Mick Hartley

Here's the transcript of a podcast Wesley Yang did with Oxford professor of sociology Michael Biggs. It's worth reading in full, but this is interesting: 

One strand of my research is on the medical stuff, puberty blockers. Another strand I've written more sociologically about is the important impact of Queer Theory on prison policy in Britain. I think it's such a nice case, because you never think of Queer Theory, Judith Butler. I read Judith Butler in the 1990s. Obviously, it was important at that point as academic theory, but really, to put it crudely, it’s kind of intellectual masturbation. I didn't think much of it, but if people in English literature find it useful, that’s fine. Whatever. Performativity, gender… That’s great.

But it's literally informing prison policy in Britain. That was really a shock to me. Or in England and Wales, where they’re actually quoting Butler. Or key transgender activists who say that their primary influence was Judith Butler are now advising the prison service to change the rules to eliminate sex and replace it with gender identity.

I have an article in the Journal of Controversial Ideas, which is probably the only journal that would publish it, that’s just a straight sociological case study of policy change and how Queer Theory, human rights policy or human rights ideas also, was behind this fundamental shift in prison policy.

At the high point of that policy, what was important was the feelings of the rapist. If the rapist felt like a woman, then you needed to make sure that his feelings are respected. And that was driven by activists. Not all of them are trans, but part of this is inspired by Queer Theory.

And what was also interesting in the case of Britain, is that it happened under a Conservative government. This is not Joe Biden or New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern. That's not really surprising, right? These are left wing parties. Why shouldn't they implement left wing policies? But these crazy queer policies were being enacted under a Conservative government, which shows us the power of these ideas.

Also the Foucaultian way in which power is not necessarily the sovereign at the top. It's all these bureaucrats and administrators. These are professional activists and activist professionals, who are making these fundamental changes, when the government is either asleep at the wheel or it's not really interested.

But there's lots more…