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Beck Laxton vs. transgender people

Beck Laxton is a writer, information designer, and anti-transgender activist. Laxton is publications editor for anti-trans group Sex Matters.

Background

Laxton attended Catholic elementary school and graducated from Yateley School. Laxton attended St John’s College, University of Cambridge, earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in 1988.

In 2004, Laxton founded The Company of Musicians, which connects newer singers with professionals.

Laxton has worked as an editor and/or web publisher for World of Information, Datapaq, Siegel & Gale, Music Maker (Keyboard Review), Sound, Communications International, MRM Worldwide, The Fatherhood Institute, and Energy Saving Trust. Royal Town Planning Institute, Association of Teachers of Singing, and Sawston Scene.

According to the Sex Matters website:

Beck Laxton worked as a magazine journalist, an information designer and as a user experience architect for a London digital agency before moving into the charity sector. She has worked for huge organisations and tiny ones, on both printed documents and online ones, on big functional websites and tiny low-budget ones – always aiming to make them accessible, useful and clear, with a focus on user needs. Highlights of her career have included spending eight hours in a room full of lawyers arguing about current-account mortgage terms; designing a website for new flavours of Magnum based on the seven deadly sins; rewriting the Royal Mail redirection form that she had used when she was a postman; and interviewing Chas and Dave. 

In her spare time she sings as much as possible, mostly music from the sixteenth century, and does historical re-enactments – as a medieval minstrel, a Tudor baker and cobbler, and an Edwardian music-hall drag act. A lifelong feminist, she is also an advocate of gender-neutral parenting and was once described by the Daily Mail as “a few sequins short of a tutu”.

In 2012, Laxton and spouse Kieran Cooper were covered in the news for raising their child Sasha in a grender-neutral fashion to avoid stereotyping.

Anti-trans activism

In 2021, Laxton joined Sex Matters as publications editor.

References

Hanna, Bo (April 5, 2016). This Is What It’s Like to Raise a Gender-Neutral Child. Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/raising-children-genderneutral-876/

McCoy, Katie (June 2, 2015). The Church and Her Transgender Neighbors. For the Church https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/the-church-and-her-transgender-neighbors/

Anti-trans coverage

Staff report (January 24, 2012). Couple reveal sex of their ‘gender neutral’ child. The Christian Institute https://www.christian.org.uk/news/couple-reveal-sex-of-their-gender-neutral-child

Alleyne, Richard (January 20, 2012). Couple raise child as ‘gender neutral’ to avoid stereotyping: A couple who raised their child as “gender neutral” for five years so the infant’s “real personality” could shine through have finally revealed he is a boy. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9028479/Couple-raise-child-as-gender-neutral-to-avoid-stereotyping.html

Selected writing by Laxton

Laxton, Beck and signatories (September 1, 2023). [open letter to Rishi Sunak] Prime Minister, will you stand up to violence against women? Sex Matters https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/prime-minister-will-you-stand-up-to-violence-against-women/

Resources

Sex Matters (sex-matters.org)

  • Beck Laxton
  • sex-matters.org/about-us/team/beck-laxton

WordPress (wordpress.com)

  • Beck Laxton
  • becklaxton.wordpress.com
  • CV
  • becklaxton.wordpress.com/cv

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)