Yesterday THEGAYUK reported that Rod Liddle from one of the UK’s most popular papers, The Sun, had written an article which questioned how MP hopeful Emily Brothers’ would know her gender because of her blindness, which has now attracted over 17,000 supporters on an online petition to apologise for dehumanising her.
The article published by The Sun (10th Dec), asks how Emily Brothers could possibly know she was in the wrong sex if she was blind, saying:
“Thing is though… being blind, how she did know she was the wrong sex?”
An online petition via Change.org has been arranged with over 17,000 people signing it in the first 24 hours, echoing a similar petition for Lucy Meadows in early 2013, after Daily Mail writer, Richard Littlejohn monstered the trans teacher. Two petitions against Littlejohn garnered over 250,000 supporters asking for the sacking or resignation of Littlejohn.
The organisers of the petition are demanding that David Dinsmore, the editor of The Sun itself apologises to Emily Brothers.
When the petition had hit over 15,000 signatures, Rowan Davis, organiser of the petition said,
“Thank you so much to everyone that has signed this so far, if any of you would like to complain directly to IPSO, the independent newspaper regulator, you can do so here”.
Mark Healey from the 17-24-30 campaign, which aims to highlight hate crimes in the UK, has called on readers to make a formal complaint to the regulatory body IPSO, after calling the piece an “unacceptable piece of journalism.”
Recently the leader of the labour party Ed Milliband said he was ‘so proud’ that his party had selected a transgender parliamentary candidate to stand in May’s general election.
Last year there were more than 268 reported murders of trans men and woman across the globe.
THEGAYUK has reached out to IPSO for comment on the complaints received.