David Tennant

[SidewaysOtter]

I’m gutted, I’m such a huge fan of his. I’ve been hugely looking forward to the second series of Good Omens.

And now this. When challenged on it, apparently he said “I’m OK, TERFs can’t climbs stairs”.

How very disappointing.

That was supposed to quote @GrammarTeacher , not sure what happened there!

Genune question, how is she?
Not seen that before.

Kids date who they want to, surely?
As they're attracted to their choice of partner.
Do they go out with someone solely to get one up on their Mum /Dad and manipulate them?!
Sounds a bit "it ain't that deep bro" as mine would say!

The statement would presumably be aimed at either (1) people that are against surgery and meds for kids, (2) people that want trans kids to play on sports teams in accordance with their biological sex etc.

None of that is "persecution" without begging the question.

For a minute I thought this was a crassly-worded but understandably angry statement against live medical experimentation on healthy children while denying them proper talking therapy and informed consent, telling them lies and multiple institutions allowing them to be groomed on social media and maybe at school…

And then I realised, Oh dear, David Tennant is just yet another uncritical birdbrain with a celebrity platform.

Who knows about anyone else’s family life but I wonder, is he being careerist and sucking up to the BBC, virtue signalling some kind of allyship to Yasmin Finney as the new Rose in Dr Who?

Because I’d say normally, don’t most parents consciously choose to support their preteen children’s immature thinking (about complex adult issues) very privately? And especially by avoiding making any public statement that would throw scrutiny back on their own family and in this case, could back young kids into an idealogical corner that could have serious consequences?

But no, his stupid aggressive comment about ‘TERFs’ shows he’s just your basic misogynist, delighted with the free pass that he now has to bash at women. What the fuck has making remarks about unspecified women got to do with ‘supporting’ his children? Or furthering his career? Seriously he should be having a good look in the mirror and asking himself why does he feel women having rights, hurts him?!

And I agree 100% with PPs that super privileged straight men such as he is, in general have absolutely no idea, imagination or conscience as to what their own luxury beliefs can contribute to and inflict on other people who don’t have any such cushioning.

Yes. David Tennant has always felt like one of the good blokes and this is more evidence. I too stand with him.

Put yourself in his position. His kid has been sucked into this. And he is probably trying to show his support

His non-binary child is either nine or ten. I think at that age, parents don't have to just go along with their fad.

I support trans kids. I supported the lovely girl (or trans boy as Tennant would no doubt call her) who came to me in tears at lunch time yesterday, telling me how she just doesn’t want to grow up, how she just feels so very different to everyone else and all she wants is some kind of diagnosis to explain it. I listened to all her problems, as I always do. I showed interest in all her hobbies and dreams, as I always do.

How strange that she chose to confide in a “terf”, and not one of the trans cheerleader teachers. Maybe it’s because I’ve shown interest in her consistently, before she went for social transition, and she knows I’ll still show interest if she transitions back. Maybe it’s because I just listen. Maybe it’s because my belief in material reality has absolutely no bearing on my ability to be a nurturing teacher.

I won’t leave trans kids alone. I’ll listen to them, encourage them in the multitude of ways to improve their quality of life that aren’t affected by being trans. I’ll greet them with a cheery “Hello, fellow geeks!” as I always do, and discuss Pokémon and Steven Universe and cosplay outfits and Minecraft strategies and the plot of the latest Sonic movie.

I can do all this without even touching on them being trans. We can talk about everything else. Lots of these students have really complex things going on in their lives, and they open up to different people in different ways. I’m just happy to be a fairly gender non-conforming female role model with insight into the geeky interests some of them hold. Being trans most definitely doesn’t solve every problem, it shouldn’t dominate every aspect of their life and having someone to talk to about other things is very important.

I don’t think I’m in any way special, I just want to point out that this is what terfy teachers are doing all over the country. We’re almost certainly doing a hell of a lot less damage than the teachers who are buying into the idea of trans children always growing into trans adults. We’re not the ones who should be leaving trans kids alone, we’re not the bad guys and as many have said previously, being a cheerleader for transition certainly does not automatically make you one of the good guys.

Lots of people seem to have come on this thread to signpost which “team” they are on. None of us should be on team terf vs team trans, because that’s not a real division. People on this board are not against “trans” children in any way. We’re for teens, and this being a feminist board, especially for teen girls. God knows, they have a tough enough time of things these days.

I never had an opinion about DT until now. Shame it's a negative one.

I can just imagine the outrage if the t-shirt called transpeople "freaks". So much for "be nice".

I am not going to quote @Nellodee's post because it is too long, but it is the typical tedious MN post: a MNer making the conversation about themselves (Look at me! I'm a hero / victim) and Karpman's Drama Triangle.

To clarify: It's not an MN post; it's an M & S MN post.

There are.
Why do so many trans people seem so aggressive? Why do they assume we all hate them? It’s like they are making up the idea of hate so that they can start a battle.
live nothing against trans people being and doin whatever they like. The cut off breasts in reality look like quite a lot to cope with, especially in the unflattering light if daytime.
like a boy goading the quiet kid in the playground, who retaliates and is the one to get told off.
please, leave us alone.

Meh - like all straight men Tennant knows exactly what a woman is when he wants a fuck and what sex ti marry and have children with

hes given this issue next to no thought whatsoever. He’s automatically “the other side are bad cos they are”

be wouldnt last 5 minutes arguing his position with anyone who had a real grasp of the issues

But no, his stupid aggressive comment about ‘TERFs’ shows he’s just your basic misogynist, delighted with the free pass that he now has to bash at women.

Calling them witches...I mean can these people not see further than their own noses? Witch burning isn't usually considered progressive

Isn’t it likely to be projection? They hate us so imagine we hate them?

@nellodee I just want to thank you for your post and to say how much I hope there is someone like you in the school my young family member attends. She's lovely, clever, creative, socially and emotionally a bit behind her peers but physically taller and looks older than them. She's getting sucked into thinking she's a boy because she wants to carry on playing the sports she always has, dressing for comfort and activity, and she's not interested in make-up, boys etc. All I can do is model being a woman who does as she likes and is definitely still female.

He's a seedy wee man and not half as good as he thinks he is . 🤢 Misogynist twat

I thought it was excellent. And I'm glad to know there are teachers like her.

This

He's allowed the hold that opinion just as anyone else is entitled to theirs

His kid is only nine and ‘non-binary’?

Not getting enough attention from their parents?

Shame DT couldn’t have found a way to support his kid without resorting to hate filled misogynistic slurs which encourage violence towards women.

Guess you're never likely to know. Although he comes over as highly intelligent & very able to hold his own

Am I misremembering or was DT married/long term partnered before his current wife? I went to Google to check my facts and couldn't find anything about it but I'm sure I remember a bit of fuss about it at the time.

And FWIW I think DT probably is one of the "good guys", but like most of them a little too in love with his own image of himself as a good guy. And again like most of them, he's wrong on this one.

Why would a child of nine or ten feel the need to label themself non-binary? What does this mean in a child of this age?

Non-binary seems pretty nonsensical for anyone of any age, but for children of this age even more so.