BBC books sack Dr Who writer for being GC

[BreakWindandFire]

Gareth Roberts is a sci-fi author who has written quite a few Dr Who stories. He's a gay Tory Brexiter, so probably unusual with regard to his politics in the sci-fi sphere.

He was commissioned to write for a Dr Who anthology produced by BBC books. After submitting his contribution he's just been sacked.

Why? Because he's vocally GC on twitter.

A section of the Dr Who fandom agitated for my removal. Also, some of the other contributing authors to the book (I don’t know who) threatened to withdraw if I was involved. BBC Books immediately folded to these demands.

Anyone wanting to view his gender heresy can read his statement here:

medium.com/@zmangareth/statement-on-bbc-books-and-transgenderism-dd7ad0c9231a

Some have urged me to make a full, obeisant apology. Even if I was inclined to, I don’t think it would have any effect at all – for example, Helen Lewis of The New Statesman is currently being monstered for the most careful, respectful piece on this issue. I’m not bothered very much by words though I’m bothered when they distress my friends and family. But then, that’s how intimidation works. That’s why intimidators intimidate. (And I know for a fact it would be much worse for a woman in this position.)

For the record this is my opinion on transgenderism and its ideology, with no humour or irony attached.

I’ve rejected restrictive cultural gender stereotypes for as long as I can remember. I consider them to be very often harmful and constricting, especially for girls and women. The culture I enjoy most and the artists I like most are people who laugh at, bend and play with these roles.

I don’t believe in gender identity. It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex. I don’t believe anybody is born in the wrong body.

I think it’s wrong to – write a falsehood into law; compel people by law to speak words they do not believe; rewrite the law to remove women’s biological sex-based rights and protections; reinforce gender stereotypes; medicalise children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes. That’s it.

I don’t believe my view should be protected either. People must be protected, ideas must never be. I would ask the writers who objected to my inclusion in the same book as them to reflect on that.

Well that's shit, isn't it.

I think it’s wrong to – write a falsehood into law; compel people by law to speak words they do not believe; rewrite the law to remove women’s biological sex-based rights and protections; reinforce gender stereotypes; medicalise children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes. That’s it.

That just sums it up in a nutshell. Perfectly put.

Gggrrrr

That's terrible.

I'm incredibly impressed that he's tried to stand up to the bullies there though.

Poor guy. I probably oppose him on 90% of his views (lefty remainer myself) but he's shown courage and dignity in his response to this bullying

Earlier thread (though I think the title of this thread is more explanatory).

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3603573-Male-Author-removed-from-book-due-to-transphobic-comments

Sorry to the original poster leghairdontcare - I missed your earlier thread!

....

www.goodreads.com/book/show/40109387-doctor-who

A lot of talent is going to go, we should be able to say what we want, it's supposed to be a free country.
Not anymore, apparently.

Lots of rubbish comments here from Twitter users. Be nice to support him. mobile.twitter.com/0hMySt4rs/status/1135877851880800256

How does his opinion oppress trans people?i don't see it-so far as I'm aware transpeople have equal rights, are protected in law as trans people-how does his opinion regarding the infringement on women's right constitute an attack on theirs?

Good for him.

Clear, to the point, without waffle. What's not to like about that in an author.

Here's the tweets - yes, two whole tweets - he posted in 2017 that the woke are now taking offence to. Here he explains:
These tweets in September 2017 were cheerful vulgarity. Like every other reasonable person I deplore and condemn any violence, intimidation or discrimination against any person for their beliefs or for how they present themselves, or indeed any other reason.
When I was a kid in the 1980s and a member of the London Lesbian and Gay Teenage group we referred to ourselves and each other as queers, trannies and dykes. I note that one of these words is now somehow an official initial in the ever expanding lexicon LGBTQ, used now by the British royal family and the Conservative party. I find this irritating but I would never try to prevent people saying it with force or sanction. Freedom to offend is not an attack.

These tweets in September 2017 were cheerful vulgarity.
Well, obviously, being a good sci-fi writer, he is supposed to go back in time, tell off his earlier self, re-educate himself retrospectively, and make sure that not only he apologizes before he steps into the Tardis for having said it, but also that he corrects time so that he never did. Although I'm not sure the doctor would approve of that storyline.

Cheerful vulgarity, please let's us keep some of that, as compared to this totally cheerless woke doubleplusgood duckspeaking.............

(Although I recall a dockyard Doris, but then those are just, presumably, wrongthink drag acts and not allowed anymore. Not saying I necessarily agree with drag, but it is a part of gay male history and culture, that shouldn't be erased or sanitized because some people would prefer us to pretend it never happened. Mind you, the same sort of people are also trying to rewrite the history of the Stonewall riots as well..............).

seems very unlikely that TRAs could organise a boycott of Dr Who books sufficient to impact sales
more likely, they find it easier to silence someone than defend the right to freedom of opinion- I doubt his stories had any GC content.
But in any case, good for him.

I don't find it hard to believe at all, unfortunately. Science fiction and fantasy fandoms are awash with the young and woke, and twitter pile-ons work.

I'm fairly sure one of the newest crop of Doctor Who novels is written by a trans author of male extraction. (Oh the fun hoops we jump through to avoid deletion.)

Well, obviously, being a good sci-fi writer, he is supposed to go back in time, tell off his earlier self, re-educate himself retrospectively, and make sure that not only he apologizes before he steps into the Tardis for having said it, but also that he corrects time so that he never did. Although I'm not sure the doctor would approve of that storyline.

That would violate the Blinovitch Limitation Effect.

(I am such a nerd).

Incidentally, before anyone sneers at Doctor Who spinoffs as mindless junk, one of the writers is Naomi Alderman, a protege of Margaret Atwood and author of the acclaimed feminist SF novel The Power.

Alderman was one of the members of the panel that voted Cordelia Fine’s Testosterone Rex as last years Science Book of the Year.

Fine’s book debunked the blue brain/pink brain theory.

Yeah the twitter pile-ons on anyone who is popular are something to behold. JK Rowling's twitter was a wreck after liking one tweet. Robert Webb said "Mermaids suck" - which I wholeheartedly agree with - an my god. The mess. He was suddenly literally killing trans kids so he deleted it.

Plus BBC = v woke, always keen to jump on the progressive unicorn wagon, whilst throwing women under it

Good on him for that response.

Oh for crying out loud. What about the transwoman who calls themself The Clapham Tranny? They have an entire website, devoted to themselves.

And, my disagreement notwithstanding, they have become something of a national institution in Clapham.

A gay man who has grown up on the scene, amidst 'queers, dykes and trannies' (I'm quoting, HQ, not generating my own words), is, of course, completely at home with the vernacular.

Boring, tedious, authoritarian and scared. Just what you want with your national entertainment institution.

Roberts wrote a novelisation of the unfinished Douglas Adams scripted Doctor Who Story Shada. It’s set on the Seventies and Roberts added a gay character who calls people ‘Honkeytonk’. Growing up watching Dick Emery probably inoculated him against the belief that putting on a dress literally changes someone’s sex.

The Dr Who audience must be a home to so many non-binary, transgender young people though. Just look at the Dicky Bow chic so beloved by all the young trans men. There’s no way he would have been allowed to hold those views and mingle in that crowd. Doesn’t Juno Dawson write Dr Who books now? It’s trans central. A world where anything can happen and hybrid creatures thrive.

Can I just say one thing though as a totally gender critical woman. We can’t minimise and explain away a gay man using words like ‘dyke’ ‘queer’ ‘tranny’ etc... and then jump on someone like Munroe Bergdorf for using language like that in long ago tweets (the ones she lost the L’oreal Job over). You can argue that they’re both wrong or they’re both allowed but it’s a bit hypocritical to justify one and not the other. Personally the most waspish, bitchy, homophobic type insults I’ve heard thrown around have been in the company of a ‘queer’ crowd. I’m not a fan of the Dorf but I think the language used in this debate is so critical. We need to be consistent.

I don't disagree, but the tweet in question was a gay man essentially saying the transsexuals he was referencing were queeny gay men with camp pretensions in their chosen names. That's an internal joke between gay men.

Bergdorf calling a woman a hairy barren lesbian is not a woman being jokey with another woman. There's a slightly different power differential going on. But yes, I wasn't as bothered by that particular Bergdorf comment as i suspected there was some context missing. I'm rather more concerned by Bergdorf endorsing child sexual exploitation and being given a platform as a 'woman' than I am about trawling through tweets for gotchas.

And yes, Juno Dawson was the trans author of new Who books I was thinking of. I cant imagine this wasn't significant in Gareth Robert's woes. Because once you piss off the Most Oppressed Minority in the World Ever™️, the writing really is on the wall for you, given their complete lack of power and clout anywhere.