Woman's Hour today is interviewing someone from the Tavistock about puberty blockers

[nauticant]

It'll be interesting to get a sense of how Emma Barnett thinks the discussion should be handled.

The tone of voice though. Sounds terrified of saying the wrong thing.

At last an actual adult in the room at the BBC!

It's the first time that I've heard someone be allowed to say at the beeb that very many of these children are gay or lesbian.

Hopefully that'll have got through to many listeners and opened their eyes (ears?).

I thought Dr David Bell was excellent. He was very clear, calm and compassionate. Think it's one of the best interviews I've heard on the subject as he was given a good chance to speak without interruption.

Here's how it's going down on twitter:

twitter.com/search?q=bbcwomanshour%20OR%20(woman%27s%20hour)%20OR%20%22woman%27s%20hour%22%20OR%20(womans%20hour)&f=live

Including these contributions:

twitter.com/search?q=meta4ical%20AND%20bbcwomanshour&src=typed_query&f=live

... he was given a good chance to speak without interruption.

That's a novelty these days! I have to switch off the Today programme most mornings and I've noticed a bit of it from Emma Barnet too. But, yeah she let him speak..

Thanks for posting, will have a listen. As the mum of a child who is currently under the care of the Tavi, I am very interested!

'radio mumsnet' - you have misspelled 'reasoned, reasonable discourse there...

@StanfordPines

I feel this is a very balanced interview.

Why is it Woman’s Hour though? Why is this only a concern for women? Surely it’s a concern for all parents.

Maybe because it's girls and young women who are going down this path in disproportionate numbers? Haven't listened to it, but feel the issue is especially relevant to mums of daughters - the notion of opting out of womanhood.

For that particular individual Xanthangum, their bio demonstrates some overlap with other current threads in FWR.

Twitterers complaining about lack of balance. Weren't the Tavistock asked on to the programme but declined? Like they did when David Bell was on Newsnight.

@Xanthangum

'radio mumsnet' - you have misspelled 'reasoned, reasonable discourse there...

LMAO. Who the f--- is Nigel and why is he listening to Women's Hour? Amazing that a man would sit there opining on what Women's Hour should be!

@OldCrone

Twitterers complaining about lack of balance. Weren't the Tavistock asked on to the programme but declined? Like they did when David Bell was on Newsnight.

Exactly!

Nige can't bear that Woman's Hour and Mumsnet have the audacity to exist and not centre his views. Poor Nige.

Slight derail:
How good would Radio Mumsnet be though? People being allowed to talk freely, would scare the hell out of people. Imagine Jo Swinson on Radio Mumsnet, she thought Anna from Warwick gave her a tough question! I think Justine should consider it.

Nige can't bear that Woman's Hour and Mumsnet have the audacity to exist and not centre his views. Poor Nige.

It's very much the same attitude as we saw in the Handforth Parish Council meeting. When they interviewed those men afterwards, they clearly thought that Jackie Weaver was bullying them. It seems to be that some men see any expression of dissent or disagreement by women, however mild, however polite, as an act of hostility and aggression.

Wow thankyou Dr Bell, brilliant interview delivered with clarity, logical reasoning and authority whist still being compassionate to the needs of those with gender dysphoria.

He also raised such an important point that there is a distinction between somebody with GD and a transgender person. You only become the later once you are affirmed, either medically or socially.

@AbsintheFriends

Nige can't bear that Woman's Hour and Mumsnet have the audacity to exist and not centre his views. Poor Nige.

Not my Nigel. 😂😂😂

But, yeah she let him speak..

And he didn't let her cut in before he'd finished what he wanted to say. How often does that happen if it's 'he and her' rather than 'she and him', the interviewee being treated with respect?

It's a good thing it was him rather than a woman who was in his particular position, tbh.

Not listened to this but sounds like Dr Bell did a great job. I believe he has also been allowed to intervene in the Tavistock appeal. Hopefully he can apply his obvious knowledge and good sense there too.

Excellent point Errol

And on TODAY early, mention of the Brighton breastfeeding word challenge. Maybe things really are changing.

And on TODAY early, mention of the Brighton breastfeeding word challenge.
Yes, I was amazed. When there's been anything about this on the front page of a newspaper before, the paper review has studiously avoided mentioning it. This time, they gave it a long mention.

mobile.twitter.com/meta4ical/status/1359451393724153856

Any man who refers to a child as a "trans little" rings massive warning bells.

I think Dr Bell plays such an important role in the public realm around this debate. He's always calm and clear and obviously extremely well informed. He's also very polite whilst maintaining an authorative voice. He also clearly cares a great deal about the lives of these children.

He's just what is needed to counteract all the yelling and mud-slinging that usually accompanies this issue.

If I recall correctly, in the statement the Tavistock sneakily reformulated the High Court's finding that nearly all children and young people on puberty blockers go onto cross-sex hormones into only 50% go from puberty blockers to physical interventions.

So are they going to change their evidence in the JR from not having a clue how many went forward, to having a closer look and deciding it's now 50%. This would be a game changer for the KB case, though it doesn't take away the experimentation and lack of understanding of the consequences, it does mean that the route to medication and surgery is not a foregone conclusion.