Mermaids given £500,000 by National Lottery (Sunday Times)

[crsacre]

A transgender charity that campaigns for children to be given prohibited sex-change treatment has been awarded £500,000 by the national lottery.

The payment to Mermaids has angered MPs, feminists and women’s organisations, who accuse the charity of bullying doctors, promoting falsehoods and using “emotional blackmail” to pressure parents to support life-changing medical interventions for their children. Mermaids will use the money to create a network of 45 groups nationwide.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/child-sex-change-charity-handed-500-000-by-national-lottery-dvbt7t2kb?shareToken=cd8d6faad97cd9dd3fe3f16eb3810f45

[EmpressAdultHumanFemale]

Those tweets by Susie Green are shocking.

Aren't they just.

[R0wantrees]

I think the tweets came from WPATH 2018 Argentina

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3414279-Can-we-talk-about-WPATH

[R0wantrees]

For context, November 2018 Gaystar News article by 'mimmymum' one of Mermaids' parents (volunteer/employee?) active on Twitter:

'Is the UK media responsible for fueling anti-trans hate?
Why did mainstream media ignore a warning from the UN about the dangers facing the trans community?'
(extract)
"The reality is that the end of October marked the end of an 18 month campaign by a small group of individuals on a mission to roll-back trans rights – all dressed up as ‘concern for women’s protections’ in response to the GRA consultation.

While the hostilities initially started on social media platforms, by the end of the year-long government consultation process, anti-trans articles were appearing at alarming frequency in national news platforms and broadcast media. Campaigning ‘feminist’ groups scoured the country trying to recruit women to their trans-hostile ideological cause.

A small number of visible trans people, family members and disparate supporters stood in the way of this barrage of relentless misinformation and demands for ‘debate’, backed up by a handful of LGBT organisations like Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence and Mermaids.

Dubbed ‘trans rights activists’ and accused of ‘silencing’, the reality was far from that splashed across the front pages of national newspapers.

In fact, the majority of articles in the UK news media over the last 18 months have been predominantly negative about trans people and those who support them.

With headlines such as ‘Trans extremists are putting equality at risk’ and ‘Feminist poster banned because it “could offend trans people”‘, some news platforms tripped over themselves to seek out stories to undermine and demonise trans people and their allies.

With only the occasional neutral or positive article thrown in for the appearance of ‘balance’, the ‘modus operandi’ for journalists had become one of ‘kicks for clicks’ in overtly or subtly attacking trans people. In this environment, it’s no surprise that any trans-positive voice – even that of the UN – was overlooked.

While the statement by the UN and accompanying report talked about overt aggression, discrimination and hostility towards transgender communities around the world, it is clear that the media narrative around the transgender community has a part to play in the public’s general understanding of trans people.

Contrary to the disproportionately large number of news articles, the trans population in the UK is still very small, so the likelihood that the public will come into contact in any meaningful way with a trans person, is relatively unlikely.

This gives the media a huge amount of power over how trans people are portrayed and understood by the UK population." (continues)

www.gaystarnews.com/article/is-the-uk-media-responsible-for-fueling-anti-trans-hate/#gs.4HWAkkM

[Candidpeel]

I've sent an FOI request for the grant application and for Big Lottery Fund's assessment documents of it.

[Needmoresleep]

the trans population in the UK is STILL very small

not if Mermaids have their way?

[happydappy2]

Mermaids days are numbered.....I hazard a guess they will fall apart within a year-the fact that Susie is so personally involved makes their whole premise deeply flawed. Of course she is desperate for confirmation that what she did was right-but she needs to get her narrative out of classrooms.

[R0wantrees]

This gives the media a huge amount of power over how trans people are portrayed and understood by the UK population

The trans lobbies have significant power over the media and how trans people are portrayed and understood by the UK population.

The ITV drama Butterfly was screened in October with a great deal of supportive TV and newspaper interviews.

Interview with 'fiercemum' another influential Mermaids parent often interviewed challenging NHS GIDS service:
metro.co.uk/2018/10/28/itvs-butterfly-has-come-at-a-crucial-time-but-it-doesnt-represent-my-reality-of-having-a-trans-child-8073207/

[R0wantrees]

Sue Pascoe (Channel 4 inclusion advisor, MESMAC trustee and potential Conservative candidate) in response to Andrew Gilligan.

threads:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3383926-Sue-Pascoe
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3331095-Channel-4-appoints-a-new-advisor-on-inclusion

[LangCleg]

harmful to children

JFC.

[Ereshkigal]

Liked by the good doctor, I see.

[R0wantrees]

I'm hoping that Gilligan will reply with his journalism credentials since these are the qualifications on which he has written the article.

Just as journalists investigate other stories of public interest, they are not required to be qualified in the subject area.

Given Pascoe's recent appointment to Channel 4, it concerns me she doesn't seem to understand this basic premise

[Ereshkigal]

Indeed.

[R0wantrees]

Liked by the good doctor, I see

I hadn't seen that Dr Adrian Harrop had liked Sue Pascoe's comment.

He has a keen interest in the media & I think is a media spokesperson. Surprised he too seems not to understand this about investigative journalism.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3412316-Dr-Adrian-Harrop-thread-the-fourth-GMC-do-care-have-taken-it-to-the-next-level

[R0wantrees]

twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1061694868454588419

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

Someone is cross.

[Needmoresleep]

She's right and everyone else is wrong (and a Terf and hateful and should be reeducated)?

[Needmoresleep]

Someone is cross. and that was before today's article.

[LizzieSiddal]

I've sent an FOI request for the grant application and for Big Lottery Fund's assessment documents of it.

Thank you.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

I wonder what green would do if her child (the famous one) ever decided to move abroad, get a boring office job and stop being the poster child for transsexuals. Or if they decided that mummy hasn’t done the right thing after all and had in fact harmed them and decided that they wanted to cut all ties.

[Needmoresleep]

Didn't something like this happen to another organisation for TG kids run by a mum and dad team where the DC went NC. (To use a full bingo card of MN abbreviations.)

Looks to R0wan...

All I can say is that Jackie Green looks very ill at ease in the photo, and lives abroad. TG or not, they are at an age where they might want mothers less involved in their lives.

[Needmoresleep]

Actually R0wan don't worry, unless you have some third source facts.

I looked at a couple of organisations in case my memory was tripped. One, GIRES, does not even say on their website, who runs it or what their background is - despite delivering over 50 training sessions a year, providing advice for GPs, and guidance for children of a TG parent. Qualifications, child protection... how do we know these people are not simply purveyors of woo.

[R0wantrees]

I would be very uncomfortable sat on a TV sofa & many young people make the most of opportunities to live and work abroad.

The issue with Susie Green is that she is the CEO of a charity which has a lot of influence over the lives of many other people's children.

IMO it doesn't help to speculate over her current family relationships, not least as this is largely why Green has avoided a lot of scrutiny in interviews etc.

Mermaids trustees & staff are accountable, just as any other charity working with children.

[R0wantrees]

GIRES is interesting.
There's been some discussion on this board so may show up on search.
Their yearly reports including minutes from agendas are worth reading for who else attends.

[Hackedoffwoman]

This is gives a bit of background on Gires.
www.theguardian.com/profile/terry-reed

[WrathofbubonicKlop]

At last we can see the comments are by real people making perfectly valid arguments.
I don't see any carefully stage managed 'brave and stunning' tosh we have had to put up with over the past few years.