed had seriously considered suicide.
LeClair added that the GWS department should work to “mitigate” the harm caused by Hughes, which could include “removing her from her position, revoking tenure benefits and [investigating] how her bias has affected prior and current students’ education.”
Avery said that while they don’t know what would realistically happen, they would like to see Hughes attend sensitivity training and not teach courses required for the major.
“I think the fact that GWS majors across the board, in my experience, know instinctively to avoid taking classes with her at all costs, speaks volumes to the gravity and depth of the situation,” Avery said.
To those who were offended by her 4w article, Hughes said the following:
“‘Offended’ has become an accusation if you disagree with someone. People may disagree with me, but in a university setting we should be dedicated to discussing and debating ideas, not canceling them.”
The University released a public statement on Tuesday stating their support for trans and nonbinary students while also noting that Hughes’s words are protected under both the First Amendment and the right to “academic freedom” granted in the collective bargaining agreement between the University and the American Association of University Professors, a faculty union.
The statement also acknowledged that these rights have limits and that they should be “exercised responsibly” with regard to their obligations to the University and its community: “Faculty have a special obligation to show due respect for the opinions of others and to ‘exercise critical self-discipline and judgment’ and ‘appropriate restraint’ in transmitting their personal opinions.”
When contacted for comment, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Jen Riley referred the Cigar to the University’s communications office. Rosaria Pisa, the chair of the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies was unable to comment, as was Annie Russell, director of the GSC. This week, Russell submitted to the Cigar an editorial that can be found on page 8.