Instead of taking on Ms. Tuvel’s arguments, the professoriate attacked her for asking questions to begin with. More than 500 academics signed a letter denouncing the paper.
I don't think this is correct. They addressed her arguments. And I think the thrust of their issue was that her paper fell short of what should have been the journal's academic standards.
But, yeah, those people are nuts and dangerous and shouldn't have done that.
I just read it, and I do not see where they addressed the substance of her arguments. I think you're right that it was mostly focused on procedure (how she sourced things, how she used different terms, etc.). What's strange is that these are the kind of criticisms you would expect in a scientific journal, but the article was philosophical in nature. The best philosophical writings transcend the era and norms in which they are written, so I don't quite get the critiques here. The authors of the letter were clearly upset that a well-respected feminist journal would publish something so counter to their expectations.
Still, not a free speech issue. Just complainers.
