The least you would expect from scientists associated with a university is to be respectful to other human beings. Sadly that doesn’t appear to be the case with Emma Hilton, PhD. We asked Bing Chat AI, “Does Emma Hilton of the University of Manchester lecture?
The reply:-
“I couldn’t find any information on whether Emma Hilton of the University of Manchester lectures. However, I found her profile on the University of Manchester website. She is a research associate in the Division of Immunology, Immunity to Infection and Respiratory Medicine. She has published several articles on various topics such as diabetes mellitus, transgender women in the female category of sport, and chronic cough. I hope this helps”!
The scope of Emma Hilton’s interests would seem somewhat strange – there is a lot of difference in areas from diabetes mellitus to trans women participating in sport. Still, then again, the University of Manchester may not be aware Emma Hilton is a co-founder and Director of Sex Matters – an organisation that seeks to reduce the human rights of trans people.
Hiltons research on trans women in sports has come under heavy criticism, not least by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (download the full report HERE), but is often quoted by those to exclude trans women from the female sports category, invariably promoting a so-called “Open Category” that includes male athletes in which testosterone suppressed trans women have no chance in winning whatsoever.
TransLucent believes Open Categories are transphobic and that the IOC should sanction sporting federations that promote these policies.
On the 20th of July, 2023, Emma Hilton misgendered twice New Zealand’s Olympic athlete Laurel Hubbard on Twitter.
Laurel Hubbard lives in New Zealand, and her legal gender is female. She changed the gender marker on her birth certificate in 2017 after living as a woman for several years.
Misgendering is the act of using the wrong pronouns or other gendered terms to refer to someone. This can happen intentionally or unintentionally, but it can harm transgender and non-binary people. When someone is misgendered, it can be a reminder that their gender identity is not being respected, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation. In some cases, misgendering can even lead to violence.
Misgendering is illegal in some countries. In Canada, for example, misgendering someone can be considered a form of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Human rights – does Emma Hilton know what they are?
In other countries, such as Argentina and Malta, misgendering is expressly prohibited by law. In Argentina, for example, the Gender Identity Law states that “all people have the right to be addressed with the name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity.”
One must wonder what joy Emma Hilton gets from misgendering a trans woman who is highly respected as the first and only trans woman to compete in the Olympics – for the record, Laurel finished last. Still, what was tweeted says more about Emma Hilton than Laurel Hubbard.
In the meantime, we would suggest sports federations take note of the genuine concern about her research involving trans women competing in sports.
Human rights are for everyone, including trans women like Laurel Hubbard.
