Gloria Steinem: Feminist icon says no-platforming 'is wrong'

Feminist activist and writer Gloria Steinem has hit out the rise of “no platforming” of controversial speakers at universities, saying protesters should instead argue their case.

However the American women’s rights campaigner hailed recent attempts to prevent Republican candidate Donald Trump from coming to Britain over his “hate speech” about Muslims, and joked she would move to the UK if he was elected US president.

Steinem, who has campaigned for women’s rights since the 1960s, was interviewed by Dame Jenni Murray at The Independent Bath Literature Festival on 27 February.

Dame Jenni asked Steinem for her views on the “big problem” at British universities of speakers being no platformed, in which protesters pressure the authorities to withdraw the invitations of people with controversial views or other panellists refuse to speak unless an individual is dropped.

“If someone is speaking on something I think is wrong and dangerous and just this side of violence, I would not keep that person from speaking, I would demand equal time,” she said.

One recent example of an attempted no platforming concerned another prominent feminist Germaine Greer, who initially decided not to speak at a Cardiff University event last year after a petition called for her to be barred over comments that transgender women “can’t be women”. She later decided to attend and was met by a small protest.

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While not commenting directly on Greer’s remarks, Steinem did offer support to transgender men and women. “I don’t think we can define other people. If we want the right to define ourselves, we have to give that right to others too,” she said to huge applause.

Students at Stanford University came up with a “wonderful thing” to express their views without censoring a speaker with whom they disagreed, she added.

“Everyone came but they turned their backs,” she said. “They didn’t keep the person from speaking, and they heard it, but they showed how they felt. We invent different ways of getting our point of view out there.”

A similar tactic was employed by students at London’s Brunel University when MailOnline columnist Katie Hopkins spoke in a debate on welfare in November.

Steinem made her disdain for Mr Trump clear, saying if he becomes President “I may have to come live here,” and spoke of her support for Hillary Clinton. “I hope and believe she can win because we are more accustomed to seeing women in authority in public life.”

Dame Jenni put to Steinem, at 81 still a controversial figure in the US, the suggestion made by some that “it’s a woman’s job to vote for a woman who stands”.

But Steinem disagreed, saying she would never vote for former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. “I wouldn’t want to see Sarah Palin humiliated because she’s female,” she said, “but I would fight to the end not to elect her.”

Steinem hailed the creation of the Women’s Equality Party, co-founded by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig last year. “We’re very envious of the party, it’s great and it’s wonderful to see the range of issues it is addressing,” Steinem said.

“I think it’s wonderful because you will raise issues that will be absorbed into the political culture that probably wouldn’t be there otherwise.”

She called for women’s rights to be taken into account when making foreign policy decisions.“The more polarised the masculine and feminine roles, the more violent the society. How come that’s not part of our foreign policy?” she said.