Few topics exemplify a decade of culture wars like that of gender identity.

For many, awareness began with Jordan Peterson’s opposition to Bill C-16 and fears of compelled speech. For others, gender was the next logical progression in a civil rights movement coming off a gay marriage winning streak. Those invested in social justice had a new cause: legal recognition of one’s innate sense of gender.

But what is gender? Traditionally a polite synonym for natal sex, it has been recast as a personal feeling. We’re told there are no longer only two genders, yet an upper limit remains unclear. The evidence component of the discussion will focus on objective measures of gender. Despite controversy and confusion, gender identity is legally protected as a new feature of human existence. However, gender self-identification leads to competing rights claims regarding access to sex-segregated bathrooms, sports, prisons, and various public services. Such impacts of gender identity are sowing confusion and conflict, to which governments increasingly respond by restricting liberties in the name of inclusion.

This event aims to openly engage both sides of the gender identity issue and model the process of constructive disagreement oriented towards truth-seeking. Participants can expect to leave with a fuller understanding of the science and contemporary political battles surrounding gender identity. 

This free event is open to the public. Please register in advance.

The Panelists

Mia Hughes is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, where she specializes in paediatric gender medicine, psychiatric epidemics, social contagion, and the intersection of trans rights with women’s rights. She is the director of Genspect Canada and author of The WPATH Files, an investigative report based on leaked internal communications from the World Professional Association of Transgender Health.

Morgane Oger is Executive Director of the Morgane Oger Foundation and has advocated for LBGTQ2+ inclusion in human rights law, police policies, healthcare delivery, and K-12 education. For contributions to enshrining legal protections for gender identity and expression, Oger has been recognized as National Hero Grand Marshal at the 2016 Vancouver Pride Parade and received the Pride Legacy Award for Trans Activism.

The Moderator

Jonathan Kay is a Quillette editor, podcaster, and advisor to The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism. His books include Among the Truthers, Legacy, Panics & Persecutions, and Magic in the Dark. 

Questions? Contact Geoff Horsman at ghorsman@wlu.ca