#NotInMyName
If ever you meant it when you said you wanted to support trans people: now is the time!
Of late, I have been hearing from women. You are beyond astonished at media treatment of trans folk in the UK and are asking: “how can we help?” As the BBC contemplates changes to editorial policy that would turn its coverage of trans people from lop-sided to outright demeaning, you could start by standing up and telling them: #NotInMyName
The BBC has never been great friends to trans folk. Of late, the bias has intensified. Many people, not just within the trans community, are now asking: is the Beeb institutionally transphobic?
There have always been issues: Woman’s Hour, for one, has long been trans-sceptic. A key turning point, though, was a Newsnight, in early 2017. This began with Emily Maitlis tweeting that the key question was whether transgender primary school kids should receive surgery.
This was not just misleading, but untrue. It was also highly contentious when you reflect that the programme had supposedly researched the issue. Though perhaps the most telling thing was how little concerned the BBC was in their response to a formal complaint on that and related issues. (The Maitlis tweet was merely “regrettable”!)
Since then there have been many one-offs, following much the same pattern…
