Emma Barnett interviews Endometriosis South Coast Steph Richards and Trustee Jodie Hughes

The interview is featured in the Telegraph today

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/15/endometriosis-not-gynaecological-condition-says-founder/

https://archive.ph/RIsSX archive link

Doesn't hold back.

There's space on wh for both types of interviews.

I know I'm a dissenting voice here, but I feel this interview was all wrong. Why should some crappy tiny charity be awarded air time on one of R4's most prestigious programmes, just so that the star presenter can make them look shit? It's taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

If Woman's Hour is really interested in how trans-identified men are infiltrating the women's charity sector, they ought to interview Mridul Wadhwa, CEO of Edinburgh Rape Crisis, and ideally have someone like Julie Bindel or Helen Joyce on to explain why such an appointment is so devastating for women.

There's another piece in the times about Emma's interview; does anyone have a share token ?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/radio-4-presenter-clashes-with-trans-woman-over-inclusive-language-gkv8xjnwg

That article from Emma about her experience of infertility is so hard hitting. No wonder she wasn't having any of it from this CEO.

Emma is a brilliant interviewer. When is she going? They really need someone like her to fill her shoes.

Putting this out there. How much lobbying do you think there is for a TW to be a new presenter?

Tbh I would have no objection to a man being the CEO if they had relevant experience and a genuine interest in advocating for women (i.e. a consultant gynaecologist). What really irks me is the disingenuous nature of this. It's all about self validation and riding roughshod over women's rights and altering the language to sideline women, a word which is now seemingly only ok if it refers to men. So now men have two words to describe themselves, 'women or men' and we have nothing!

That's a good point. With no due diligence apparently given this individual has a history of being threatening to women which is publicly available.

As is so often proven to be the case these days 'Diversity' only means what certain people want it to mean to suit their agenda. Not actual diversity, naturally.

And also. I know why people are saying transwomen want to be involved in women's charities about women's diseases for 'validation' but we all know what that really means - it's as plain as day.

I'm looking forward to the next announcement that the old flasher round the corner from the cinema that used to be regularly there to terrorize young girls (not anymore so presumably he's enjoying himself in women's toilets these days) has become CEO of a raincoat charity.

If Steph’s statement is correct it really is a tiny charity: turnover £160 a week, and Steph isn’t getting paid.

So CEO is a big title for a small unpaid p/t job.

And maybe the full equal opps recruitment that I would expect from a charity for paid employment isn’t so crucial.

This is one of those interviews that listening to once is just not enough! The first time I think I spent much of it going "oh my god SR is saying the quiet bits out loud!"

The second time I was able to fully appreciate how much of an actual shit show it was for Steph and Jodie.

Ooooh This sounds golden.
I shall listen on my way to work.

They’ve been doing this for a long time, pushing their way into women’s charities or organisations to prove to others just how womanly they are and obviously to gain the necessary validation from it. The added bonus is that they can further promote themselves and simultaneously lower women’s boundaries. The couldn’t care less about the actual cause.

Just a biological note; I was extremely terfy and more fired up emotionally by tra antics in the first couple of years after my second child who's now 5.

I can't help wondering if she's getting to fuck this shit land as she's also got a one year old.

My eyebrows went up at the disclosure that 2 people nominated for Diversity Awards were happy with a job offer to someone they met at the awards over a cup of coffee rather than an equal opportunities recruitment process. For a reg’d charity, no less!

I think this finally presented WH with the opportunity to reasonably reject a TW within bbc guidelines.

I do think there's been a change as the last time I can remember a trans woman being aired was over the sport issue. And Sharon was extremely on point. And the TW refused to be on iirc, they just played a previous recording.

SC is tricky within bbc guidelines as still currently medically classified as a woman - but Emma's questioning did draw out what she could to illustrate the issue.

And the time before that was staggering penis gate, at which Emma did emphasis with some sarcasm, was an ironic title for a 'woman.' And I'm wondering if that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

HJ is black listed by the BBC so I understand her wider criticism of WH generally, but I do think there's a slow change.

I am with Julie Bindel that this was a marvellous #letthemspeak opportunity worthy of a journalistic award.

Emma is a brilliant interviewer. When is she going? They really need someone like her to fill her shoes.

There was even a suggestion made at a transactivists’ planning meeting that they should look for feminist causes and promote them so it would appear they had an interest in women’s rights. Period poverty was the cause recommended and for a while, the suggestion was actually taken up.

I won’t name names, as my post would be removed, but there are a significant number of men who claim they are women, who push their way into women’s charities or into roles where it’s important to be female, such as working in rape crisis, by making all the right noises, and then “suddenly realising” once they gain power that transactivism is actually very important to them.

Emma was on fire! It sounded so radical, to hear the word woman used with gay abandon, no apology and no inclusion of male type women.

It is a great example of what we lose by being 'inclusive'. The word woman has power. I won't give it up. It is my word.

Janice Turner also listened to it. This is from her Notebook column in the Times today:

"Women’s pain
Fair play to the Woman’s Hour presenter Emma Barnett for calmly exposing the ludicrousness of the charity Endometriosis South Coast. Not only has it appointed a trans woman as chief executive — whatever happened to “lived experience”? — but Steph Richards, 71, has picketed feminist conferences and believes “man”, “woman” and even “child” are mere “social constructs”.
Richards is not, however, as bonkers as the charity’s founder, Jodie Hughes, who insisted endometriosis — an agonising condition whereby tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places — is not gynaecological as it affects men too. In truth, an infinitesimal number of males have endured endometriosis-like symptoms.
But although 99.999 per cent of sufferers are female, Hughes describes sufferers as “people with endometriosis”. Imagine telling Woman’s Hour the word “woman” is exclusionary while speaking to Barnett, whose life and fertility have been blighted by endometriosis."

Emma did an amazing job dissecting with poise. i listened to it live. It made my day. Both interviewees were utter morons. Especially the woman with endo - what an embarrassment. Apparently some people like being called terfs 😂

My take on it is that Jodie has founded her own charity to push her own view that endometriosis is an autoimmune condition rather than a gynaecological condition (and maybe to help her get subjects for her PHD research). I would be willing to place a large bet that this is the basis of her PHD. On another thread, it was pointed out that the description of endometriosis on the charity’s website was very different to the description on Endometriosis UK’s website. She may even be using the fact that a tiny number of men get endometriosis as part of her argument that she’s right and everyone else is wrong. The support part of the charity is irrelevant to her so it really doesn’t matter who the CEO is as long as the money keeps coming in, and the publicity of having a transwoman as CEO means that some gullible people will send money “in solidarity”.

Yes, I was thinking this too, that she was doing an exceptionally good job of remaining professional, in view of her personal experience. She wrote a very article in the Guardian a few years ago about a long struggle with endometriosis. She is a very good interviewer.

Endometriosis UK? Or have I missed something?

No, I agree with you, and thought it was a useful article too. Sorry for not making that clear! 🙂

I now wonder if Jody has also used this charity to capture EDI kudos to further Jody’s own future rather than necessarily working for women. I guess once you are on the awards circuit, it helps with all sorts of aspirations. As they are now being put up for awards etc, that seems to also be behind the selection.

Nothing wrong with ambition, except when you prioritise your ambition over the needs of the women your charity is supposed to be helping.

This is it, always. When they talk about women's rights they mean transwomen