Trans rights protest outside BBC’s Bristol HQ

Blue, pink and white flags flew proudly outside the BBC’s Whiteladies Road HQ on Saturday as people gathered to take a stand against transphobia.

The protest was one of many across the country following the publication of an article that has been branded “dangerous and transphobic” for its negative portrayal of transgender women.

More than 20,000 people have signed an open letter to the BBC objecting to the article by Caroline Lowbridge entitled ‘We’re being pressured into sex by some trans women’. The letter states the article breaches the corporation’s own guidelines on impartiality and uses a “deeply flawed” study and anecdotal accounts from “known transphobic hate groups”.

Responding, the BBC claims the article “looks at a complex subject from different perspectives” and states the corporation is here “to ensure debate and to make sure a wide a range of voices are heard.”

But protesters on Whiteladies Road accused the broadcasting company of transphobia in its reporting, arguing trans rights are human rights and that is not a matter up for debate.

“The BBC should be discrimination-free,” chanted the crowd as the driver of a passing lorry beeped his horn in solidarity.

Speaking about why they turned out to demonstrate outside the BBC offices, Kaz from Trans Pride South West said: “The reason we’re here is because of a BBC news article, which was against the BBC guidelines on impartiality and also used a poll which seemed to be very biased.

“We are also here to protest against ongoing transphobia that the BBC seems to be displaying on a regular basis.”

Kaz particularly cited recent coverage of Stonewall in a BBC podcast and accompanying article focusing on the LGBTQ+ charity’s influence over public bodies. Kaz told Bristol24/7: “We have a lot of respect for Stonewall and the work they do for the LGBTQ+ community and it seems to me like the BBC are part of the group of people that seem to be attacking Stonewall and we’re really annoyed about that.”

Blue, pink and white flags flew proudly outside the BBC’s Whiteladies Road HQ on Saturday as people gathered to take a stand against transphobia – photo by Ellie Pipe

The open letter to the BBC penned by grassroots organisation Trans Activism UK says: “The implications proposed in this article suggest that transgender women generally pose as a risk to cisgender lesbians in great enough numbers that it is newsworthy and something that the general public should consider to be a common occurrence rather than a matter of incredibly rare, isolated experiences.

“The article uses a deeply flawed study that doesn’t meet BBC guidelines and anecdotal accounts from known transphobic hate groups who actively campaign for transgender people to lose their legal recognition as their gender.”

It continues: “The BBC has been continually platforming anti-trans hate groups, and anti-trans perspectives, without covering the perspectives of the transgender community themselves. This is a particularly egregious example, but it’s certainly not an isolated incident.

“Platforming bigotry is not impartiality and the BBC needs to recognise that. Painting an entire group as potentially dangerous based on a handful of anecdotes and unreliable (or biased) sources is a deeply dangerous act.”

Protesters accused the BBC of breaking its own guidelines – photo by Ellie Pipe

Bristol Pride and Aardman Animations are among the signatories, that include global and national corporations, organisations such as Girlguiding, members of different political parties and journalists, among others.

A BBC spokesperson 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 range of voices are heard.”

The protest in Bristol was one of many across the country – photo by Ellie Pipe

Main photo by Ellie Pipe

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