A Nottingham church decided to cancel the screening of a feminist film due to 'its impact upon members of the trans community'. The screening of the Adult Human Female film was due to take place at the Sherwood Methodist Church on Sunday, November 27.
But the screening of the film was eventually cancelled after 80 trans activists gathered outside the church on Devon Drive in a 'peaceful protest'. Although the screening had been cancelled, around 60 participants to the event were let inside the church for a talk with the film directors and women featured in the documentary, including writer and activist Julie Bindel who participated via Zoom.
Film co-director Michael Wayne, who is a Professor in Media and Film Studies at Brunel University, told Nottinghamshire Live: "None of them [protesters] have seen the film. So they have already called it and persuaded the Minister that the film [was] hateful, even though they have not seen it."
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He has defended the film, adding: "The film is about is about how women have been shut down when they have tried to raise concerns about a clash between gender identity, trans rights and women's rights. So the film was about that - and it seems that the film has also now become a victim of that problem. It is very difficult to talk about these issues."
Mr Wayne said that the film was originally booked to be shown at the Savoy Cinema Nottingham by Nottingham Women for Change group. The 92-minute documentary, which is directed by Dr Deirdre O’Neill and Michael Wayne, had been screened in London prior the event in Nottingham.
The film aims to discuss the "clash" between women's rights and trans rights, Mr Wayne explained. A description of the film reads: "Women who are ‘gender critical’ argue that self-identification allows men who identify as women into their spaces, their services and their sports. They argue that hard-won rights based on their sex are being eroded."
It comes after Nottingham City Council's apology over the cancellation of a previous Julie Bindel talk. Mr Wayne added: "It is really unfortunate that this has happened twice in Nottingham".
A spokesperson for Nottingham Against Transphobia said: "The film is very clearly transphobic from its advertised synopsis, the review by the British Board of Film Classification, its cast of Trans-exclusionary speakers and the title itself "Adult Human Female" - a transphobic dog-whistle against the right for trans women to live peacefully in society.
"The Methodist Church itself has a strong tradition of inclusion of marginalised and LGBTQ+ people. The trans community in Nottingham actually has strong connections with the Methodist Church across Nottingham."
They added: "We are very grateful for the actions of the Methodist Church and commend them for their decision to not platform hate in Nottingham. Nottingham Against Transphobia in the meantime gathered a peaceful demonstration of around 80 people to make the wishes of the vast majority of Nottingham known to the film-goers. In general, we are grateful that we see our city becoming a more inclusive and tolerant place that accepts people from all walks of life. It is our responsibility to stand up and protest when speakers come to Nottingham to share their unwanted hatred with our community. We will continue to peacefully protest if we need to in the future."
A spokesperson for the Sherwood Methodist Church said: “Sherwood Methodist Church, Nottingham, accepted a booking from a group to hire space at the church to show a film and hold a presentation regarding women’s rights and domestic violence. As an inclusive church, once we became aware of the nature of the film and its impact upon members of the trans community, we deemed it would not be appropriate for the showing to go ahead.”
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