Should the BBC refer to me as “male”? Should it call any trans woman, or trans women in general, “male”? I find it grossly offensive. It denies the truth and value of my being a trans woman. It reduces me to a gonad. It takes my trans joy, the joy in expressing my true self, and stamps on it.
The BBC issued an editorial briefing about reporting sex and gender, leaked to Deadline and available on Scribd. It says that interviewers should challenge contributors who call someone “transphobic”, unless the person would not accept that label. Well, nobody accepts they are transphobic, or prejudiced against trans people. They claim they are “women’s rights campaigners” rather than anti-trans campaigners, even if all their campaigning relates to removing trans rights and defining trans women as men. Such a view prevents anti-trans campaigners and anti-trans prejudice from being described objectively. The BBC accepted criticism of its reporting on JK Rowling, though her prejudice shines through her animosity towards India Willoughby, and has been evident since her 6000 word screed on trans in 2020.
I prefer the term “anti-trans prejudice” to transphobia- fear of trans- or transmisia- hate of trans- because anti-trans campaigners deny feeling fear and hate, and might deny their feelings are obvious to an objective observer. If a significant part of someone’s campaigning is devoted to ridiculing trans people, denying the reality of trans, and taking away our rights, why is that so important to them? Does it reflect any damage trans people do? No, it shows their prejudice.
The briefing risks preventing or challenging truth telling. When I call Rowling an anti-trans campaigner, I am simply stating facts. It also turns trans into a political controversy- do trans people exist? Has the category “trans” any meaning or value?
The BBC guidelines, published in 2019, say “BBC content must respect human dignity”, at para 5.3.32. In naming “diverse communities” (5.3.39) including “gender identification” the BBC may reflect prejudice and disadvantage but should not perpetuate it. They should avoid “careless or offensive stereotypical assumptions”.
When Justin Webb says “biological males” should not be in women’s sports, or women’s services, he is clearly referring to trans women. Nobody suggests men should be able to go into women’s services. The issue is whether trans women should be or are allowed, and so he should say “trans women”. In denying my reality, my trans joy, the fact that my transition has value for me and all who care about me, Webb perpetuates stereotypical assumptions, suspicion and distrust.
The guidelines place a high value on objectivity. For example, para 11.3.6 says the word “terrorist” can be a barrier to understanding. It implies the person’s cause is unjust- the guidelines say, it is emotive and has political overtones. Margaret Thatcher called the ANC, now the governing party in South Africa, “terrorist”. Instead, objectivity requires journalists to use words that describe the person, such as, “bomber” or “insurgent”.
Trans now has political overtones because politicians and others campaign to exclude trans women from women’s spaces where we are by right. It is “a difficult and emotive subject with significant political overtones and care is required in the use of language that carries value judgements”.
It is emotive for me, because I am trans, and that matters. Curled in the foetal position, weeping, I said “I am not a man”, repeatedly, over months. So I transitioned. It is emotive for the anti-trans campaigners, because they read of a trans woman in women’s services and they feel anger, resentment and disgust- perhaps even fear, phobos, though they might not admit it.
That care for objectivity should be used for the “human dignity” of trans women. The term “biological male” is a barrier to understanding. It is not an objective or neutral term. Those who are neither trans women nor anti-trans campaigners might glean from it that being trans has no real value, that trans women are merely men. That is a political view. There is a reason why we transition: we express our true selves. The term “biological male” denies that reason, so listeners might imagine the putative reasons anti-trans campaigners give apply, such as, for sexual gratification, as an expression of power over women, or as voyeurs. Why else would a “man” want to use women’s services?
Webb calls us “biological males” with impunity. However if a BBC journalist uses the terms “anti-trans campaigner” and “anti-trans prejudice” they will be subjected to howls of outrage, and if a guest uses them the BBC will challenge them. The BBC bends over backwards so as not to offend transphobes, and tramples trans people’s dignity.