Feminist lesbian Sandi Toksvig trolled and harassed over pro-trans comments
Sandi Toksvig has been inundated with trolls following her pro-trans comments. (Getty)
‘Gender-critical’ pundits are targeting feminist lesbian Sandi Toksvig after the comedian, activist and former Bake Off host showed her support for the trans community.
Toksvig spoke out against anti-trans rhetoric in an interview with Inews in which she said she was “distressed” by those who called themselves ‘radical feminists’ but are instead anti-trans.
“I could weep. I don’t get it. It’s beyond me,” she said. “When the feminist movement started in the 60s and 70s, lesbians were often excluded because we were told that we would make the movement less palatable.
“I have been excluded myself, so how could I do that to someone else?” She said. “It’s fills me with rage.”
So-called gender-critical feminists then reacted exactly how you would expect – by trolling and harassing a feminist lesbian for speaking up.
Some claimed that Toksvig was throwing lesbians “under the bus” by showing support for trans people and commenting on the very real stigma that lesbians have faced over the years.
Others took the chance to show their fully misogynistic side, claiming she was a less-educated Stephen Fry in a “more comfortable waistcoat.”
The Cambridge-educated feminist has a decades-long history of activism, which includes trans activism, despite anti-trans trolls claiming she was simply parroting the “party line.”
Her support for the trans community was certainly felt across social media, with LGBTQ+ users praising Toksvig for coming forward to condemn the anti-trans rhetoric in the UK and beyond.
“Sandi Toksvig is a good person,” one user wrote. “Not a surprise, but a nice confirmation.”
Others criticised so-called ‘gender-critical’ feminists for putting down an activist with plenty of experience in standing up for LGBTQ+ people.
“God grant me the confidence of a ‘gender critical’ dude who presumes to know more than Sandi Toksvig about lesbianing,” one user wrote.
“Of course the anti-trans lobby are going after Sandi Toksvig now. I mean, what the hell would she know about being a woman? Or a feminist? Or a lesbian?” Another wrote sarcastically.
Much of her activism over the past few years has been focused on the Church of England, which she has criticised over its recent decisions on same-sex marriage blessings.
“It’s shocking. They don’t deal with gay people or women in an equitable manner,” she said. “And they aren’t some sort of obscure organisation – This is our state church.
“None of them have been elected. This is our parliament and it’s not OK. Be a bigot if you want to, in your own backyard – But don’t come and play in mine.”
The Great British Bake Off star met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, for an overdue discussion on the church’s LGBTQ+ stance after Welby requested a meeting with her.
Sandi Toksvig shared an update following the meeting, saying that the church’s position on LGBTQ+ rights is “untenable.”
“From our very calm and considered conversation yesterday, it is very clear that the state’s Church of England and the society it purports to represent are not remotely in step,” she said.
“Justin was keen for me to see that they are moving forward, but conceded that any progress, as I would see it, if it happens at all, would be glacial.”
