One minute you have Prime Minister Boris Johnson sending well wishes to the hate group LGB Alliance and then next you have the BBC publishing a ‘deeply flawed’ article about lesbians who felt pressured into having sex with trans women.
The piece (which only surveyed 80 people in total) quoted three anonymous lesbians who said they had been threatened for saying that they were only attracted to AFAB cis women. Of the 80 lesbians polled it said that over half had been pressured into accepting a trans woman as a sexual partner.
Obviously outrage ensued with more that 20,000 people signing an open letter to the BBC saying that the article was ‘incredibly dangerous’ and suggesting that trans women trying to coerce lesbians was a common occurrence.
The BBC has decided to reject the letter and stood by the author, saying said that the piece was impartial and it had gone through a “rigorous editorial review process”.
The BBC said: “The journalist’s work involved months of speaking to many people about the topic and the article includes testimony from a range of different sources and provides appropriate context. As a public service broadcaster we explore a wide range of issues and perspectives. And we believe it deals with a matter worthy of investigation.”
The corporation continued: “We have a strong commitment to impartiality, which means we constantly consider and evaluate which stories to cover and how. Impartiality is fundamental, and includes covering stories on any point of the spectrum of debate. And stories should be seen not just individually, but in the broader context of our wider coverage.”
Campaigners are now however encouraging people to appeal against the BBC’s decision to reject the letter and elevated the complaint to the executive complaints unit. Transgender newsreader India Willoughby, said: “It’s terrifying to have the full might of the BBC repeatedly suggesting you belong to a group who are a threat to public safety.” We couldn’t agree more India, once again demonising the trans community seems to be de rigeur in the mainstream media right now.