Justin Webb and Suranne Jones

[CornflakesOnTheSolesOfHerShoes]

Wow! Anyone listening to Radio 4 this morning? Suranne Jones describing a new programme on the Pendle witch trials, and Justin Webb just said, with no prevarication, “And aren’t there parallels to drawn with the way people like Kathleen Stock and JKR have been treated for talking about trans issues?”
Couldn’t actually believe he put it so clearly, and DD (12) asked what I was so excited about and we had a good chat…

What was her answer?

Yes, and I noted that she wasn't interested in engaging on that at all, and took the conversation off in a completely different direction, rambling about crystals and stuff. Then when he tried to draw her out by asking 'why is it always women?' she flatly denied that and put in a line about 'marginalised communities'! Very disappointing.

Didn’t hear this but very pleased. JW consistently been a voice of reason here. I’m not sure if Martha Kearney has felt unable to during her time on Today- or doesn’t agree. I think Mishal Husain has been able to push further with this. Completely appreciate it is much harder for female broadcasters on this issue.

And likely popular female actors!

Good for JW; shame re suranne. She did have a photo on her instagram I saw somewhere showing her reading victoria smith/ Glosswitch's book hags ....

Oh I have to listen to that one! Suranne Jones making sure she doesn't get 'touched' with the witch stick eh? There is a mass of "witch lit" by Scottish authors and several of them are highly critical of JKR and TRA's. Can't seem to see the parallels with the way JKR, Rosie or Women Won't Wheesh have been Treated, KS , PP ( and so many others!) have been treated or can they? Probably can and are just in it for the cash and Creative Scotland Grants.

Go Justin! 👏👏

Because she's in Gentleman Jack she'll have legions of 'queer' theythem fans so I guess she was very aware of not finding herself tied to the stake with the flames flickering around her ankles. But nice work of Justin to point out the obvious.

*I mean they are TRA's , sorry too early for me.

surrane is on the be kind side

Witch Trials also explores how mass panic can set in, and how some women willingly participated in hunting others down if they felt their own position was under threat. It is hard to watch and not think of today’s troubles in feminist spaces, where rifts have deepened along race, religious and gender-identity lines.
“It’s all fear-based, because if you feel like you are being targeted, the easiest thing to do is to point a finger and target someone else,” says Jones. “It’s ‘Let’s mistrust other women’, even in those feminist circles, and especially with trans women, I know that for sure.”

trans women are men surrane

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jun/21/if-you-want-to-call-me-a-witch-thats-fine-suranne-jones-on-magic-misogyny-and

Yes, SR didn’t really engage with it, sadly, but I was disproportionately excited by JW spelling it out so clearly and unapologetically.

Oh argh, hadn’t seen the Guardian piece. How disappointing.

I mean I suppose if she has evidence that transwomen were burnt at the stake then she's correct in saying it wasn't always women 🤷

(As a side note I believe it's true that some men were burned for witchcraft, but the proportion compared to women is tiny.)

What's Gentleman Jack?

Tbh I read it as her saying ‘even in feminist circles women blame other women including trans women’ ie trans women are women and women who dont agree are demonstrating witch hunting g behaviour when in fact is entirely the other way round

I thought it was a type of bourbon.

Justin is a star. Obviously getting told off hasn't deterred him!

A historical drama about a lesbian.

YY.

He’s great

Programme about Anne Lister of Shibden Hall in Halifax, who dressed in male clothes and took on male responsibilities in the running of the estate in the 18th century, as well as having raunchy lesbian affairs and writing about them in detail in recently decoded diaries. Now single-handedly responsible for an entire queer tourist industry in West Yorkshire…I was there in March and every walk and building Anne Lister might have breathed on had some rainbow event going on.

SR was brilliant in the part, but I was being very slow in not thinking how that would affect her fan base and feelings about what she could say…

SJ, sorry.

Suranne Jones has a production company with her husband, Laurence Akers. In February she announced that they were working on a 'trans' based project and she appeared on Instagram wearing a T-shirt reading, 'Stand By Your Trans'.

There was quite a lot of kickback in the comments, as well as a lot of support.

Suranne had a huge lesbian following on from Gentleman Jack (she won ally awards etc and has spoken publicly about how bowled over she was by the reaction to her Anne Lister) and I honestly don't know that she was aware of the size and strength of the trans debate. It might be that she completely is aware and this is her stance, or I have a feeling it could also be that she thinks she is doing something 'supportive' for the same audience without knowing what she is getting into.

Thanks for the information. Mysticism my foot. More likely the prosecutor had his eye on the land of the main victim in Pendle , Alice Nutter.

Is Llangollen a lesbian destination, I wonder , after the eponymous Ladies ?