Inside the Guardian’s civil war over trans coverage - an american viewpoint

30 replies

IwantToRetire · 06/04/2023 02:03

In early March, an internal memo announced a new working group on “equality and equity between women and men” that would “encourage open and respectful dialogue between those with differing beliefs and experiences.” The Guardian will hold an event on April 19 titled “untangling sex and gender.”

(much of the rest of it is a rehash of various articles already published but with a few extra titbits like the one above)

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/02/2023/inside-the-guardians-civil-war-over-trans-coverage

Also in a slightly more robust style is an article by Julie Burchill The Guardian has wrecked itself https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-guardian-has-wrecked-itself/

Or will they keep telling the great unwashed how they should feel about everything from breakfast to Brexit while the paper’s sales dwindle and their heads disappear further up their fundaments?

I certainly shan’t be observing any inter-hack loyalty while they make fools of themselves, as Owen Jones and his colleagues have thrown words like ‘fascist’ and ‘white supremacist’ at this magazine’s writers for too long. That The Spectator was one of the few publications of the time to stand against the slave trade while the Guardian filled its coffers from profits from that heinous trade is almost too poignant. Wrong side of history, anyone?

(This article can be read via the archive.ph/ web site by pasteing in the Spectator link)

Inside the Guardian’s civil war over trans coverage | Semafor

I spent a week in London in March to look back at the bitter conflict inside The Guardian, and to ask a timely question: Is The New York Times, fighting its own internal gender and labor battles, about to follow the same path?

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/02/2023/inside-the-guardians-civil-war-over-trans-coverage

OP posts:

Needmoresleep · 06/04/2023 08:26

"telling the great unwashed how they should feel about everything from breakfast to Brexit"

Exactly why I stopped reading several years ago. I had been quite happy reading both the Guardian and Mail on line and coming to my own view. The Guardian became weird, about the time Corbyn became leader, and seem to think that their role was not just to inform you, but to inform your views. As if they were purveyors of a one truth. I found the lecturing too much.

If they are losing readers, as the article suggests they are, it will presumably be to right of centre media such as the Times and Telegraph - or (cheapskates like me) the Mail. Many of their better journalists have made similar migrations. This cannot be good for either the paper or for the centre-left. (Or indeed anyone. We ought to have a vigorous opposition. Journalists ought to be encouraging critical thinking and debate.)

Littlesprouts · 06/04/2023 08:12

Hadn't heard of Semafor. Interesting, although the view of the author was predictably American^^ and as such it looks like they missed the point the women were making entirely. I doubt they were doing this:

In my conversations with some gender critical journalists, I was taken aback by how comfortable they felt openly expressing their disdain for trans women and making broad generalizations about them as a group.

Florissante · 06/04/2023 07:42

Guardian and "equality between men and women"? Hahaha. Very funny. They should have saved it for next year's April fool.

GrabbyGabby · 06/04/2023 07:28

Oooh Julie. That was fab u lous.

Muddays · 06/04/2023 03:36

The Grauniad has become a toxic symbol of censorship that's embraced a liberal-fascism oxymoronic (pointedly foolish) journalism that's increasingly alienating and losing the respect of its readers. The departure of Hadley Freeman was the most significant 'end of days' moment for me.

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