Oxfam shop staff are stunned to be lectured by bosses on transgender rights, pronouns and who can use which toilet – after charity was slammed for cartoon ‘depicting JK Rowling as anti-trans demon’
- Guidance offered advice from Stonewall and about toilet and pronoun usage
- Read more: Under-fire charity is accused of ‘turning its back on women’s rights’
Staff at the anti-poverty charity Oxfam were ‘lured’ into a ‘lengthy presentation’ on transgender inclusion, it has been revealed.
At a meeting of area managers last month, a PowerPoint slide titled ‘Trans and LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Guide’ kicked off a lecture on diversity and inclusion.
Advice from LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall was included, as was guidance on toilet usage and pronouns, with staff members instructed to include theirs in emails and to announce them at the beginning of meetings.
Some attendees felt attacked by the tone of the session, which was rather different to managers’ usual meetings about the shops they oversee.
Oxfam has faced a number of scandals relating to its inclusion policies and faced backlash earlier this week over a video which appeared to depict JK Rowling as an ‘evil’ transphobe. The charity also settled a claim last July with a former volunteer who had been ‘hounded’ out of her job after defending the embattled author.
A still from the video shared by Oxfam earlier this week, which appeared to show JK Rowling as an ‘evil’ transphobe
Prominent gender-critical feminist Kathleen Stock said she was ‘shocked’ by the video, which had been made for Pride month
One person at the meeting told The Times that they felt ‘lured’ into the meeting, which had an agenda that focused mainly on retail but ended up as a ‘lengthy presentation’ on transgender rights.
They added that: ‘None of us joined the charity for its newly found political views, its LGBTQ+ stance or for financial gain.
Read more: ‘This is Oxfam’s Ratner moment’: Under-fire charity is accused of ‘turning its back on women’s rights’ after sparking backlash for ‘Terf’ Pride cartoon video ‘depicting JK Rowling as an anti-trans demon’
‘We do it for the “respect” of humanity as a whole. We work with a diverse workforce every single day and “mutual respect” is all that’s required.
‘It felt like we were being deemed as stupid, that we need lessons on behaviour, when gender/sexuality/race/ability or religion shouldn’t even come into our work.’
They concluded that it felt as if the charity’s long-standing work on women’s rights was being eroded by the position and said people were afraid of speaking out about their opinions for fear of being reprimanded.
Other information included in the lecture was a link to a Stonewall glossary featuring terms including abro (people who have a fluid sexual and/or romantic orientation which changes over time), ace (a term for those who don’t or rarely experience sexual and/or romantic attraction) and grey (people who only experience attraction occasionally or under certain conditions).
Staff were told that it is ‘best practice’ to share pronouns in email signatures and to introduce themselves with their pronouns at the beginning of meetings. They should also use gender-neutral language, the document said.
Trans people should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choosing, the guidance advised, whether or not they have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
The charity anticipated pushback to the guidance, sending out the PowerPoint alongside an additional document called ‘What Pushback Do We Anticipate?’ to staff members who did not attend the meeting.
An Oxfam spokesman said: ‘Tackling discrimination of all kinds is core to Oxfam’s mission of ending poverty. We know from our work around the world that discrimination — whether on the basis of race, gender and sexuality — is often a major obstacle in people’s efforts to build a better life for themselves.
This picture of JK Rowling at the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald premiere in Paris in 2018 appears to be very similar to the cartoon woman depicted in Oxfam’s video
‘At heart, training shop staff about how best they can welcome people of different identities and our work fighting for women’s rights around the world are both about respecting people for who they are.
‘We are proud of our work helping women make their voices heard everywhere from parliaments to peace processes and in working with communities to tackle domestic violence, to take just two examples.
‘It is only when we respect and uphold all human rights that we can overcome poverty.’
The row comes days after Oxfam faced enormous online backlash for a promotional video which appeared to show Harry Potter author JK Rowling as an ‘evil’ transphobe, complete with scary eyes and a ferocious scowl.
Oxfam insisted the cartoon character was not supposed to be based on anyone and said it would re-release a cut version of the cartoon. The version it later published had removed the scene.
Ms Forstater and Ms Rowling are good friends and share similar views on women’s rights
Maya Forstater, a business studies and international development researcher, accused Oxfam of ‘demonising safeguarding, demonising older women, promoting double-mastectomies to children, bulk harassment of gender-critical staff’
JK Rowling has previously described former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon as a ‘destroyer of women’s rights’
The character in the original appeared to resemble Ms Rowling’s usual haircut and style, as well as a green dress she has been pictured wearing. A memorial poppy she wore in the real image – taken at a 2018 film premiere – is replaced with a badge, bearing the word ‘Terf’.
READ MORE: Irvine Welsh says JK Rowling has been ‘demonized’ as ‘some kind of witch’ in bitter transgender debate
The acronym stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, a view the author has denied having.
The co-founder of the Sex Matters campaign Maya Forstater said earlier this week that Oxfam was at a fork in the road.
She told MailOnline: ‘I think this could be Oxfam’s Ratner moment if they don’t start standing up for women’s rights.
‘A lot of their volunteers are women, a lot of their shoppers are women. Oxfam appears to be just listening to these big international foundations, rather than the woman in the street.
‘I think Britain is standing up for this a bit more in a way no one really else is.
‘I have been following this for a long time and have spoken to people inside Oxfam about it. The message is clear from Oxfam on women’s rights being different from trans rights – keep quiet about it or leave. I think these views are particularly coming from international organisations, donors, NGOs, they have all adopted it and pushed it.
‘On that video, Oxfam hardly made an apology on it.’
It came as ‘Maria’, a volunteer at an Oxfam bookshop, received an apology from the charity after allegedly being ‘hounded’ out for defending the writer.
It prompted an investigation which saw Maria have a nervous breakdown and leave the job and the country.
She said members of an LGBTQ+ group encouraged colleagues to complain about the discussion, accusing her of transphobia.
Maria claimed constructive dismissal and belief discrimination. In July last year, both parties agreed to settle, with Oxfam issuing a public apology for its handling of the process.
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