TL;DR: The influencer and bookseller 'Tilly Loves Books' being dismissed for contravening a social media policy while standing up for trans rights is a striking case amid an ongoing focus on the right to beliefs in the Equality Act. It also shows how powerful small, but coordinated gender-critical groups are.
TikTok influencer Tilly Fitzgerald, aka 'Tilly Loves Books', was dismissed from their job at Waterstones this week "on the grounds of contravening Waterstones policies" this week.
It follows the author saying she planned to "tear up" and "throw away" her personal copies of books by the author Christina Dalcher in a reply to a post on X about Dalcher endorsing a new gender-critical publishing and authors group - Gay Times
Fitzgerald responded to a post on X about the network for people who are “concerned about the impact of gender ideology” on the sector. Fitzgerald wrote: “Ooh, I’ll enjoy tearing up your books and popping them in the bin today. Thanks for the heads up.” - The Bookseller
Taking to their socials to explain what happened next, she said:
“I told [Dalcher] on Twitter that I was going to throw away her books after I found out that she was a bigot... She tagged Waterstones and they have decided to fire me for my social media usage. It’s the first mistake I’ve ever made, I’ve been nothing but an exemplary employee there”.
In response more than 500 authors and book industry professionals have signed an open letter calling on Waterstones to reverse the decision. Notable names including Chocolat author Joanne Harris, writer and podcaster Dorian Lynskey, and author and culture journalist Jason Okundaye - The Guardian
The company has been caught in the firing line between a number of gender-critical organisations on X. The groups regularly follow and boost each other, giving them a larger than life impact in many different sectors.
It also follows Waterstones proudly shouting about a Pride collection in Pride month - only for it to be revealed a day later that they had included a gender-critical book in its ‘best new releases’ list - PinkNews
Analysis: A significant case amid an ongoing focus on the right to beliefs
This case is significant. Usually, when we report on employment disputes, it's because they've reached a tribunal after an employee lost their job after sharing gender-critical beliefs on social media.
This is the absolute opposite. If it went to an employment tribunal, it would be a test of how the Equality Act protects the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. However, that is looking unlikely, as Fitzgerald has already said they accept that the tweet contravened Waterstones’ policies.
But it shows the influence the gender-critical movement - alongside a global coordinated anti-Pride backlash - has had in a very short period of time. It also shows how coordinated they are. Despite representing a minority view, they were able to amass an army of people tagging Waterstones on social media so that the company decided that it needed to take swift action.
Their movement, and this kind of action, has played a part in shifting years of pro-LGBTQIA+ progress within corporates and brands, to a position of firing an employee for calling out an organisation designed to reduce the visibility and rights of transgender people.
Gender-critical voices would claim that's what trans-inclusive people have been doing for years to cis women.
But they must rely on dog-whistles, edge cases and prejudice to make this argument. Meanwhile, a trans-inclusive woman has lost her job for daring to stand up for one of the most vulnerable and attacked minorities of our time.
It speaks volumes that hundreds of writers penned an open letter calling for her to be reinstated - while the broader LGBTQIA+ community saw this for what it was: a misjudged decision in response to a louder-than-life hate-fueled movement.
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