In this episode Brussels-based Irish journalist Róisín Michaux and I discuss what happened when we attended the recent IGLYO Proud Pupils conference in Barcelona (Hint: using heretical language will get you excluded by the inclusion people…)

Róisín helps me make sense of what I heard and saw at the conference and explains how the European political ecosystem works to influence the gender policies adopted by member states like Spain.

We cover IGLYO’s history and role in advocacy for quite extreme LGBTQI+ policies, and the ways that activists in European countries can use commitments made by their governments at the European level to get their favoured policies implemented at home. We clarify some of the Orwellian language used in this world and look in a bit more detail at two of the sessions at the IGLYO conference which illustrate, rather disturbingly, how the sausages are actually made.

Towards the end we have a more general discussion about the style of activism from organisations like IGLYO, the cultish adherence to gender dogma and the suppression of any dissent. We question whether any of these policies actually help the people they claim to and air our worries about a right wing backlash due to overreach by trans activists.

Apologies for the length but there was a lot to talk about!

Guest info:

Róisín Michaux is a Brussels-based Irish journalist tracking the activities of gender identity movements and their adversaries all over Europe.

Subscribe to her free and excellent Substack Peaked which covers gender ideology, women’s rights and free speech in Europe.

Twitter / X: @RoisinMichaux

Resources & Links:

We talk about the organisation IGLYO and the conference they held in Barcelona in June 2025: IGLYO Proud Pupils LGBTQI Inclusive Education Conference

We mention that IGLYO was involved in producing the infamous Dentons document “Only adults? Good practices in legal gender recognition for youth’” which is very well explained by James Kirkup in this article from the Spectator.

Róisín mentions Faika El-Nagashi, an Austrian former Green party politician who writes about human rights and policy in Europe on her Substack The Other Side of Politics

Róisín spoke to Amparo Domingo (Spain country contact for WDI) and Silvia Carrasco (President of Feministes de Catalunya) for advice when she was thrown out of the IGLYO conference. You can hear interviews with these fierce Spanish feminists on Gender Lupa Episode #2 Silvia Carrasco and Episode #4 Amparo Domingo

Feministes de Catalunya issued a statement (in Spanish) about Róisín being thrown out of the conference, in which they criticised the exclusion of women from a publicly funded conference on the basis of her ideological views politely expressed in a private conversation. They said that an event funded by Catalan institutions and attended by Catalan public officials shouldn’t be censoring women with feminist views.

The first conference session discussed was “Addressing Bullying, Tackling Violence and Ensuring Safer Education Systems for All through Inclusive Curricula” I talked about the contribution of one of the panelists, Catherine O’Sullivan (Committee on the Rights of the Child, Council of Europe) who explained the importance of framing Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as a human right, as laid out in this feasibility study prepared by the committee. This example showed how linking activist objectives (the quite extreme ideological positions taught as fact as part of CSE) to human rights is a mechanism for getting favoured policies taken up by governments and a way to thwart the expected opposition from families.

The second conference session discussed was the workshop on the development of a new inclusive educational tool by the Council of Europe SOGIESC Unit in collaboration with IGLYO. The tool will be aimed at policy makers and guide them to create school policies that are in line with gender identity ideology. Notably, any failure by students or teachers to accept very extreme ideas is defined as bullying.

We mentioned children’s literature, which was discussed at the conference as part of making the curriculum inclusive. Often these picture books introduce harmful ideas to very young children, such as that it’s possible to be born in the wrong body, or that if you don’t identify with gender stereotypes you might be the other sex. As an example, this thread explains a picture book and classroom activity En la Piel de Daniel (in Daniel’s Skin) promoted by a trans activist organisation in Spain (you can see the original story in Spanish here)

Róisín mentioned how EU commission funding under the CERV programme is being directed towards countering the public backlash against extreme policies on gender and other issues. This funding is often directed towards “hate speech” projects which aim to limit free expression. You can search for specific projects on the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal.

Róisín mentioned she attended the European Lesbian Conference earlier this year.

Róisín mentioned the story of a Belgian woman, Magali Cornelissen, who was attacked on International Woman’s Day 8 March 2025. You can find details on Róisín’s X account here and a news article here.

We mentioned that IGLYO produces a map and index which scores 49 European countries based on how inclusive their education systems are for LGBTQI learners and students according to a set of 10 indicators. Spain scores very highly. In Gender Lupa Episode #3 you can hear a discussion of the Trans Protocol applying to schools in Catalunya with Maricruz Garrido from the feminist teachers association DoFemCo Many of the policies that IGLYO advocates for are already embedded in Spanish education regulations.

We mentioned two current news stories in Spain: The appointment of diplomat Jorge Noval Álvarez to the position of ambassador on the Special Mission for the Rights of the LGBTQ+ Collective, a newly created post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the introduction of a new bill to parliament that would criminalise conversion therapy practices. These issues were discussed in English by Amparo Domingo in this WDI video.

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