By Gary Fouse
The University of California system is once again in the middle of a lawsuit. This latest one involves a civil complaint filed in federal court (Central District of California in Los Angeles) alleging that the university is actually disciplining students for the “heinous” offense of “misgendering,” that is, referring to others using pronouns describing their gender at birth as opposed to how the affected person wishes to be identified. The lawsuit was filed by a conservative watchdog group called Defending Education on behalf of students as complainants.
The College Fix has an article on the lawsuit here. The article also has a link to the complaint document.
Here is my take, speaking as one who spent 18 years teaching English as a second language part-time at the UC Irvine Extension. This lawsuit is a welcome development, and I hope it is successful. Just as in the case of campus anti-Semitism, it has reached the point where lawsuits and the drying up of university funds are the only things that will bring true reform to our universities, and the University of California system needs reform badly.
In my view, people who identify themselves as the opposite gender are to be sympathized with, given counseling, and treated with compassion. They are suffering from gender dysphoria. They should not be humiliated, harassed, or bullied by others.
However, putting them on some sort of pedestal and catering to (“affirming”) their dysphoria is not the solution, especially when others are punished simply for not using the preferred pronoun. There are countless cases where well-meaning people, with no harmful intent, have been punished by universities or employers for not using a preferred pronoun. To me, it is especially egregious when universities engage in this type of thought policing when they, according to their own definition, are supposed to be places where thoughtful and civil discourse on controversial or difficult topics is supposed to rule the day. Unfortunately, that went away a long time ago. Ask any conservative or pro-Israel person who has ever spoken on a university campus.
It is unfortunate that people have to resort to lawfare to force universities to act rationally, but that is exactly what it takes. For years, the other side, the left, the Islamists, the pro-Palestinian activists, the LGBTQ lobby, and so many others have perfected the art. University administrators literally shake in their boots in the face of pressure groups like the Congress on American Islamic Affairs (CAIR). The result has been a wave of campus anti-Semitism that has festered for decades. Similarly, the LGBTQ community has exerted similar pressure. The results have been speech codes, preferred pronouns, entire departments devoted to LGBTQ studies, men in women’s sports, and men in women’s locker rooms. This goes far beyond the laudable goal of protecting LGBTQ students and others from harassment. It is time to stop the madness.
As much as I hate to say it, it is time to bring in the lawyers.
