Calling all Spartacus! Jenni needs us!

[iloveruby]

Am shamelessly posting in AIBU for traffic.

On Sunday Jenni Murray from woman's hour wrote an article saying that transwomen aren't women.

Full article here: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-females-can-never-be-real-women-says-jenni-murray-ht0xhcvrs

In light of the inevitable backlash that Jenni will / is receiving there are a number of efforts to show our support for her.

One of which is co-signing a letter to the BBC. The letter is below and anyone who would like to add their support please message me with your name and you will be added.

"There will undoubtedly be calls for Jenni Murray to leave her position with the BBC following her article of 5th March in the Sunday Times about trans women.
Whether her comments were ‘hurtful’ as Stonewall claim is irrelevant. Murray was bravely sharing her experience as a woman, a feminist and a broadcaster who has navigated a male-dominated society to enjoy a successful career.
Of course trans women have their own hurdles, but those who have spent their formative years as men will not understand the impact of the casual and institutional sexism that women are born into. That some trans women feel justified in wanting to silence Murray speaks volumes about the reality of the different ways men and women are taught and expected to behave.
It is perhaps noteworthy that Murray has made these remarks at the age of 66 with a robust and respected career to bolster her. How many others share her thoughts but are prevented from speaking out for fear of causing offence and sparking a hostile reaction?
To date the BBC has been remiss in its duty to 'educate, inform and entertain’ regarding the ideology behind gender identity. It seems the lobbying activities of groups such as Stonewall and Transmedia Watch have stymied debate, and vilified those who do not share the same viewpoint.
We stand in support of Jenni Murray, and in support of free speech. Please do not cave into the demands to end Murray’s career. The BBC has few older women in positions of seniority, and it would be to the detriment of both audiences and the reputation of the BBC if you were to remove her from post.
Yours"

I am not the author of the letter - that is an amazing women on facebook called Maggie who has organised this.

If anyone would like to add their name directly via facebook let me know and I will send you the link.

I am Spartacus! I am Jenni!

Society's attitude to this, and many other issues reminds me of the phrase "your mind's so open your brains have fallen out". We have been so concerned with being inclusive and equal that we've lost sight of reality.

How did the radio thing go? Was anyone able to do it?

jux

I think it's on at 4:30. Not sure if anyone was able to contribute but I think so.

It was the first item on the programme. A woman, Emma Robertson, and a trans woman, Amy Stanning. The discussion was about impartiality; whether someone who has made their opinions about a subject known should be allowed to chair a discussion about that subject. Emma said yes, Jenni had just raised some questions, Amy said no. Clearly, given the examples of John Humphrys and Justin Webb above, Emma was right. She was really good, is she here?

Black and disabled sisters, for the most part, stand with trans sisters.

DivaDyke, are you seriously claiming that there is one Black position on trans, or one disabled position? Because if you seriously are, then I think you probably don't get out enough. Or you might like to consider that it's a pretty appropriative bit of bullshit to lump "Black and disabled sisters" in as having one unified position, which amazingly enough conveniently aligns with yours.

Black and disabled sisters, for the most part, stand with trans sisters.

Bullshit. I am disabled and do not stand with trans 'sisters'. Not in any way, shape or form.

I am disabled, I don't stand with them on this point at all.

Someone posted the following on another thread:

I believe that all trans people deserve respect and the pronoun of their choice. I do not believe they can change their basic biology or the lifelong socialisation they've experienced as a result of that biology.
^^
That is pretty much now I feel and how many other people in the disabled feminist community on Twitter feel. I can't speak for the whole group but often times many of the people I am Twitter friends with feel TRA use disabled people as a stick to beat people who don't agree with them. They also harp on about intersectional feminism but rarely include disabled women unless as an after thought or to in some way say they have a harder lot in life.

I am disabled and do not stand with the, either.

I expect DivaDyke would say that means I'm not a 'sister' then.

Just reviving this thread to say that I've had a holding response from the BBC. There's that tinny, echoing noise of a can being kicked down the road and into someone else's front garden:

Thank you for taking time to contact us again recently. We had referred your complaint to the relevant staff and are normally able to investigate and reply to most complaints at this stage (which is stage 1b of the complaints process) within 20 working days of receipt, or around four weeks. However this is to inform you that we believe it may now take longer than 20 working days before you receive our reply.

We apologise for this and have brought the matter to the attention of the relevant staff again. The delay in answering may be due to their unavailability or other production commitments. We therefore ask you not to contact us further in the meantime. If however it does prove necessary to do so please use our webform at www.bbc.co.uk/complaints or write to us, quoting the case reference number we have provided.

We aim to use your licence fee as efficiently as we can, so if you have complained about the same issues as others we will send our response to you and everyone. We may also not investigate or reply in great detail if a complaint doesn’t suggest a potential breach of BBC standards, or a significant issue of general importance. This is in line with the BBC Trust’s complaints procedures which you can read at: www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/governance/complaints_framework/

We appreciate your continuing patience in waiting for a response and will reply as soon as possible.

Kind regards

BBC Complaints Team

I think that reads "we have had an avalanche of similar complaints and have scheduled a meeting with several senior people including lawyers but they're all so busy it won't be for a couple of weeks and then who knows how long before Sam actually gets the minutes out".