Feminism, Trans Justice, and Speech Rights: A Comparative Perspective
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FEMINISM, TRANS JUSTICE, AND
SPEECH RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE
PERSPECTIVE
MADELEINE PAPE
I
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, it has become increasingly common for individuals to be
publicly rebuked and penalized when their speech departs from the moral atti-
tudes and commitments deemed necessary to protect those most vulnerable to
abuses of power. The question of how social justice relates to freedom of speech
is redrawing the political spectrum, frequently placing on the wrong side of
the moral divide those individuals who might otherwise identify as left-leaning
liberals but who consider the free exchange and expression of ideas to be a non-
negotiable democratic principle.' Critics of those who defend speech rights ar-
gue that this principle has never truly been neutral: not all members of society
are equally positioned to realize this freedom, which is often wielded by the
powerful in the defense of their existing privileges.2 Others argue that the phe-
nomenon of de-platforming is compounding an already polarized political
climate, ultimately with the consequence of jeopardizing rather than advancing
social justice causes.3 As such, the current political moment is casting anew the
contested matter of how to strike a balance between the prevention of harm on
the one hand, and the tolerance of opposing views on the other, in the pursuit of
justice.
The purpose of this article is to consider how feminists are shaping this con-
tentious relationship between social justice and freedom of speech, particularly
Copyright © 2022 by Madeleine Pape
Madeleine Pape, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Sports Sciences, University of Lausanne
1. See, e.g., A Letter on Justice and Open Debate, HARPER'S MAG. (July 7, 2020),
https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ [https://perma.cc/6ZF4-ZUMR] (arguing
against the use of de-platforming as a tool of social justice); Michael Powell, Once a Bastion of Free
Speech, the A. C.L. U. Faces an Identity Crisis, N.Y. TIMES (June 6, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021
/06/06/us/aclu-free-speech.html [https://perma.cc/SEB5-2MY7] (describing the internal struggles at the
A.C.L.U. over how to reconcile the organization's commitment to defending free speech with the social
justice values of its employees).
2. See, e.g., Hannah Giorgis, A Deeply Provincial View of Free Speech, ATLANTIC (Jul. 13, 2020),
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/07/harpers-letter-free-speech/614080/
[https://perma.cc/9JHX-496D] (critiquing the Harper's letter authors as defending their own elitist in-
terests).
3. See, e.g., Svetlana Mintcheva, The Case Against De-Platforming, NAT'L COAL. AGAINST
CENSORSHIP (Fall 2018), https://ncac.org/censorship-news-articles/the-case-against-de-platforming
[https://perma.cc/RC73-SUPA] (arguing that de-platforming only contributes to social polarization and
could ultimately enable populism).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/lcp85&div=13&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Feminism, Trans Justice, and Speech Rights: A Comparative Perspective
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