Mick Hartley

The pitiful state of the literary world – the latest in a continuing saga:

Cheltenham Literature Festival has come under fire after issuing a warning notice to speakers comparing gender-critical views with racism and homophobia.

The festival, which begins today, sent an email to people who are hosting talks at the event, asking them to follow new guidance “in order to protect both yourselves and the [festival] from complaints”.

It said: “If, during any of your events, a speaker shares an opinion that could be deemed controversial, please reinforce that everyone is entitled to express an opinion, however Cheltenham Festivals [the organiser] does not endorse the views shared on stage.

“By controversial we mean those views that may be harmful to an individual or group of people, particularly those who have been historically marginalised or oppressed.”

It gave a list of examples headed by “gender-critical views”. The list went on to include “misogyny; extreme political views including on migration, sexuality, gender, and military action; potentially problematic views on race, religion, or ethnicity; homophobia, including opinions linked to religion; extreme views on abortion and female reproductive health; widely disputed conspiracy theories”.

In response, JK Rowling wrote on X: “Might start a literary festival where legal beliefs can be expressed from the stage without the chairpeople wetting themselves.”

Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at the human rights charity Sex Matters, said: “Heaven forbid that a book festival should allow mention of biological reality without immediately distancing itself.

“It is of course outrageous to compare gender-critical views to racism or conspiracy theories. But Cheltenham Literature Festival is only revealing publicly the degree of hostility routinely suffered in private by gender-critical women in literary circles.

“The festival organisers should be pressed to explain exactly how they think gender-critical views could be considered ‘harmful’ to individuals or groups of people.”

More from Joan Smith at UnHerd:

It’s hard to imagine a worse moment for a literary festival to promote the slur that the free expression of controversial ideas is “harmful”. We live in an increasingly intolerant society, in which saying the wrong thing — criticism of strict forms of Islam or gender ideology — carries an unacceptable risk. The people who shout loudest are rarely right, and the literary world needs to stand up against the activists’ veto.