Even cosy ITV cop drama VERA is at it now…

[LynneBenfield]

It has been giving the vibes for a while with a subtly (unspoken), possibly NB police officer side character and a few other bits and bobs. However they’ve laid just laid their cards clearly on the table. This week’s story involves a conversation with one of the side characters (a young male identifying as a girl) re domestic violence and use of women’s refuges. The character explains that they were devastated to be moved to a men’s refuge because someone complained that he was a threat to the women there. Cue Vera exclaiming, something along the lines of “Oh, a lass shouldn’t be with the men, pet”…

I know. Serves me right for watching such dross but it shows how it’s all just creeping in. The campaign for sympathy and the normalisation of intrusion into our women’s spaces.

I’ve just seen it too. Like no nonsense, grew up on a farm, became a senior police officer at a time when sexism was even worse than it is now wouldn’t know what a woman is and how an obviously male person could retraumatise women in a hostel.
The tutting at the ‘they said I’m not a real woman’ line 🙄🤦‍♀️.

Although given that this was filmed months back, before recent Scottish events I wonder if it would be the same line now.

It’s tonight’s episode btw (5/2/23), s12, ep2 “For the grace of God”

Was the young person played by a female actress? I ask because in other crime dramas, Law and Order SVU for example, a sympathetic transwoman character has often been played by a woman. I think using an actress rather than an actor helps the audience suspend belief.

No quite clearly male.

When Vera said that about the men’s refuge I shouted at the TV “that’s no lass!”

And I don’t think there’s any way Vera would believe trans women should be in women’s refuges.

DH actually said “this will be on your mumsnet thing” 😁

FFS.

I liked Ann Cleeves' books, too.

Exactly @Faffertea. Not only is it just blatantly obvious, gaslighting propaganda, agenda pushing nonsense by the writers, it’s also totally at odds with the actual character’s cultural backstory and likely beliefs.

Pretty sure Vera would not react like that in real life (yes I know its a fictional drama but hopefully you know what I mean) it seemed really jarring coming from her.

They did it in Marvellous Mrs Maisel too, a bloke in a dodgy wig going on about how tough it is to be a female journalist, wink-wink 🙄

Was this episode based an Ann Cleves novel? I thought the whole episode didn’t work. I thought the male person in the dress was positively creepy and their exchanges with Vera were unconvincing.

Thanks for this. I d recorded it, I’ll delete it now.

poor Vera, poor Brenda….i think the original in the books was a rather ‘manly’ women, nothing like dear little Brenda.

it’s been going downhill ever since they started shooting it in the Czech Republic rather than Northumberland tbh. Now in la la land…..q

Not. My. Vera.

Just commented on another thread about this but I've sent my complaint off to Ofcom. Pointless character,didn't need to be in the episode at all, just there to say men can be in women's spaces 😳 no thanks itv

Seriously? A Northumbrian woman of Vera’s age, raised on a hill farm, believes gender woo?
How ridiculously unbelievable can the writers get. Surely Ann Cleeves doesn’t approve of this mangling of her famous character?

I'm just watching now (was watching happy valley earlier) and am at Vera buying gender woo.

There's no way that Vera would have those views.
I wonder if Brenda Blethyn argued with the script writers?

More indoctrination for the cultural revolution.

Vera knows that men need to be in men’s goals.

Gaols?

Well I did shout at the telly, Vera - seriously.
I hope that Vera walking out of the church before the service started was Brenda saying - this is bollocks

I'm hoping Vera was just lying in order to get the person to open up. But yes my HEART SANK. At this point in time the only refuge is All Creatures Great And Small ... no trans cows.

I thought the same. No way would Vera think that. Disappointing they put that in.

Gaols!

Credits give Rae's name as Mary Malone.

In the initial scene where we see Rae at the estate agents it's a fleeting glimpse of someone flouncing out but the body language and physical form were clearly male. Even at that glimpse it was obvious. The height, the build, the gait. Male.

At least Call the Midwife should be safe, being as gender woo had not been conceived of then (no pun intended!).

Is it?! There’s always stuff in online local news about where they’ve been filming in the NE. Or is it a mix of the two?