Never Mind the Gender Clinic: Telling Trans Health Histories Against the Moral Panic

Join us for the Nuffield College LGBTQ+ History Month Event 2026

What’s the use of history against the global rise of fascism? This talk investigates this question in relation to one of the twenty-first century far-right’s primary scapegoats: trans communities. Drawing from his own past decade’s experience of trans health activism in the UK alongside the historical roots of the UK’s loud trans ‘culture war’ – and invisibilised public health crisis – trans historian Jack Doyle considers the uses, practice, and urgency of minoritised community histories in today’s political landscape.

Dr Jack Doyle (he/him) is an historian, educator, and community organiser based in East London. His historical research and teaching focuses on queerness, race, and warfare in the 19th and 20th century British, French, and American empires. He was previously the University of Oxford’s first named lecturer in LGBTQ history, a co-founder of Oxford Mutual Aid, and the manager of the UK’s first professional trans patients’ advocacy service. Currently, Jack works as a health justice campaigner for Medact and is working on a book about critical intersections of transness and whiteness in modern Britain.

There will be a talk and Q&A 17:30-19:00 followed by a drinks reception.