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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Covent Garden - why don't I trust the reporting ?

422 replies

SerendipityJane · 05/08/2026 15:35

A woman stabbing four men ?

Or am I nasty and old ?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
ThatCyanCat · 06/08/2026 18:30

Jane379 · 06/08/2026 17:01

'she was one of those women who was endlessly 'undressed' and 'sexually harassed' on her journey in on a daily basis, despite looking like a middled aged Rose West '

  • I don't know about this person specifically, but do you think only young and stereotypically attractive women get sexually harassed?

Yes, I think he does.

Strikeout44 · 06/08/2026 18:33

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 05/08/2026 21:22

Please. Transvestigation is your equivalent of asking what colour the attacker was.

Being obsessed with a minority, vilifying and creating panic about them, isn't activism.

Hilarious that you say we're 'obsessed' with trans people when literally the only threads you reply to are ones about being GC or trans - I don't think it's us that are obsessed.

I didn't think this stabbing was done by a man OP, just because it was done with scissors. If it had been a man it probably would have been a fuck off huge knife and at least one person would be dead.

The deception by the police and media that has led to people not being sure what's true and what's not is really disturbing.

BettyBooper · 06/08/2026 18:44

Inauthentic · 06/08/2026 18:28

"It’s just agenda‑posting. If you actually cared about the victims, you’d wait for verified facts instead of immediately blaming a marginalised group."

This.

It reminds me of those “doctor or engineer?” posts that pop up on social media after a crime - the ones that push the idea that a brown immigrant or asylum seeker must be responsible. There’s a weird satisfaction in trying to turn every tragedy into “proof” that a whole demographic is dangerous.

That pattern is harmful and it says more about the poster than about the incident.

Noone was saying that the offender was trans. That isn't the point of the thread. It is nothing to do with trans in the sense you are implying (that we somehow want backup that TIMs are dangerous - we don't. We just know they are men).

The point is that when the BBC etc report that the offender is a woman, we cannot trust them to be accurate because of the amount of times in the past that they have reported that a woman has committed a crime and it has actually been a man.

The media not reporting accurately about fundamental truth destroys trust in the media and is a huge issue in a functioning society.

BettyBooper · 06/08/2026 18:51

Put another way, would you prefer the media to report what is happening to you about events with their main focus being the truth, or their main focus being perceived kindness to those involved (including violent offenders)?

At the moment, the BBC has a track record of choosing the latter. I prefer the former and believe that truth is what good journalism should be about.

GreyskySexRealistsky · 06/08/2026 19:11

Inauthentic · 06/08/2026 18:28

"It’s just agenda‑posting. If you actually cared about the victims, you’d wait for verified facts instead of immediately blaming a marginalised group."

This.

It reminds me of those “doctor or engineer?” posts that pop up on social media after a crime - the ones that push the idea that a brown immigrant or asylum seeker must be responsible. There’s a weird satisfaction in trying to turn every tragedy into “proof” that a whole demographic is dangerous.

That pattern is harmful and it says more about the poster than about the incident.

It would have been quicker to post "I haven't grasped what this thread is about"

nicepotoftea · 06/08/2026 19:14

Inauthentic · 06/08/2026 18:28

"It’s just agenda‑posting. If you actually cared about the victims, you’d wait for verified facts instead of immediately blaming a marginalised group."

This.

It reminds me of those “doctor or engineer?” posts that pop up on social media after a crime - the ones that push the idea that a brown immigrant or asylum seeker must be responsible. There’s a weird satisfaction in trying to turn every tragedy into “proof” that a whole demographic is dangerous.

That pattern is harmful and it says more about the poster than about the incident.

the ones that push the idea that a brown immigrant or asylum seeker must be responsible.

Not statistically comparable because you are talking about minorities.

The suspicion was not that the perpetrator was trans but that they were MALE, because the vast majority of crimes like this are committed by men and the media have a habit of misreporting sex.

I'm very sceptical that men who develop sudden onset gender dysphoria on arrest aren't just pulling a fast one, but lumping just a small number of men together with women can skew the reporting of crime statistics.

I hope I have explained this adequately. It's sloppy data gathering that means that we don't have reliable statistics on trans people from the last census. Do you not think it's important to have good data?

Sarah2891 · 06/08/2026 19:56

Victorius19 · 06/08/2026 17:19

How funny... the media don't seem to be reporting that it's actually a man Hmm

Because she's not?

BlessingYou · Yesterday 02:36

BettyBooper · 06/08/2026 18:44

Noone was saying that the offender was trans. That isn't the point of the thread. It is nothing to do with trans in the sense you are implying (that we somehow want backup that TIMs are dangerous - we don't. We just know they are men).

The point is that when the BBC etc report that the offender is a woman, we cannot trust them to be accurate because of the amount of times in the past that they have reported that a woman has committed a crime and it has actually been a man.

The media not reporting accurately about fundamental truth destroys trust in the media and is a huge issue in a functioning society.

The starting OP was simply “A woman stabbing four men ?Or am I nasty and old?” There was no mention of the BBC or other media.

Of course, the implication was there that the ‘woman’ was not a woman at all. There had already been plenty of right-wing X posts that I’d seen by then suggesting as such, so I wasn’t surprised to see the thread. The faux “It’s the media’s fault we react this way” is curious, though, as it implies that women here don’t have much agency. This ‘BBC bad’ line is one that has been fed to you over years by trolls - so much so that you have come to believe it and repeat it. I’ve seen this occurring not only in Britain but with national broadcasters in other countries ATM, so it isn’t localised to you.

You’ve made a mistake? Own it. You’d gain more respect.

ThatCyanCat · Yesterday 07:19

The faux “It’s the media’s fault we react this way” is curious, though, as it implies that women here don’t have much agency.

The "women have agency" line is regularly abused to blame women for stuff but this is something else. When the media has regularly lied for years on a certain matter, people will start getting sceptical about it, and it's nothing to do with being a sexist anti feminist, much as I know you lot love to exploit that ridiculous line.

Lie a lot and people will distrust you, it's that simple. If you are so concerned about women's agency (you're not), then ask why the lie, told repeatedly, was almost always to the benefit of deluded men and the detriment of women.

ThatCyanCat · Yesterday 07:44

I'll also note, because the double standards truly never fail to amaze, that people generally pride themselves on not blindly believing everything the media say, and will talk about what great critical thinkers it makes them. Come this particular issue, though, where there's a set precedent of years of media plainly lying about one particular fact, and all of a sudden being sceptical is no longer the sign of a fine and independent mind, or just a normal bloody reaction, but hatred and "faux" (I wish some people had never learned this as their new favourite word) and Daily Mail and Nigel Farage and even chauvinistic anti feminism that denies women's agency (give me bloody strength).

BlessingYou · Yesterday 07:59

ThatCyanCat · Yesterday 07:19

The faux “It’s the media’s fault we react this way” is curious, though, as it implies that women here don’t have much agency.

The "women have agency" line is regularly abused to blame women for stuff but this is something else. When the media has regularly lied for years on a certain matter, people will start getting sceptical about it, and it's nothing to do with being a sexist anti feminist, much as I know you lot love to exploit that ridiculous line.

Lie a lot and people will distrust you, it's that simple. If you are so concerned about women's agency (you're not), then ask why the lie, told repeatedly, was almost always to the benefit of deluded men and the detriment of women.

You seem to be making a few assumptions about me here. That aside, yes, these threads do make me wonder about the media literacy of some posters. It’s has always been the case that you should never trust one news site only, but cross-check on other media sites for sanity - especially if it’s a particular interest area. Skepticism is healthy, as you note, but that is not what was happening here. What happened here was an automatic jump to this is a trans woman based on the images. That is misogyny and laziness, not skepticism. Nothing to do with the BBC or anything else.

ThatCyanCat · Yesterday 08:07

BlessingYou · Yesterday 07:59

You seem to be making a few assumptions about me here. That aside, yes, these threads do make me wonder about the media literacy of some posters. It’s has always been the case that you should never trust one news site only, but cross-check on other media sites for sanity - especially if it’s a particular interest area. Skepticism is healthy, as you note, but that is not what was happening here. What happened here was an automatic jump to this is a trans woman based on the images. That is misogyny and laziness, not skepticism. Nothing to do with the BBC or anything else.

Pretty sure I know who you are, well done for toning it down a bit, but unfortunately there's no obfuscating a ridiculous premise with pomposity and suggestions that everyone who sees through you is just not clever. The media has lied for years on a particular matter and as a result, people are now suspicious. It is not they who betray a lack of "media literacy" (bloody hell).

Lie a lot and people will stop trusting you. No clever person needs to be told that. What kind of person needs to obfuscate it? Cui bono?

Walkden · Yesterday 08:07

"What happened here was an automatic jump to this is a trans woman based on the images"

Not really true. The initial post expressed scepticism that a woman could stab 4 men - implying it was most likely a man identifying as female. Posters who had seen images suggested it was most likely a woman.

Some posters on this thread are still.claiming it is a man based on the published images - though the consensus is that the arrested woman is a well known homeless woman with mh issues.

tommyhoundmum · Yesterday 08:21

moto748e · 06/08/2026 18:01

The Rotherham Bugle has a hot take!

We’ve just been made party to a transcript of a conversation between the arresting officer at the stabbing incident in Covent Garden yesterday and superiors back at base.
Officer: “Okay we’ve got them under arrest.”
Base.: “Great, the media are going to be all over this, what can you tell me?”
Officer: “Well, the good news is they’re white.”
Base: “Lovely, we’ll get that out…we’ve arrested a white man…”
Officer: “It’s not a man as such.”
Base: “Okay no problem, I’ll put we’ve arrested a white woman.”
Officer: “Ahh…”
Base: “What?”
Officer: “They’re dressed as a women, but I’m pretty sure it’s a fella…or at least it was.”
Base: “Shit that’s complicated…okay look, we’ll forget the colour and just say they’ve got mental health issues. Just so long as nobody thinks it’s a Muslim or a migrant.

Funny but not true.

SodThisHeadache · Yesterday 08:47

"This never happens" ; male criminals (UK) reported in the media as being women:

Steven Carey/Aurin Makepeace
Cyrus Scarborough
'Christina' Moore
'Tracey' Smith
Shane/Sheniece Watkins
'Andrea' Slater
'Laura' Mart
'Jessica' Garnham Burton
Scott Henwood/Scarlett Lee
John Leslie Graham/Cleo Sunter
'Skyla' Stone
'Emma Louise' Llewelyn
'Bex' McCullugh
Robert O'Farrell/Katie Birtles
'Ami' Avanti
'Angel' Hill
'Kelsea' Broadfoot
Nicole/Kobi Earley
'Louise' Thomas
John Stuart/Joanna- Stuart Rowland
'Rebecca' Lowe
'Samantha' Norris
Fangze Wang/Scarlet Blake
Martin Tarling/Abbi Taylor
Nathan/Naomi O'Brien
'Isobel' Murphy
'Katana' Paris
Tyrone/Trinity Sanders
'Jade' Anderson
Thomas/Rebecca Gordon
'Rhi' Grugel
'Zara' Jade
'Harryetta' Thompson
Robert/Robyn Woof
Ketan/Chandi Shende
Alan/Alannah Morgan
'Trisha' Clifton
'Shay' Sims
John/Claire Goodier

Google: Transcrime UK (MNHQ does not allow links to this legitimate, well-evidenced site)

Their crimes include: murder with a machete, stalking/harassment, rape, bestiality, child sexual abuse. assault, wounding, drugs offences, kidnap, racially aggravated offences, tiorture, vandalism, possession of weapons, manslaughter, possession of extreme pornography, public indecency offences, driving offences, money laundering.

SodThisHeadache · Yesterday 08:55

@BlessingYou

This ^ is why many of us did not initially trust the reporting of this unusual (not unheard of) crime committed by a woman.

Note the sex of the (serious) male criminals was misreported across multiple sites

BlessingYou · Yesterday 09:03

SodThisHeadache · Yesterday 08:55

@BlessingYou

This ^ is why many of us did not initially trust the reporting of this unusual (not unheard of) crime committed by a woman.

Note the sex of the (serious) male criminals was misreported across multiple sites

Edited

The person’s name was not initially publicised, was it, though? Just her image. Doubts were primarily based on a few images. (The ones of her lying on the ground.)

im fascinated that you know who I am. Who am I and why should I be bothered that you do?

GreyskySexRealistsky · Yesterday 09:03

BlessingYou · Yesterday 02:36

The starting OP was simply “A woman stabbing four men ?Or am I nasty and old?” There was no mention of the BBC or other media.

Of course, the implication was there that the ‘woman’ was not a woman at all. There had already been plenty of right-wing X posts that I’d seen by then suggesting as such, so I wasn’t surprised to see the thread. The faux “It’s the media’s fault we react this way” is curious, though, as it implies that women here don’t have much agency. This ‘BBC bad’ line is one that has been fed to you over years by trolls - so much so that you have come to believe it and repeat it. I’ve seen this occurring not only in Britain but with national broadcasters in other countries ATM, so it isn’t localised to you.

You’ve made a mistake? Own it. You’d gain more respect.

The starting OP was simply “A woman stabbing four men ?Or am I nasty and old?” There was no mention of the BBC or other media.

The title of the thread is literally "why don't I trust the reporting". Obviously that refers to the BBC and other media.

Of course, the implication was there that the ‘woman’ was not a woman at all.

Yes, that's the point. Posters wondered whether it was a man.

The faux “It’s the media’s fault we react this way” is curious, though, as it implies that women here don’t have much agency.

It is because of inaccurate media reporting in the past that we initially questioned this report. It is good to question the media. Or don't you think so? Are you happy to swallow everything they serve you? It doesn't imply women here don't have much agency but actually completely the opposite - that we are prepared to question what we are being told and not just automatically accept it. This is based on previous experience of media reporting that was not accurate.

This ‘BBC bad’ line is one that has been fed to you over years by trolls - so much so that you have come to believe it and repeat it.

This sounds very much like you are the one implying that women don't have much agency. That posters on here clearly do not just accept what is "fed" to them. That is why we are questioning it.

I’ve seen this occurring not only in Britain but with national broadcasters in other countries ATM, so it isn’t localised to you.

So what? The media in other countries report things inaccurately too. No shit Sherlock.

You’ve made a mistake? Own it. You’d gain more respect.

You've misunderstood what the thread is about. Own it.
Why are we supposed to care who we gain respect from?

BlessingYou · Yesterday 09:04

Sorry @SodThisHeadache that last was for @ThatCyanCat.

GreyskySexRealistsky · Yesterday 09:06

BlessingYou · Yesterday 07:59

You seem to be making a few assumptions about me here. That aside, yes, these threads do make me wonder about the media literacy of some posters. It’s has always been the case that you should never trust one news site only, but cross-check on other media sites for sanity - especially if it’s a particular interest area. Skepticism is healthy, as you note, but that is not what was happening here. What happened here was an automatic jump to this is a trans woman based on the images. That is misogyny and laziness, not skepticism. Nothing to do with the BBC or anything else.

What happened here was an automatic jump to this is a trans woman based on the images.

No. What happened here – well before anyone saw any images – was posters questioning whether this was a man.

Unless TW actually are men? Interesting take....

SodThisHeadache · Yesterday 09:09

@BlessingYou . I don't know what you are getting at.

In all the examples I listed, a crime occurred, and newspapers and/or TV told us that a woman committed it. The person was then arrested, charged, found guilty and incarcerated. Newpsapers and/or TV persisted in telling us that a woman had committed that offence. All those offences were committed by men.

These were serious crimes that are very very uncommonly committed by women.

Why don't you understand the seriousness of that - in terms of the offence caused to victims of those crimes, women generally, the fact it shows poor journalistic ethics, and the fact it results in erosion of trust in the mainstream media?

BlessingYou · Yesterday 09:09

GreyskySexRealistsky · Yesterday 09:06

What happened here was an automatic jump to this is a trans woman based on the images.

No. What happened here – well before anyone saw any images – was posters questioning whether this was a man.

Unless TW actually are men? Interesting take....

Yes ….

GreyskySexRealistsky · Yesterday 09:10

BlessingYou · Yesterday 09:03

The person’s name was not initially publicised, was it, though? Just her image. Doubts were primarily based on a few images. (The ones of her lying on the ground.)

im fascinated that you know who I am. Who am I and why should I be bothered that you do?

Our discussion on here began way before any images were published anywhere.

The discussion was based on whether the perpetrator would turn out to be a man.

Turns out she's a woman. With complex difficulties. There's been some discussion about that here as well. Or would you like to silence women for discussing that on a feminist board too?

SodThisHeadache · Yesterday 09:12

@Blessing Oh and you can give over with the 'women have agency' crap. It's precisely because we have agency we don't accept any old bullshit.
Using feminism against us is a tired old technique we've seen over and over again. Accusing us of being in thrall to the extreme right is a tired old trope we've seen time and time again.

ThatCyanCat · Yesterday 09:15

BlessingYou · Yesterday 09:03

The person’s name was not initially publicised, was it, though? Just her image. Doubts were primarily based on a few images. (The ones of her lying on the ground.)

im fascinated that you know who I am. Who am I and why should I be bothered that you do?

What difference would the name have made? People who claim to be the opposite sex usually go by a different name. The first reports I saw did not show images of her, they just reported that a woman had committed a crime that's usually committed by men. The first images I saw had her face deliberately blurred; I did think her body looked like a woman, but it was at some distance.

You're not making a point here, not even a clumsy or dishonest one. Multiple media have lied for years about the sex of criminals, and so people, quite naturally and reasonably, wondered if they were lying this time. You can try to deflect from this with the usual bloviation and nonsense accusations but it's not going to fool anyone.