Reddit has purged a huge amount of forums recently. Yesterday it banned numerous subreddits, many of which were gender critical, trans-exclusionary or part of an anti-transgender movement.
Reddit is one of the largest forum websites in the world. It has hundreds of thousands of pages dedicated to thousands of topics, with millions of users.
As part of an ongoing clean up of its website, Reddit banned numerous forums yesterday (10th July), which homed thousands of threads of conversations with regards to the validity of transgender identities and gender expression.
Here’s the list of subreddits that were banned that Reddit said had broken its guidelines on “promoting hate”.
The ban included LGB specific reddits. Some of the LGB groups think that the T should be dropped from the LGBT+ acronym, very much like the Get the L out campaign which disrupted Pride In London in 2018 or the LGB Alliance on Twitter.
r/LGBDropTheT
r/TrueLesbians
r/GetTheLOut
r/UncensoredLGBT
r/gendercritlesbians were all part of the ban.
Detrans is a forum that was initially banned for around an hour but was later reinstated. Its purpose is to give those people who detransition a forum to talk about their lives and journies.
A week ago, Reddit made headlines after it deleted dozens of forums for hate speech.
It is thought that Reddit has now deleted around 2000 of its forums.
One of the UK’s busiest gay bathhouses has announced its plans to open for the first time since non-essential businesses were ordered to close by the UK’s government.
As the UK’s businesses start, slowly to come back to life, after 100 days of lockdown due to the Coronavirus, many customers are eager for some businesses to re-open, particularly in the LGBT+ sector. One of the last business types to reopen is the sauna.
Now, Pleasuredrome in London has given fans of the gay sauna hope, by announcing it is planning to reopen and welcome back patrons by the middle of summer.
In a statement sent via its mailing list, Pleasuredrome, one of the UK’s busiest gay bathhouses announced its plans to reopen in August – although no specific date was given. We will, of course, update if a specific date is published. The sauna closed back on March 17th.
The pledge to reopen was made after the UK’s government said it was further relaxing restrictions on yet more businesses including swimming pools and gyms. These lifted restrictions only apply in England as the devolved administration in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are setting their own timetable for reopenings.
From the 13th July close contact services such as spas and massage parlours will be allowed open in England.
From the 25th July sport facilities and venues will be allowed to open, “subject to evidence closer to the time”
Many businesses in England have returned, albeit will COVID-secure restrictions including physical distancing measures and limiting the number of people permitted in the building. Bars and pubs were allowed to reopen last weekend, however, nightclubs are still not permitted to open.
PinkNews is adding a membership tier to its website, which will allow readers amongst other privileges to post comments on its site.
Adding comments, an “ad lite” experience and exclusive access to investigations and reporting are just some of the highlights the site says will become the honour of those who become MyPinkNews members.
PinkNews was forced to close its comment section after it said it was deluged with “large levels of transphobia, homophobia and racism by trolls”. When the new membership tier rolls out fully, everyone will be able to read the comments, but only those who have paid will be able to comment on stories. Commenters will also be controlled by a raft of restrictions aimed at keeping abuse of the website.
The website, which serves around 3.2 million people a month on its website, according to Similarweb, admitted that selling adverts on its site had become more difficult as Coronavirus decimates the marketing budgets of companies across the globe.
It wrote, “Now is a very hard time to be selling advertising. The majority of the ads that you see are sold programmatically, which we feel offers users a poor experience…. MyPinkNews users will not be shown display advertising aside from occasional public health or similar messaging.”
The site said that it wouldn’t be paywalling its content as it conflicts with their mission statement and says that adding the yearly £50 subscription will funding investigations and analysis / commentary.
PinkNews is the first UK-based LGBT+ news outlet to install a subscription service of this nature.
Forbury Gardens in Reading, where three men were killed when they were stabbed has reopened for “quiet reflection” and for people to pay their respects, the local council has revealed.
Last month, three friends, sitting together in the heart of Reading, became the victims of a stabbing attack. They died at the scene. A fourth man who was sitting with them was also stabbed but did not die and is recovering from his injuries.
Terror suspect, Khairi Saadallah is accused of murdering James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, on the evening of 20th June in Forbury Gardens. Saadallah is also charged with the attempted murder of three other people.
Saadallah is due to go on trial in late November.
The gardens have been closed to the public since the incident. Today, Reading Council announced that the park had reopened to the public. They are encouraging people to visit “in their own time for a period of quiet reflection”.
— Reading Borough Council (@ReadingCouncil) July 10, 2020
Jason Brock, leader of Reading Borough Council, said, “It is now nearly three weeks since the horrific events at Forbury Gardens, which nobody in Reading will ever forget.
“As always, our thoughts remain firmly with the families of James, Joe and David. Now that the Gardens have reopened, we fully appreciate that people will want to visit in their own time and for a period of quiet reflection.
“Everybody is, of course, more than welcome to do that and see flowers that have been laid to pay tribute to the victims, or to lay a tribute themselves.”
A former Liberal Democrat MP has criticised President Trump after he claimed that the American’s “won two world wars” completely erasing the involvement of Alan Turing‘s code-breaking invention, widely thought to bring down the Nazi war machine, helping to bring WWII to an end four year early and saving over 14 million lives.
John Leech, blasted Donald Trump after the official White House twitter account tweeted a portion of a quote which said, “Americans harnessed electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the internet. We settled the Wild West, won two World Wars, landed American Astronauts on the Moon—and one day soon, we will plant our flag on Mars!”
"Americans harnessed electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the internet. We settled the Wild West, won two World Wars, landed American Astronauts on the Moon—and one day soon, we will plant our flag on Mars!"
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) July 6, 2020
Leech replied,
“If anyone could claim to have “won” a World War, it would be a Manchester hero who cut WWII by 4 years and saved 14 million lives with his invention, before being pushed to take his own life. His name is Alan Turing.
“Don’t erase LGBTQ history.
“And don’t claim it as your own”
Unsung war hero
Alan Turing was a British pioneering computer scientist, mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and mathematical biologist.
During the Second World War, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, Britain’s code-breaking centre. For a time he led Hut 8, the section responsible for German naval cryptanalysis and created the Turing Machine which decrypted the “unbreakable” German Enigma code.
Turing’s pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic. It is said by some historians that Turing’s work at Bletchley Park shortened the war by two to four years and saved approximately fourteen million to twelve million lives.
Nevertheless, Turing led a sheltered and castigated life due to his homosexuality. Whilst he was briefly engaged to fellow Bletchley Park worker Joan Clarke, it was a purely platonic relationship and they soon divorced. Turing was prosecuted by the police in 1952 for homosexual acts, when such behaviour was still criminalised in the UK.
He accepted treatment with oestrogen injections (chemical castration) as an alternative to prison and became incredibly depressed. He committed suicide in 1954. Turing’s wartime heroics were not celebrated until he received an official pardon from Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 following an internet campaign, and then a further royal pardon from Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.
The BBC published, redacted and then re-published with a clarification a comment which infers that gay men are transphobic for not wanting to date men who are transgender.
“And this discrimination also extends to transphobic preferences in the world, from cisgender gay men not wanting to date trans men and the routine fetishisation of trans women”.
The original article from the BBC, which was scraped by Yahoo News.
In the original article, the comment was not added as a quote, so either seemed to be a statement of fact or the opinion of the BBC journalist who wrote the piece.
It now reads,
“And this discrimination also extends to the dating world, according to York. They cite cisgender gay men not wanting to date trans men and the routine fetishisation of trans women, as examples of “transphobic dating preferences.”
The clarification in the next paragraph adds an explanation from GLAAD .
“Many would disagree that such dating preferences can be described as transphobic, and say same-sex attraction is not related to gender. When asked for their view on these dating issues, leading LGBT advocacy group GLAAD told the BBC that they echo the “leading advocacy, medical, political, and psychological organizations that assert trans women are women”.
THEGAYUK reached out to Glaad for further clarification on its statement.
No clarification until today
The article was criticised by some on social media and the paragraph was amended omitting that paragraph on the BBC website. However, no signifier or clarification was left on the page to show that the original piece had been edited.
THEGAYUK reached out for comment to the BBC to ask if the stance was editorial policy or whether it was normal practice to amend piece without clarification.
Today the BBC told us,
“Clarification and update 6th July 2020: An earlier version of this article cited cisgender gay men not wanting to date trans men as an example of transphobic preferences in the dating world. However some readers took this to be a statement of fact, rather than the view of Asanni York, and so these comments were removed. They have since been re-added, in context, along with some additional reaction from LGBT advocacy group GLAAD.“
The article now reads with the statement that gay men are transphobic for not wanting to date trans men as being a quote from Asanni York, the founder of For The Gworls – a black trans collective that raises money for gender-affirming surgery and living costs.
It seems as though people were out enjoying the gay scene over the weekend as one owner of a string of LGBT+ venues in Birmingham city centre spoke about the road to recovery for the sector.
The majority of the UK’s pubs and bars have been on lockdown due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic for over 100 days and many are desperate to open in order to stay financially viable. As lockdown restrictions eased in England last weekend, the streets were filled with eager punters looking to enjoy a bit of normality.
Lawrence Barton who owns three Birmingham venues (The Loft, The Village Inn and The Nightingale Club) and who is also the Festival Director for Birmingham Pride, spoke about how encouraged he feels after one of his venue’s takings were “in line with those of an average Saturday pre-lockdown”.
Speaking about trading conditions, Barton told THEGAYUK
“In spite of restrictions on customer numbers, volume of music, social distancing and a strict no bar service, one of our venues had takings that were in line with those of an average Saturday pre-lockdown. Meanwhile, despite takings at The Village Inn being fifty-five per cent down on pre-lockdown levels, these were in line with our forecasts.
“Reports in the media and elsewhere of widespread flouting of public health rules and requirements were not reflected here in Birmingham. I was enormously encouraged by the responsible behaviour demonstrated on the part of patrons in adhering to social distancing requirements and the pragmatic approach police adopted in ensuring adherence.
“I am confident that yesterday marks the start of a long road to recovery for both the sector and our economy as a whole.”
Also commenting, Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said,
“Last night was very encouraging for the region’s hospitality sector, and I want to thank the vast majority of people who followed social distancing guidelines and behaved very responsibly.
“There is no question that it is a long way back, but last night will help to give people confidence that they can safely enjoy a trip to a restaurant or pub.
“We have seen how dangerous this virus can be and, as we slowly ease lockdown measures, everyone must continue to follow the Government guidelines and keep up the basics of hand washing and social distancing.”
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has slashed the budget earmarked for the HIV Prevention Pill, PrEP even before the roll out across England begins.
The rollout has been set back, largely by Coronavirus, and the budget has now been slashed by £5 million to £11 million.
Terrence Higgins Trust, National AIDS Trust and PrEPster released a joint statement outlining that sexual health services are already overstretched calling the budget cut “hugely concerning” and accused the Government of “rolling back” on what was promised
“We welcome the Department of Health’s work to begin the roll-out of uncapped access to PrEP in England but this significant cut to the PrEP budget for local authorities is hugely concerning.
“Sexual health services are already on their knees and slashing the budget by almost a third will undoubtedly limit local authorities’ ability to deliver PrEP to those who need it. The Health Secretary promised proper PrEP access as part of the commitment to end HIV transmissions within the next decade but is now rolling back on what was promised.
“England’s sexual health services are already over stretched and under funded, which is why proper resourcing for the delivery of PrEP is crucial to its success. While those currently accessing PrEP are unlikely to be affected the roll out is supposed to ensure significantly more people can benefit from it for HIV prevention over the coming months. This cut to the first year’s budget before that’s even started means PrEP will not be fully utilised.
“PrEP is highly effective at stopping HIV and extremely cost-effective when compared with a lifetime of HIV treatment. It’s disappointing that we are once again fighting for its potential to be maximised in England.’
“Funding has been adjusted”
(C) THEGAYUK
A spokesperson for the DHSC told THEGAYUK
“Now we are past the peak of the pandemic, the NHS and local government are re-opening services and we are pleased to be rolling out PrEP across the country as part of our work to tackle HIV and the stigma around it.
“This will benefit tens of thousands of people and take us closer to our ambition of zero HIV transmissions by 2030.
“In light of covid-19 pressures during the first quarter of the year, PrEP was not immediately available for individuals via routine commissioning.
“The modest change in allocated funding accounts for the fact that the rollout of the routine commissioning of PrEP was paused during the pandemic.”
This story was updated to reflect a quote from the DHSC.
We’ve just had Pride month and along with that thousands of corporate entities adopted the iconic rainbow symbol, hundreds sent their well-wishes to the LGBT+ community but even fewer actively call out bigotry unlike the Post Office, which managed to deal with homophobic bigotry levelled at its staff in the most perfect way.
In a Twitter post published by the Post Office official account on the 19th June, the Post Office’s Chief Marketing Officer Emma Springham, shared her “journey to pride”, to which one user, @jamesmc13123269 responded with “Degenerate”.
This attack on Emma didn’t go unnoticed by Courtney from the office who called out the bigotry saying,
“Do you honestly think it’s okay to speak about my colleague like that? Your comment is absolutely disgusting. You don’t know Emma personally to even comment on the type of woman she is, so please don’t respond unless you have something positive to say”
Do you honestly think it's okay to speak about my colleague like that? Your comment is absolutely disgusting. You don't know Emma personally to even comment on the type of woman she is, so please don't respond unless you have something positive to say 👍 – Courtney
While another user complained about the use of the rainbow flag saying, “It is not right to quit-claim something that belongs to all mankind.”
However this complaint was expertly handled by Stephen, who replied,
“The rainbow flag represents the diversity and vibrancy of the LGBTQ+ community which we’re proud to celebrate as it gives us the chance to reaffirm the equality, rights and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK and beyond.”
The rainbow flag represents the diversity and vibrancy of the LQBTQ+ community which we’re proud to celebrate as it gives us the chance to reaffirm the equality, rights and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK and beyond. – Stephen
One user who used the word faggots against was also taken to task, when the comm team tweet a poll which asked, “Should we continue listening to language like this? and included “Absolutely Not” and “No” as the only two options.
Should we continue listening to language like this?
The House of Common’s official Twitter account has been blasted by users after asking if conversion therapy or “gay cures” as it is more commonly known should be made illegal in the UK, despite the government already admitting that the practice was “wrong”.
As it stands gay cure therapy or conversion therapy is still legal in the UK, it has been debated and defeated in the Commons numerous times, in 2015 and then again in 2017.
However, two years on, not much progress has been made on any of the points made in the plan. Now a recent Tweet by the official House of Commons Twitter account has been slammed for asking a question that many have said is not open to debate.
The tweet was heavily ratio’d after asking users “How does #conversiontherapy affect the #LGBTQ community? Should it be made illegal? What would that mean to you? @HoCpetitions is investigating a petition calling for the practice to be made illegal”
The response was swift with condemnation of the way in which the question had been posed with many people taking issue that was necessary of debate.
Conversion therapy is seen by many doctors has deeply ineffective and LGBT+ advocates say that therapy of this nature is entirely problematic.
Alison Camps, the co-chair of Pride in London replied to the Tweet,
“Is this some kind of joke? The Government pledged to do this two years ago. It’s inhuman that you continue to make us BEG for something that is so obviously barbaric.”
MP Alicia Kearns MP for Rutland and Melton also replied to the Tweet adding,
“Of course it should be made illegal, it’s abusive and fraudulent. The Government has committed to ban it already, and legislative options will be put up for consultation to determine the best legislation to protect the LGBTQ+ community.”
Of course it should be made illegal, it’s abusive and fraudulent.
The Government has committed to ban it already, and legislative options will be put up for consultation to determine the best legislation to protect the LGBTQ+ community.
“Our intention was to provide a platform for people to share their opinions”
A House of Commons’ spokesperson said,
“A Petition calling on the Government to make LGBT conversion therapy illegal in the UK has reached almost 200,000 signatures. In its response to the Petition, the Government did not make a specific commitment to making conversion therapy illegal. Given the strength of interest in this issue, the Petitions Committee decided to further the conversation by gathering evidence from the public on the subject.
“The questions posed on the House of Commons social media feeds were intended to encourage people to submit their experiences. This information will then be presented to the Government. A petition with over 100,000 signatures would usually be considered for a Westminster Hall debate, however, given restrictions placed on Parliament as a result of COVID 19, Westminster Hall debates are currently suspended.
“We apologise. Our intention was to provide a platform for people to share their opinions on this subject with the Petitions Committee, and inform its case to the Government. Clearly we misjudged this and have now deleted the tweet.”
Why is homosexual still seen as something that can be cured?
Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in 1973, however, it is still possible to obtain treatment via the NHS, by referral, to “cure” you of your homosexuality. As it stands the psychotherapy industry in the UK is not regulated by the state – and therefore some therapists still offer “gay cures”.
This is coupled with the horrifying revelation that around 20 per cent of people (one in five) said that being LGBT+ was immoral or went against their beliefs.
Does conversion therapy actually work?
There are a number of therapists and organisations in the UK and in the USA that make the claim that conversion therapy can help LGB people to become heterosexual. However, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, there is no evidence that such change is possible.
Nearly 80,000 people have called upon officials to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus removed and replaced with LGBT+ icon, Marsha P Johnson.
A petition to the City Of Elizabeth, New Jersey, US, is calling for the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus widely credited to have discovered the Americas. However, as the petition points out the land was already occupied by indigenous groups.
“Many believe celebrating Columbus is glorifying European colonialism. Columbus is not a figure to be celebrated, as he enslaved and killed the Taíno.
“Him and his men also sexually abused Taíno women and girls, some as young as 9 years old. He was even arrested in his own time for crimes he committed against Spanish colonists, which included flogging and executions without trial.”
Instead the petitioners have suggested that the statue be replaced by Stonewall Riot icon, Marsha P Johnson, who was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
“We should commemorate Marsha P. Johnson for the incredible things she did in her lifetime and for the inspiration she is to members of the LGBT+ community worldwide, especially black trans women,” said petition starter, Celine Da Silva.
This petition comes during the 51st anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots (June 28 – July 3), a series of riot demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to the discrimination and raids by police in New York City. These important events were a catalyst to the first gay pride marches in the US Johnson was a key figure in the Stonewall Uprising and movement.
The call to replace the statue joins a growing movement of racial justice petitions that advocate for the removal of names on buildings and statues that represent a cynical and racist past.
