Lindsay Shepherd, a Canadian free speech champion, has penned an op-ed for The Federalist, in which she wonders "why transgender users get away with what gets other people banned from Twitter" as she recounts her own experience of being de-platformed from the micro-blogging service over a spat with Jessica (Jonathan) Yaniv, the scandalous male-to-female transgender.
Yaniv, who still has male private parts, has clogged multiple headlines over "human rights" complaints against Canadian beauticians who refused to wax her scrotum, but offered the same procedure to actual women.
The trans woman is also alleged to have long engaged in disturbing online behaviour towards underage girls, with screenshots of her purported exchanges involving minors circulating on the web.
Jessica Yaniv has as well tried to organise topless-optional pool parties where only children will be allowed to enter.
"In July 2019, Yaniv tweeted that I have a 'loose vagina' from having a baby, but that he has a 'tight pussy'. I replied that if Yaniv would like to sound like a woman, this is not the way to do it, as he was speaking like a male who hasn't had a functional romantic relationship with a woman. Yaniv then replied by mocking a reproductive abnormality I have called a septate uterus, a condition that increases the risk of miscarriage. I responded, 'at least I have a uterus, you ugly fat man'. I was permanently banned from Twitter the next day for 'hateful conduct'", Shepherd wrote.
The activist was kicked off the platform in mid-July, but had her account reinstated a few days later in what she says had become possible due to her relatively large Twitter following and the fact that prominent public figures, such as Jordan Peterson, stood up for her.
Meanwhile, Yaniv, who describes herself on Twitter as a LGBTQIA+ advocate, was not suspended from Twitter following the heated exchange.
Shepherd added that two other people, renowned Canadian feminist Meghan Murphy and psychologist Dr Oren Amitay were likewise de-platformed for "misgendering", meaning addressing an individual by their original legal name that matches their biology, as part of a new policy, adopted by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in February, to "protect" users.
"Although I did violate Twitter's terms of service by misgendering, it's not such a simple matter of rule-breaking: should people using social media platforms be forced to act as if biological sex is meaningless, and anyone with dissenting views must either keep her mouth shut or have her account closed? Do we really accept that Yaniv is allowed to make whatever sexist, anti-woman, anti-heterosexual comments he wants, but gets to keep his Twitter account with no repercussions? Why is it okay for transwomen to hurl insults at biological women, but not okay for biological women to hurl insults to transwomen?" Shepherd argues.
Shepherd rose to international prominence two years ago when she was disciplined by Wilfrid Laurier University, where she worked as a teaching assistance, for showing students a televised debate featuring Jordan Peterson discussing the use of gender-neutral pronouns. The free speech activist said at the time that the debate was shown as part of a class discussion about adding gender identity to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Shepherd released a recording of the disciplinary meeting with faculty members, who claimed that she was creating a toxic environment in the classroom. While she argued saying that her position on gender issues was neutral, professors hit back saying that showing a video of Peterson was "like neutrally playing a speech by Hitler".
As a result, Peterson sued the professors for defamation, while Shepherd filed a workplace lawsuit, claiming "harassment, intentional infliction of nervous shock, negligence, and constructive dismissal". The university issued a public apology to her, but pledged to challenge the claims.
