Transgender Warwick student receives abuse after going on University Challenge

A transgender Warwick student was subjected to transphobic comments on Twitter after appearing on University Challenge last night.

One user called her a "hideous tranny", with another asking "what the fuck is it".

Speaking to The Tab, Flora Jackon has responded, saying: "I'm an easy target, so I get the most comments, but I don't really see anything personal in it.

The English and Creative Writing student added: "They're not talking about me, they're talking about the funny man-woman on the screen."

This is not the first time a Warwick University Challenge contestant has been subject to Twitter trolls over her gender, with Sophie Rudd being subjected to similar last year.

One tweet, which has since been deleted, described Jackson as a "hideous tranny".

Other users used Jackson as the butt of their jokes, claiming that she was Noel Fielding incognito or the antagonist in the film, The Ring.

Further comments on her gender were used in relation to one of the answers to a question, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker suite.

Other Twitter users defended Jackson, replying to comments asking if her gender matters, adding "who cares".

The Tab spoke to Flora, who commented on the abuse that she has received over Twitter.

In full, she told The Tab: "To be honest I haven't read them and I'm not planning to. My bandmate who read virtually all of them said there were less than he was expecting, which probably speaks wonders.

"I'm an easy target, so I get the most comments, but I don't really see anything personal in it. 80% of the people saying these things would be perfectly friendly to me if they'd met me in real life. They're not talking about me, they're talking about the funny man-woman on the screen.

"Ultimately appearing on a television show is dehumanising. It transforms everyone from a person into an entertainment commodity, and that's as true of the presenter as it is the people in the audience."