Sex Matters returning to People’s History Museum in Manchester next Sunday
For immediate release
Date: 1st September 2023
Human-rights group Sex Matters is returning to the People’s History Museum in Manchester for a public event on the morning of Sunday 10th September.
The event will feature talks by Sex Matters co-founder and executive director Maya Forstater, Trans author and Sex Matters director of advocacy Helen Joyce, and Sex Matters board member Dr Emma Hilton, who is local to Manchester. The talks will be followed by a visit to the museum’s exhibitions on historic protests, including those of the suffragettes.
Forstater will be speaking about her court case which established that “gender critical” beliefs – that men cannot become women – are protected by the Equality Act. In 2019, she lost her job as a researcher with the European arm of American think-tank Center for Global Development after tweeting and writing about sex and gender.
Commenting on the event, Forstater said: “We are delighted to be returning to the People’s History Museum in Manchester for what should be an uplifting and inspirational morning.
“The Equality Act protects everyone’s rights, including women who refuse to say that trans women are women.
“The museum tells the story of rights that have been worth fighting for, including votes for women, equal pay, and protection of freedom of speech and belief. Sex Matters is part of that story of the fight for human rights and democracy.”
Joyce will speak about Sex Matters’ campaign work, including amendment of the Equality Act 2010 to clarify what sex and gender mean in the law.
The return visit follows an incident in June when Sex Matters held its board meeting at the venue. Social-media users labelled Sex Matters ‘hateful’ and put pressure on the People’s History Museum to apologise for hosting the meeting. The People’s History Museum did so, then later retracted its statement.
The event next Sunday will run from 10am to 12.30pm. Seats are limited and tickets are available for £10 via the Sex Matters website.
Notes for editors
About the event
Host: Sex Matters
Event title: Worthy of respect in a democratic society
Speakers: Sex Matters’ executive director Maya Forstater, Trans author and Sex Matters’ director of advocacy Helen Joyce, and Sex Matters board member Dr Emma Hilton, who is local to Manchester.
Date: Sunday 10th September 2023
Time: 10am to 12.30pm
Venue: People’s History Museum, Manchester
Tickets: Via the Sex Matters website: www.sex-matters.org/phm
Ticket price: £10
About Sex Matters
Sex Matters is a human-rights organisation co-founded in 2021 by Maya Forstater, who is its director, to campaign for sex-based rights. It lobbies for clarity on sex in law and institutions; publishes research, guidance and analysis; supports and mobilises people to speak up; and holds organisations accountable.
About Maya Forstater
Maya Forstater is co-founder and executive director of Sex Matters. In 2019 she lost her job as a researcher with the European arm of American think-tank Center for Global Development, after tweeting and writing about sex and gender. She was the claimant in the landmark test case which established that the protected characteristic of belief in the Equality Act covers gender-critical beliefs. Her website is forstater.com and she tweets @MForstater.
About Helen Joyce
Helen Joyce is a journalist and author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, an Amazon top ten bestseller, and Times of London and Spectator book of the year (recently reissued as Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women’s Rights). She was a staff journalist at The Economist between 2005 and 2022, holding several senior positions, including International editor, Finance editor and Britain editor. She is director of advocacy for Sex Matters. Her newsletter can be found at thehelenjoyce.com.
About Dr Emma Hilton
Dr Emma Hilton is a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester, studying aspects of human genetic disease. For her PhD from the University of Warwick she researched early events in the embryogenesis of vertebrate embryos, and she has extensive research experience in the field of developmental genetics. She has a special interest in fairness in female sports and has written and presented on the evidence in relation to trans-identifying male athletes and the rules on women’s sports; she gave input to World Rugby’s review of the evidence. She has written an op ed in the Wall Street Journal on sex denialism, and developed Project Nettie, a declaration on the basic science of sex by scientists.