Thousands sign transphobia letter to the BBC
More than 10,000 people have signed a letter accusing the BBC of transphobia.
This comes after an article about lesbians who felt pressured into having sex with transgender people who self-identify as women was published.
This has caused backlash from several people who have contacted the BBC about pressures to “accept the idea that a penis can be a female sex organ”.
Caroline Lowbridge, the author of the story, said her aim was to find out how widespread the issue was across the country.
Shortly after the article appeared online, an open letter was published by a group called Trans Activism UK. A section read: “The implications proposed by this article suggest that transgender women generally pose a risk to cisgender lesbians in great enough numbers that it is newsworthy, and something the general public should consider as a common occurence rather than a matter of incredibly rare, isolated experiences.”
Calling the BBC article “deeply flawed”, thousands of people have signed the letter in agreement and support of activists’ message.
BBC have defended their decision to publish the article, and a spokesperson has said: “The article looks at a complex subject from different perspectives and acknowledges it is difficult to assess the extent of the issue.
“It includes testimony from a range of different sources and provides appropriate context. It went through our rigorous editorial processes. It is important that journalism looks at issues – even where there are strongly held positions. The BBC is here to ensure debate and to make sure a wide a range of voices are heard.”
This controversy comes alongside increased political scrutiny about supposed skews.