Useful BBC documentary with both trans and GC views well represented

[OhBuggerandArse]

This BBC Alba documentary is potentially a really useful recommendation for anyone who needs something accessible to open up discussion with friends or MPs/MSPs or election candidates. Very little of it is in Gaelic, and what there is is sub-titled. It's the most room I've seen given to GC views in a programme of this sort for ages, with great contributions from Nic Williams, Andy Wightman, and Rhona Hotchkiss. It is obviously still very tender to the trans stories, but has good discussion of the issues with prisons, with data, with freedom of expression and the political process, and with women's rights. On IPlayer for 29 days.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0014kqg/eorpa-series-29-episode-12?fbclid=IwAR3w-ZYJ0iQxZW6RwZpYpuvDiBw7wP3cRWS-6HhVhvadS5rno5N32JCAMFo

I don’t have any Gaelic so I had to actually watch the screen for the subtitles but that’s a good thing, the visuals make it obvious how young the vulva having trans people are, and how testosterone has influenced the transwomen’s lives so far.
Sarah Jane Barker was in there being a lovely violin playing victim, so perhaps explaining what the convictions were for might be the missing pierce of info…

Links here to Sarah Jane grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/pride-month-is-becoming-a-festival?utm_source=url

30 years behind bars for attempted murder - imprisoned in 1989 aged 19 for kidnapping and torturing her stepmother’s brother.

www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-prisoners-trfn-idUSKBN20Y3H0

I watched this the other night although I don't have much Gaelic. I think they did try to be balanced given the perimeters within which they have to work.

It was a bit frustrating as everything was couched in the terms dictated by the trans lobby but I get that they probably didn't have much choice. I'm sure they probably thought they WERE being impartial but the BBC is rarely as impartial as it thinks it is!

I had a real issue with some of the stuff the psychologist said as well - she made it sound like intersex is part of the trans umbrella but it's a medical condition!

The main thing that struck me was that ALL of the hyperbole came from the trans-identified people whereas the people giving the alternative view were the ones who came across as calm and rational.

I get that you're going to feel emotional if you think that people hate you and literally want you dead but feel that the presenter could have actually gently challenged her interviewees when they made emotive statements like this.

Who hates Sarah? Who wants thinks Sarah shouldn't exist? Going by the programme certainly not people like Rhona Hotchkiss and Nicola Williams who made it clear that they DO support rights for trans-identifying individuals.

It wasn't the worst programme on this subject I've watched or listened to but not a patch on the Stephen Nolan podcasts.

I wonder if there are "stepping stones" here. This is not a big tv channel, but it is TV. And that was good journalism.

Women's Hour is huge amongst a certain demographic, but, not at all beyond that.

Nolan is marmite, if the podcast had been a flop I'm fairly sure that NI BBC would have jettisoned him without a conscience.

Is this all leading us to a Newsnight, a Horizon and a government enquiry?

Marking place to watch at the weekend.

You need a passport to open a bank account?

I'm an old gimmer, my bank account had a savings book when I opened it up.

Really? You can't just have utility bills and/or a driving license and/or an address?

The last 15-20 years since the anti money laundering regulations came in @vivariumvivariumsvivaria , yes.

You don’t need a passport, not everyone has a passport. But having different names on ID might be a problem. One of the trans people was very sad about how complicated it was to change a name, and how it should be made easier.

That looks good, thank you. Will watch later. Scotland really needs this.

Well, that's interesting, @Thoosa. I have an Olden Days account!

On reflection, I think my comment up thread was maybe a bit unfair.

They're a minority-language channel which obviously doesn't enjoy a large budget and yet they've taken a more in-depth look at this subject than any other BBC channel, as far as I can tell.

They should be applauded for having the courage to tackle this when bigger names are afraid to touch it with a barge pole.