Jane Garvey and fi glover interviewing Eddie izzard

[resistingreality]

Did anyone else listen to this? It’s on Times radio so a bit niche. It was quite weird. At the end, jane said she had no problems using toilets with trans woman, from whom we had nothing fear. She claimed we should really be focusing on male violence and should stop “bickering”. For someone who has presented woman’s hour she quite spectacularly missed the point on safeguarding and I absolutely hated the implication that women concerned with this are “bickering”. They also let izzard talk a fair amount of shit. Massively disappointing but maybe it’s what I should expect.

I also heard the podcast of this and was massively disappointed.
I'm actually a fan of Fi and Jane and followed them to Times Radio where I hoped they would shake off some of the shackles of the BBC.

Like others, I find Fi very TWAW and simpering/BeKind etc and I can't stand all the self-deprecating stuff she says, and her habit of constantly going out of her way to acknowledge her privilege etc - we know, we know, just get on with the programme!

I thought the interview was positively weird. I thought Jane in particular sounded a bit conflicted and measured. I'm not sure she is full on TWAW, but I think she is just very aware of the ramifications of being seen to be on the wrong side of this debate. Let's face it, she's a single parent, needs her income, and has young adult children who I can imagine would disown her if it all blew up. They're not stupid - they've seen the fallout from JKR, Maya, Kathleen Stock et al. I think Jane in particular has decided she can't afford (and doesn't want at this stage in her career) to take the risk. I can't say I blame her to be honest.

They let Eddie get away with the 'if the kids aren't allowed to trans they'll die from suicide' and completely avoided the safeguarding issue of gender self-ID opening the floodgates to all men, including sexual predators.
Eddie just sounded so self-absorbed and self-assessed and had no answers for any of the trans questions, just saying he didn't want to be responsible for being the voice of the trans community.

I know it's wishful thinking, but I'd have liked them to ask Eddie about what 'girl mode' means for him, and if it's lipstick and dresses, isn't that perpetuating gender stereotypes?
And perhaps ask him why he's still happy to go after male acting roles? Gender pay gap, anyone?

Yes, at the very least I think they could have pressed Eddie further on whether he can understand the safety concerns that women have about shared spaces? That could have been asked in a very measured way too.

I don't have a problem at all with Fi acknowledging her privilege or of them being wary of causing offence - the issue is that similar considerations aren't often observed by the male trans community - the understanding and accommodations all have to come from women.

I am a follower of a sport practiced by both sexes where women have only recently starting to have separate lavatories and private changing rooms. Up until then they have had to change in spectator lavatories, or the broom cupboard, or their car, and forego a shower. In some areas the facilities for women are still very inadequate and women have no separate areas or they have to walk through the men's space in order to get to a storage room or similar. In those circumstances in the past couple of years there have been several incidents of bullying or harassment by half naked men towards fully dressed females. Why can't trans men like Eddie acknowledge that women's safe spaces have been very hard won and only relatively recently at that?

And if trans men like Eddie say they have to use women's toilets because they are worried about violent attacks when they go in to men's lavatories, they should be understanding of women's fears when the situation is reversed, and sorry but male violence is a male problem that has to be dealt with by men. Why doesn't he spend his energy campaigning about that?

Apart from safety element, which is huge, women use work rest rooms to deal with menstruation, lactation, morning sickness, even miscarriage, not to mention a private place of refuge away from some male colleagues!

I completely agree on Tim Minchin. Like you I’m a fan but they sounded in thrall to the rubbish he was coming out with and didn’t challenge him at all.

Blimey, that really surprises me. She obviously felt she had to tear into Maya for the sake of appearances. Unless I'm being a total eejit and mixing up who's who.

@Righthandcider it's noticeable that Stock, Forstater and Duffield were given a grilling and any transwoman who's been on is treated with kid gloves... however the women have absolutely smashed the interviews which to me goes to show whose argument is stronger.

Oh I'm fed up with these privileged women declaring they "don't mind" having men in women's spaces.

I'd like to identify them all (it wouldn't be hard, I'm sure they'd be up for self-IDing), and then give all the other women passes that they can use to access single sex spaces. These "don't mind" women can either go in with men or fight for a third space where they can pee next to, get changed next to, have intimate care provided by, share shelters with, share prison cells with and have rape support provided by men, however they identify.

It really sickening how prepared some women are to throw the most vulnerable of their sex under the bus, just so men don't get hurt feelings.

What does it take to support basic safeguarding? And that's almost rhetorical because sadly it seems like unless they are personally negatively impacted, or someone very, very close to them is, that they won't care.

Luckily safeguarding isn't based on what privileged white women "don't mind". And hopefully never will be.

Very disappointed to hear that about JG! I loved Fortunately, it was my weekend cooking podcast. I think it’s too dangerous to get into debate, I get it. She feels vulnerable…

I was however pleasantly surprised that when EB interviewed ‘staggering penis’ she emerged as quite a canny operator!

Apart from safety element, which is huge, women use work rest rooms to deal with menstruation, lactation, morning sickness, even miscarriage, not to mention a private place of refuge away from some male colleagues!
Even more everyday things like checking your eye makeup hasn’t smudged, brushing hair, re-adjusting bra straps/neckline - I don’t want a man standing next to me when I do that.

Just caught a bit of the interview on YT.
The luviness off the scale, the presenters and Izzard just "all girls together". Surprised there were no three way GIRL POWER! salutes, lol.
But what turned my stomach was the reference to him as Suzy. Yes, I believe Suzy is Izzard's dead GFs name. And now he's taken her name, and it's just accepted. Garvey just used the name like it was nothing, no big deal.
Is it just me, or is this deeply creepy and possessive? Not only is he taking female identity, he's taking THE identity of an actual female. One that can't give her permission.
How does her family feel? They get no say in the matter.
And of course with the TRA handbook, any unease or antipathy is my problem, my lack of inclusivity.
What about doing the right thing? Common courtesy?

Interesting thread. I quite like these two and listen to their podcast sometimes, not as religiously as I used to listen to Fortunately, though.

They are in thrall to all celebs - their fawning episode with Huw Williams was absolutley pathetic and painful to listen to. They were clearly institutionalised after so long at the BBC.

But this Eddie Izzard interiew has finished me off. To say they're fine with men in women's loos is neither here nor there - what about women and girls with special needs, or other vulnerable females.

If they don't have the guts to do proper interviews, they should only have anodyne guests on.

Brilliant Jane. Now do you give an 11 year old girl's consent to use the toilet alongside a grown male? Perhaps someone like Zara Jade?

I think Eddie talks about he toilet incident with the girls, where in his version he is some how the victim, because he was recently, in 2022, photographed in the women’s toilets where there were young women present, it didn’t look good.
This was also when he was in Sheffield as an approved Labour Party candidate to be elected to be their MP.
So that’s who Labour think is fit to have input into legislation.

Jane and Fi took this on again this week. They interviewed Joanne Harris and talked about her ‘spat’ with jk Rowling. I think it’s interesting as a sort of indication how the debate is changing. In my view they let Joanne Harris get away with quite a lot of fluff over what actually happened. It’s not their style to press to hard. But there was also a lot of talk about hearing both sides. It feels like they may be trying to find some sort of middle ground and Jane (or maybe Fi!) made a comment about the Oxford union, to say that students who were offended could just not go. So … hmmm. Thing is on some of there issues there just is no middle ground. And they did also say they were hoping to hear more lived experience. Which does sound like more from the trans ‘side’. We’ll see I guess.

You're giving these two way too much credit, cutting them way too much slack. They're part of the establishment happy to bend over backwards to accommodate the prevailing mood.

Imho, only Stephen Nolan and Justin Webb come out of the MSM maffia with any credit, a lot actually.

Yeah Jane and Fi can fuck right off to be honest. They have some good guest but their blind spot on this makes me not want to listen to them at all.

I've honestly got to the point now where I feel like gender ideologies are like flat earthers. Their beliefs are so patently absurd that it just taints everything else.

Ideologues, not ideologies. Stuoid autocorrect. And guest should be plural.

Regardless of your views on gender (although I’d be more aligned with JK) JH’s behaviour, relating to the issue regarding the Society of Authors, was massively off putting to me. It’s a shame as there aren’t many options for writers in that regard. I’m not sure many of the people involved in the disagreement came out well, but only one is the Chair of the organisation.

Have Fi and Jane interviewed anyone on the GC ‘side’?

I wonder if they’re friendly with Jenni Murray, still.

hmmm. I wasn’t really trying to defend them above. I think I was trying to say that when they bring on guests like this and try and take on trans issues they really really don’t. So it would be better if they don’t bother. Because they end up saying nothing at all. It makes them seem extraordinarily lightweight - and there is a funny sort of tone to the programme anyway where they present themselves as prepared to take on weighty issues, but when they do, the questioning is feeble at best. So ….

Listened to another long form podcast with Eddie Izzard - regardless of any trans issues they would never in a million years get my vote.

They came across more or less as "I'm a good thinker, hard worker, believe in a decent politics" - but could not pick a side on literally any issue. Sits on the fence so hard it's impossible to know any true values, hard lines etc. All politicians from left or right think they're nice decent hard workers, personal belief is not special.

Piss or get off the pot Izzard.

I agree with her.

Male violence is an issue but toilets aren't there is no more risk in a toilet than there is in a work environment

This sounds cowardly. But both Jane and Fi have young adult children. So have I. If I expressed gender critical views in public, never mind on national radio, I would never see them again. So there's that........

I get that. I have teenage kids too. But I don’t censor everything I think or say because … well, lots of reasons. One is to model standing up for what you believe to be true, I guess.

@resistingreality "I get that. I have teenage kids too. But I don’t censor everything I think or say because … well, lots of reasons. One is to model standing up for what you believe to be true, I guess"

Yeah. That's how I thought I'd be too. That's how I brought my children up. Turns out it's not that easy.

I do understand @curlewkate. Or at least, I think I do. I was interviewed for a podcast a couple of weeks ago. I expressed gender critical views and am seriously considering whether to ask them to edit that out. I haven't decided yet ... but I'm not that brave.