27 Facts About Kathleen Stock

Kathleen Mary Linn Stock is a British philosopher and writer.

Kathleen Stock was a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex until 2021.

Kathleen Stock was born in Aberdeen, and was raised in Montrose, Scotland in November 1972, the daughter of a philosophy lecturer at Aberdeen University, and of a newspaper proofreader.

Kathleen Stock read French and philosophy at Exeter College, Oxford, followed by an MA at the University of St Andrews.

Kathleen Stock then won a scholarship to enable her to study for a PhD in philosophy at the University of Leeds.

Kathleen Stock has written one monograph as well as articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, and has contributed several chapters to edited volumes.

Kathleen Stock edited Philosophers on Music: Experience, Meaning, and Work, and together with Katherine Thomson-Jones, she edited New Waves in Aesthetics.

Kathleen Stock was the vice-president of the British Society of Aesthetics from 2019 to 2020.

Kathleen Stock has given lectures at the University of York, the Aristotelian Society, the London Aesthetics Forum, the University of Wolverhampton, and the American Society for Aesthetics.

On 28 October 2021 Kathleen Stock resigned from the University of Sussex.

Kathleen Stock has opposed transgender self-identification in regard to proposed reforms to the 2004 UK Gender Recognition Act, and has argued that allowing self-identification would "threaten a secure understanding of the concept 'lesbian".

Kathleen Stock received death threats as a result of her position.

In June 2019, Kathleen Stock was invited to speak at the Aristotelian Society about her views on gender identity.

In 2020, Kathleen Stock testified before the Women and Equalities Committee of the House of Commons, and gave oral evidence in response to the reform of the Gender Recognition Act.

Journalist Janice Turner wrote in The Times that Kathleen Stock "teaches trans students, respecting their pronouns, and has written repeatedly in support of their human rights".

In 2021, Kathleen Stock made a submission to the proposed Higher Education Bill, highlighting what she described as harassment and a culture of fear and self-censorship in British universities in relation to her gender-critical views concerning "transactivist demands to recognise and prioritise gender identity".

Kathleen Stock describes the law that gives trans people the right to change gender as a legal fiction, a kind of "useful untruth".

In May 2021, Kathleen Stock was appointed as a trustee of the LGB Alliance.

In January 2023, Kathleen Stock criticized the UK government's proposed ban on conversion therapy, saying that "Banning conversion therapy for minors will rob trans children of the chance to think again, putting them on a pathway to medical treatment".

In October 2021, a group describing themselves as queer, trans, and non-binary University of Sussex students began a campaign for Kathleen Stock to be fired, stating that she was "espousing a bastardised version of radical feminism that excludes and endangers trans people".

Students criticised Kathleen Stock for being a trustee for LGB Alliance and for signing the declaration of the Women's Human Rights Campaign.

Police advised Kathleen Stock to take precautions for her safety, including installing CCTV at her home and using bodyguards on campus.

Kathleen Stock said that months previously, she had complained to the University of Sussex, alleging it had failed to protect her and to safeguard her academic freedom.

The documentary centred around an earlier speech Kathleen Stock made during a debate at the Cambridge Union on the "right to offend," which attracted protests and garnered extensive media coverage at the time.

The film was criticised for its focus on Kathleen Stock, but praised as giving "voice to both sides of the transgender debate".

Kathleen Stock was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to higher education.

Kathleen Stock responded that the content of the letter was ridiculous, saying "they accused me of completely wild things like supporting patriarchy and preventing transgender people from accessing medical care, even though I have not said anything about it except when it comes to children".