Main Edition
US
FR
November 10, 2021 - 4:22pm
When the BBC announced today that, “After careful consideration, we believe it is time to step back from the Diversity Champions Programme and will also no longer participate in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index,” sighs of relief could be heard around the corporation. Many lesbians, feminists and gay men had become sick and tired of the dominance of transgender ideology, and increased pressure to use pronouns on email sign offs and capitulate to various demands of the handful of transgender staff whilst being expected to side-line their own needs had become intolerable.
When Ruth Hunt was applying for the role of CEO of Stonewall in 2014, she requested a meeting with me. I was a little surprised and perplexed: I have never been a fan of Stonewall, and had written a book, published that same year in which I criticised the organisation for focusing on wealthy, white gay men bleating about ‘tolerance’ and ‘acceptance’. I considered Stonewall to be a gay men’s rights movement, in which lesbians barely featured. I could never have imagined at that time how much worse it was to become.
During our meeting, which was perfectly pleasant, Hunt explained to me that she had “no intention” of Stonewall becoming a LGBT organisation, and was planning to, if she got the job, help support transgender organisations to autonomously fight for their rights by accessing funding and giving advice and mentoring.
Fast forward a few weeks, and, as soon as she was in post, Hunt held a meeting with several trans activists during which she apologised about my nomination for Journalist of the Year in 2008, at which there was a huge protest by trans activists on the grounds that I am seen as a transphobic bigot.
I am not suggesting that Hunt misled me during our meeting when she said Stonewall would remain focussed on sexual orientation and identity as opposed to gender, but I wonder if she allowed herself to be ‘persuaded’ by the individuals in that meeting that to exclude the T would bring trouble to her door. This was in the context of brewing animosity about the unreasonable demands being put forward by some trans activists, and the trans rights movement was well on the march.
Whatever happened in that meeting that led to Stonewall changing direction. It soon adopted intransigent, strong-arm tactics. Its “No Debate!” catchphrase and the uncompromising, dictatorial mantra, “Trans women are women” alienated lesbians and gay men. They felt pushed aside by trans activists who argued that same-sex attraction was transphobic bigotry, and that lesbians can have penises. Gay men and lesbians began to turn against the organisation, feeling betrayed.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeLet us hope that the other public and private institutions that have signed up to Stonewall will have the good sense to follow the BBC in ditching them.
Reading this piece, I just want all these squabbles relegated to the fringes where they belong. JB included.
The rest of us just want to get on with being tolerant, resisting demands when they are ridiculous, and ignoring the hateful, intolerant people who seem to latch on to minority groups.
Really, it’s not cool or edgy, or shocking – it’s boring and narcissistic. Can we move on please!
Spot on, mate! Good news that Stonewall is out, but let’s not forget that JB is only slightly less crazy and extreme than the trans nuts. She is not on side with normal, liberal, tolerance, treating everyone with respect (or not) as individuals.
Think I’m kidding? I suggest that any fair interpretation of JB on the podcast HONESTLY with Bari Weiss mandates this conclusion. Her entire career is hectoring and hating straight white men. A theater shows a film she doesn’t like–concrete in the toilets! How empowering.
I agree that a temporary alliance should be formed with almost woke or “woke adjacent” people, to defeat the most extreme woke–as with all religious fanatics. Emphasis on temporary.
Wauw what kind of comment is this?. An example of NoDebate: Really, it’s not cool or edgy, or shocking – it’s boring and narcissistic. Can we move on please! Yes please
“No debate.”
The Left in a nutshell. If you aren’t transphobic, you are a “racist”, “sexist”, “homophobic”, “bigoted”, etc., if you dare to disagree with them.
Look at that picture – those gym going, primping and preening casual look liberal Lefty useful idiots demanding they be vilified and replaced as an Identity…. It is the turkeys assembling to welcome Christmas….
Stonewall Out! No Debate!
well , what’s good for the goose…
Who said Stonewall out, no debate?
That’s all well and good, and certainly to be welcomed, HOWEVER the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Will the BBC rethink the erasure of same sex attraction as stated in their editorial guidelines (and posted here a few months back)?
I had read 1/3 of female youth identify as LBGT in recent polling, so BBC is doing very well at its goal…or at least of getting the people to go along in spirit.
What an evil organization – yet they think themselves as being the ultimate morality, or at least the usefull idiot brigade do – I wonder what the actual leadership and agenda managers really believe? My guess is they are as cynical about their position as Lord Haw-Haw was, and in the same work as him.
The BBC ceased to be a treasured institution years ago, and has become a lobbying group itself.
I’m not sure the BBC is a “ treasured institution” anymore. I for one will never go back to it until it stops preaching a left-wing agenda at me all the time.
Neither homosexuals nor heterosexuals are claiming that biology can be transcended on the mere say-so of an individual. Their orientations are exclusively embedded in the material reality of biological sex. The sort of conflict that we’ve seen with the transgender extremists doesn’t arise. There’s lingering homophobia for sure though, not least among the trans extremists who think lesbians should be forced to accept them as sexual partners.
No, of course not, because that is the supporting claim being made by trans activists and others in the gender space.
But various groups make claims in their turn which mainstream society does not accept, but then embraces (or at least resigns itself to). If science seems on board with their claim, activists embrace it. If not, then not. Ultimately, if they are successful, their views become normalised.
We’ve forgotten about it now, but at one time homosexuality was seen as abnormal because it did not lead to reproduction – and that was seen as the purpose of sex. Many still believe that, but live with the cognitive dissonance.
It is interesting that the LGB community concerns are so prominent at a time when many say overpopulation is one cause (to my mind the biggest) of planet destruction. Another remarkable factor is the increase of dog ownership, the type that calls and treats them as fur babies. More best friend than we realised.
I’m interested in hearing how dog ownership contributes to the destruction of the planet. I hadn’t heard that argued before. I don’t have a dog in this fight (ha), as I literally don’t have a dog. Just curious.
The new alternative to having children. Cheap, obedient, no university fees, and if the medical bills get too high you can have them put down and get another one.
What next? Will the BBC / Boris Johnson / Keir Starmer admit that biological men don’t have a cervix in their body? Not holding my breath.
Great news!
I have spent 40 years working with and friends with large numbers of gay and lesbian people. I have never been accused of homophobia, neither have people I have worked with…. Never a hint of it.
Most people just get on with their lives. Most women don’t hate men, most gay people don’t hate heterosexuals, and I doubt many lesbians really hate gay men for hogging the limelight.
But haters and resentful bigots seem to attach themselves to all the groups who claim to represent these people.
More than anything, it’s like the silly squabbles that break out between different teenage groups.
I sometimes think we need an LGBS organisation.
Got 6 minutes? Try JP Sears on Youtube. IRL He is a Personal Relationship Coach, Professional Stand Up Comic, Vegan, Spiritual guide, and has become a Right Wing comedian – and here he is ‘What Woke Men Are Life’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07lTHCHRS04
I know few click on links – but if you want some crazy stuff from the other side, this is it, as a comedy sketch…..
JP is very ‘spot on’ as well as funny. Not OTT or too-obviously funny, but in focussing on the inanities of various people, issues, ideologies etc he invites us to see the ridiculousness of it all.
Yet another good piece of journalism from Julie Bindel. Informing us of her meeting with Ms Hunt and subsequent events. I only attended one meeting at Stonewall, taken there by a member around 1999-2000. OK, but found it had too many of the same type (as JB indicated) so didn’t go back.
There is an obvious problem with trans activist entryism, but no-where does JB make any adverse remarks with regards to transvestite people themselves. They have my empathy and some of them have indicated distress at the negative impact of some activists.
Stonewall is a malign lobbying organisation with far too much reach into our major institutions. It needs to be investigated by the Charities Commission as to whether it has breached the terms of what a charity should be doing.
Other major U.K. institutions need to withdraw from its laughably labelled ‘equality index’ programme, ie OFCom, CPS, top universities, major companies.
Finally the BBC has come to its senses… others need to follow its lead.
It’s more important that the BBC ditches its support for feminism than trannies.