This section serves as a transparent, open archive of institutional engagements, open letters, and professional correspondences stemming from my critical sociological inquiries. Here, I document direct communications with academic and public figures, tracking how empirical research and theoretical critiques meet the institutional status quo—regardless of whether those exchanges are met with dialogue or strategic silence.
Leonie Blaire-Cooper leonie@leoniecooper.online 15/8/2026 08:32
Concerns regarding Green Party Women programming and associated rhetoric
To info@greenpartywomen.org.uk Copy press@greenparty.org.uk
Dear Green Party Women,
I am writing to express my concern regarding the recent programming choices by the Green Party Women's network, specifically the promotion of the "Pornocracy" webinar featuring Jo Bartosch.It appears that this platform is being used to disseminate rhetoric that quickly pivots from complex institutional critique into inflammatory, culture-war-driven commentary on social media.
As a concerned observer, I am troubled by the alignment between your organisational programming and the specific brand of discourse used to target and marginalise trans people across digital platforms.
When organisational platforms host and promote this specific type of messaging, it inevitably contributes to the manufacture of recursive cycles of outrage. I believe it is important to reflect on how such programming choices affect the public discourse and whether they truly reflect the values of the party. I would appreciate a response regarding how these speaker selections align with the Green Party's commitment to inclusivity and constructive political engagement.
Sincerely,
Léonie Blaire-Cooper
[Note: While Green Party Women (GPW) is an officially recognised internal constituent group representing women within the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW), its leadership structure is heavily weighted toward members holding strict binary, sex-based views—including Jude English (Co-Chair), Sue Williams (Secretary), Zoe Richards (Membership Secretary), and Anne Baker (Treasurer). This creates an internal tension, given that GPEW leadership explicitly affirms a trans-inclusive platform on its official policy pages, stating that "trans men are men, trans women are women, and that non-binary identities exist and are valid".]
info@greenpartywomen.org.uk 15/8/2026 12:16
Re: Concerns regarding Green Party Women programming and associated rhetoric
To Leonie Blaire-Cooper
Dear Leonie,
Ideas for our Witchers, Book Club, Webinars, Campaigns, etc. mostly come from our members, "Pornocracy" being one of them.
Our mission is to speak up for women and girls and we feel that it's important to raise awareness of the changing nature of pornography and the effects that has on women and girls.
Pornocracy is a well written, accessible book on the subject which is full of both evidence and personal stories that bring home the reality of growing up in an increasingly pornified society.
If you have watched the recording of the webinar, which is available on both our YouTube channel and our website, we are sure you will understand why we think it's important to discuss this issue.
Best wishes,
Jessica (Co-chair)
on behalf of the Green Party Women Committee
{Note: They completely sidestepped specific critique regarding how their platform aligns with inflammatory rhetoric—such as the targeted posts by their guest speaker—and instead offered a generic defence of the webinar's topic. By ignoring the core issue raised about the rhetoric surrounding figures like Andrea Long Chu and Jason Alday, they opted for deflection rather than accountability.]
Leonie Blaire-Cooper leonie@leoniecooper.online 15/8/2026 12:30 Re: Concerns regarding Green Party Women programming and associated rhetoric To info@greenpartywomen.org.uk
Dear Jessica,
Thank you for your response.
However, it failed to address the core concern raised in my initial email: the alignment of your platform with the inflammatory, targeted rhetoric publicly espoused by your chosen speaker, Jo Bartosch.
My email was not a request for a description of your webinar's intent, but an inquiry into the standard of discourse your committee deems acceptable for public promotion. By inviting a speaker who uses their platform to engage in dehumanising commentary—specifically concerning trans individuals—the Green Party Women committee implicitly validates that rhetoric.
Is it the position of the Green Party Women Committee that the language employed by Ms. Bartosch aligns with the Green Party’s commitment to constructive political engagement and inclusivity? I look forward to a direct answer regarding whether your committee condones this rhetoric, rather than a reiteration of the webinar’s topic.
Sincerely,
Léonie Blaire-Cooper
Leonie Blaire-Cooper leonie@leoniecooper.online 29/7/2026 08:17
Freedom of Information request: Safeguarding guidance and communications issued to primary schools
To foi@scotborders.gov.uk
Dear Freedom of Information Officer, Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, please provide the following information regarding operational guidance and communications issued to educational settings within the Scottish Borders:
- Copies of all circulars, information bulletins, briefing notes, or policy update packs distributed by the local authority to primary school head teachers and school management teams regarding pupil safeguarding, pastoral support, and identity-related guidance over the past 24 months.
- Any standard operating procedures, flowcharts, or multi-agency frameworks provided to primary schools detailing protocols for engaging external partners or statutory support services regarding pupil welfare incidents.
- Records of any training materials, slide decks, or implementation guides provided to school staff concerning the application of statutory safeguarding frameworks within primary education settings during the same period.
If parts of this request exceed cost limits, please advise me on how I might narrow the scope while still fulfilling the core request. I look forward to receiving this information within the statutory 20-working-day time frame.
Yours faithfully,
Leonie Blaire-Cooper
Freedom of Information foi@scotborders.gov.uk 29/7/2026 08:53 20260844 - Safeguarding guidance and communications issued to primary schools - Acknowledgement To Leonie Blaire-Cooper Copy Freedom of Information
Dear Leonie Blaire-Cooper
I acknowledge receipt of your request for information relating to the above and shall respond within the relevant 20 working day period.
Yours sincerely
Gillian Laing
Information Management Team
Scottish Borders Council
0300 100 1800
Leonie Blaire-Cooper leonie@leoniecooper.online 28/7/2026 18:48
Critical Sociological Inquiry: The Attrition of Trans Lives Under the Guise of "Protection"
To alice.sullivan@ucl.ac.uk
Dear Professor Sullivan,
As an independent critical sociology researcher operating in the Scottish Borders, I have been following your recent work and government reviews concerning sex, data standards, and gender identity politics. I am writing to you directly to offer a critical sociological examination of a dynamic that demands urgent empirical and theoretical reckoning: the material attrition inflicted upon trans people under the administrative and rhetorical banner of "protecting women and children." Within gender-critical frameworks, the invocation of safeguarding women and children is frequently framed as a necessary defence of material realities, physical spaces, and sex-based rights. However, when we analyse this through the lens of critical sociology, this protective paradigm functions less as a neutral shield and more as a mechanism of systemic attrition.
The Protection Paradigm as a Mechanism of Exclusion
In sociological terms, invoking the vulnerability of women and children has a long historical pedigree as a tool for manufacturing moral panic and consolidating social boundaries. By universalising a protective mandate, institutions and political actors create an exclusionary binary: one group is cast as the perpetual threat, while the other is designated as the passive recipient of state and social guardianship. Within gender-critical discourse, this framing successfully pathologies trans existence, treating trans visibility and access to public life as an inherent collision with female safety. But this theoretical abstraction has profound material consequences.
From Administrative Gatekeeping to Social Attrition
The downstream effects of policy frameworks built on this defensive logic extend far beyond abstract debates over data collection or statutory definitions. They translate into tangible attrition across every pillar of social life:
- Erosion of Public Space and Safety: When political and institutional rhetoric frames trans people as a structural hazard, it normalises hostility, degrades community trust, and increases vulnerability to harassment and violence in everyday life.
- Institutional and Medical Barriers: Heightened administrative gatekeeping and the roll-back of self-identification pathways restrict access to essential healthcare, legal recognition, and social infrastructure, compounding psychological and physical distress.
- The Cost of Erasure: By treating sex categories as absolute static walls rather than acknowledging the complex interplay of social and biological realities, the gender-critical model structurally erases trans populations from public data, rendering their marginalisation statistically invisible and politically unaddressed.
Re-evaluating the Cost of Protection
A truly critical sociology must look beyond the stated intentions of institutional gatekeeping and examine its actual systemic distribution of harm. If a framework justified in the name of protection results in the systematic social, psychological, and physical degradation of an already vulnerable minority, it ceases to be safeguarding—it becomes exclusion by design. I welcome your thoughts on how sociological inquiry can better account for these material trade-offs as these debates continue to reshape public policy and institutional life.
Sincerely,
Léonie Blaire-Cooper
Independent Critical Sociology Researcher
leoniecooper.online
[Note: Professor Alice Sullivan is a prominent academic whose work and public positions align strongly with gender-critical perspectives. She has frequently written and spoken on the importance of distinguishing between biological sex and gender identity in data collection, co-edited Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader, and authored the Sullivan Review examining how public institutions record sex. Her positions—such as arguing that data collection must prioritise biological sex categories—have made her a central figure in ongoing debates surrounding sex, data standards, and academic freedom.]