This is a version of my Jonathan Cooper Memorial Lecture at the Mansfield College, Oxford, May 2026. The lecture was supported by the Sigrid Rausing Trust and organized by Helen Mountfield (Principal of the Mansfield College), Matt Cook (the Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexuality), and Asima Qayyum (Executive Assistant to the Principal). I never met Jonathan Cooper, but it turns out that we shared some good friends, who praise his enthusiasm, kindness, sense of

(This is a draft of a talk and not to be cited without my permission. It was ‘written to be spoken’ so apologies for the colloquialisms) This talk is a product of bewilderment – my own confusion – when confronted by a group of feminists (a couple of whom I had counted as friends) who were making alliances with right-wing, conservative, evangelical groups (for example, Hands Across the Aisle Coalition, The Heritage Foundation, Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF), the Allianc