NEWS INTERNATIONAL
BBC NEWS RECEIVES BACKLASH AFTER
ANTI-TRANS ARTICLE Everitt Rosen
B
BC News recently published a piece titled “We’re being pressured into sex by some trans women.” Since its publication, the article has been condemned for claiming trans lesbians habitually pressurize cis lesbians into sex based on a survey of 80 participants.
The BBC responded to the criticism previously cited by BBC News, that hijacked by saying the item was about a “complex Pride in London in 2018 with signs reading subject” that it “went through our rigorous “trans activists erase lesbians,” flyers editorial process” before being published, opposing trans-friendly gender recognition adding that the article provides appropriate revisions, and calls for trans women to be context, according to PinkNews. barred from women’s areas. But, this isn’t the first instance of the In response to the open letter, a BBC BBC being criticized for its coverage of spokesperson stated that the article takes a transgender people, as media outlets is being complex subject and looks at it from another condemned for giving anti-trans groups a perspective, acknowledging that it is difficult platform. to assess the full extent of the After this controversial issue. article was published Oct. “It includes testimony from 26, more than 10,000 people a range of different sources have signed an open letter and provides appropriate to BBC upper management context. It went through our and editorial staff, criticizing rigorous editorial processes,” the piece for implying that the spokesperson stated. trans women generally pose Trans Media Watch, a risk to cisgender lesbians a charity dedicated to in sufficient numbers to be improving the media newsworthy, but instead coverage of trans and these are incredibly rare intersex issues, stated it was occurrences. “shocked” by the BBC report. This letter was organized “We are shocked, too, to by the grassroots group Trans note the incredibly poor Activism UK and went on to standard of BBC journalism criticize BBC, saying that the in this piece,” the TMW group the article was based statement stated.” on was a self-selected survey Unfortunately, this of individuals from “Get The BBC article is not the only L Out,” which is a group that instance of anti-transgender is united by anti-trans views. media. Similarly, FOX News “The article uses a deeply has featured a record- Helen Belcher flawed study that doesn’t breaking number of antiTRANS MEDIA WATCH meet BBC guidelines, and trans segments, according to anecdotal accounts from Dame Magazine. known transphobic hate groups who actively Media leaders who act as a conduit to campaign for transgender people to lose the violent extreme right, such as Tucker their legal recognition as their gender,” the Carlson, Ben Shapiro, and Charlie Kirk, have letter states. increasingly warned their viewers that trans Get The L Out is an anti-trans organization, persons pose an existential threat to U.S.
“IRRESPONSIBLE REPORTING LIKE THIS IS DANGEROUS. IT SIGNIFICANTLY AND ADVERSELY IMPACTS TRANS PEOPLE’S DAYTO-DAY LIVES.”
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• 11.18.2021
BBC New Broadcasting House in London, U.K. Photo via Adobe.
national security, Western civilization, and the species’ survival. Groups such as “Get The L Out” are often self-proclaimed “gender critical” and are a part of the “Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist” (TERF) movement. The religious right and the neo-fascist extreme right are closely intertwined in the TERF movement. They all believe that the ideal number of transgender persons is zero, and they’re ready to employ government authority as well as crowd-sourced persecution to get there.
According to Dame, this year has seen a record amount of anti-trans measures proposed, with more passing than in the previous 10 years combined. One current legal battle is that the religious right and gender critics claim that they have a protected right to misgender their students and coworkers. “Irresponsible reporting like this is dangerous. It significantly and adversely impacts trans people’s day-to-day lives,” stated Helen Belcher, a trustee of Trans Media Watch.
