THEGAYUK

Tag: transphobia

All the latest breaking news on transphobia. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on transphobia.

  • Randy Rainbow apologises for Tweets that may have offended

    Randy Rainbow apologises for Tweets that may have offended

    YouTuber Randy Rainbow has apologised after dozens of Tweets were discovered on his timeline that critics have slammed as racist and transphobic.

    He responded by saying, “I am in no way a racist. I am in no way transphobic… I’m embarrassed by [the tweets]. They make me sick to my stomach.”

    In numerous Tweets, he used race as the punchline and in some, he used the T slur, which some in the transgender community offensive.

    The tweets, some of which date back to 2010, have now been deleted from his timeline, but screenshots still remain, you can see them over at Queerty.

    Embed from Getty Images

    ‘Not funny with no context or nuance’

    In an interview with the Advocate the performer made an apology by way of explaning that the tweets were offensive, “especially with no context or nuance”.

    He told them, “Twitter has recently reminded me about 10 years ago, in my maiden quest to be funny, I tweeted some jokes that were completely offensive and insensitive to look back on them now, especially with no context or nuance and through the prism of where we are in 2020 with racial inequality and the fight for social justice, which I’m proudly a part of”.

    “I deeply apologize to anyone I offended”

    “In light of issues that are now at the forefront, which I’m passionate about and have spoken up about over the years, these tweets just sound racist and awful. I’m embarrassed by them. They make me sick to my stomach, in fact, and I deeply apologize to anyone I offended.”

    “I am known as the guy who calls out bigotry and racism, which is what I want to do”

    He ended by asking his fans to remember that he is a comedian and not a politician.

    ““I am a comedian. I’m not a politician … This scandal I’m going through might seem a little more scandalous to some because I now have this voice in the political world. I am known as the guy who calls out bigotry and racism, which is what I want to do. That’s how I want to use my platform. That’s what’s really in my heart. So these recent tweets resurfacing are not skeletons in my closet; they’re crappy jokes in my shoebox from a decade ago. I think we just need to be careful about considering the source.””

  • BBC issues statement on publishing “cisgender gay men not wanting to date trans men” is transphobic

    BBC issues statement on publishing “cisgender gay men not wanting to date trans men” is transphobic

    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.

    In a piece written by Shrai Popat called “The black transgender push to keep the fight alive at pride”, first published on the 26th June, a statement, without citation was published, which read,

    “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.

  • LGBT education charity reveals horrific and sustained homophobic attacks on social media

    LGBT education charity reveals horrific and sustained homophobic attacks on social media

    The Scottish Time For Inclusive Education (TIE) Charity has outlined some of the attacks its volunteers and founders have had to deal with.

    In a horrifying thread on Twitter, the TIE campaign has revealed the extent of abuse it has received from bigots on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The charity said it had also been a victim of a campaign of lies about its work “to damage its reputation”.

    https://twitter.com/tiecampaign/status/1276931788103921664

    The charity, which is based in Scotland, says it has been receiving attacks via social media platforms for months because they are an LGBT charity working with schools, teachers and educations.

    The charity’s primary goal is to tackle “prejudice-based bullying” and to provide schools and educators with sessions on gender stereotypes/equalities and resources which help educators include LGBT+ people in the curriculum.

    However, for months, volunteers say they have been targetted with “hurtful and dangerous posts and messages from “individuals who appear to be opposed to LGBT themes being included within education” an attack the charity describes as unprecedented.

    “Paedophiles, child abusers, groomers”

    The posts include defamatory and homophobic rhetoric, which has made volunteers concerned for their safety.

    Speaking about the threats, a statement from the charity said,

    “For decades, the LGBT community has been subject to homophobic propaganda which paints us as a threat to children by claiming that we are paedophiles, child abusers, groomers. Until recently, we believed we had moved on from those dark days. Sadly this is not the case online.”

    “They are trying to cause faux outrage & jeopardising our safety”

    The co-founder’s own child was used in this smear campaign and pictures of the child were used across social media with the slogan “Say no to the indoctrination and sexualisation of our children”.

    The charity says, “All of this is, obviously, untrue. We know a thing or two about LGBT history, so we understand that this is tactical homophobia: to throw as much mud as you can, & hope it tarnishes the org. They are trying to cause faux outrage & jeopardising our safety in the process….

    “The truth is that some of these individuals are anti-LGBT. Others, however, have simply chosen to target us because we are trans-inclusive in our work. All of this started when proposals to reform the GRA (Gender Recognition Act) became a prominent topic of discussion on Twitter.”

    Twitter is a particular problem

    TIE also pointed out that Twitter was a particularly problematic platform for them stating,

    “This platform, in particular, is a problem. LGBT people and charities are regularly called groomers, paedophiles, abusers. This is unacceptable and horrific. @TwitterSupport needs to do more about this.

    Twitter is a platform where homophobic and transphobic language is used constantly. Research THEGAYUK uncovered in 2018 showed that words such as “faggot” “dyke” and “no homo” are used millions of time a year.

    The charity has said that it has taken legal advice.

  • Why is online homophobia being ignored?

    Why is online homophobia being ignored?

    A shocking campaign shows how real life homophobia and transphobia is dealt with in minutes by law enforcement, but online hate can fester for years and years.

    A brand new campaign has set out to show the impact of online homophobia and transphobia.

    Every day thousands of homophobic and transphobic messages are posted online and some of these vile messages made their way onto a disturbing billboard in real life.

    Passersby were shocked by what they read and within twenty minutes the police had been called and the removal of the printed messages was underway.

    However, the filmmakers are keen to stress that these same messages still appear online.

    The powerful video, filmed in Canada, dubbed “Brutal postings” was created for the International Day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and is asking people to flag and report hate they see online.

    The video starts with a stark fact, that every 23 seconds an anti-LGBT message is posted online.

    Filmmakers set out to show what happens when homophobic and transphobic messages that have been published online are printed onto black and white cards and then pasted to a huge billboard.

    The result is a shocking wall of hate, which soon attracts the disgust of passersby, who remark at how vile the words are and that the huge billboard needs to be removed.

    Some of the messages target the trans community, while others focused in on the gay community.

    Within minutes the police are called and the messages are removed – but why doesn’t that happen online?

    Recently UK reality star, Bobby Norris shared some horrific anti-gay online hate directed at him. In early 2019 he started a petition which he delivered to 10 Downing Street asking the government to make online homophobia a specific crime.

    He managed to garner over 100,000 signatures to support his campaign.

  • Twitter could be adding this amazing feature to combat bullying

    Twitter could be adding this amazing feature to combat bullying

    Twitter could be adding this one feature that will help combat cyberbullying.

    PhotoMIX-Company / Pixabay

    THEGAYUK has learned that Twitter could be adding a “hide replies” feature. An innovation that could help anyone who is the target of online or cyberbullying remove hateful messages without deleting crucial evidence for the police.

    Twitter, for many, has become a toxic battleground and where cyberbullying is rife. In 2018 THEGAYUK discovered that anti-gay and homophobic slurs were racking up in their millions on the platform. Just before Donald Trump’s win as President in the 2016 US Election, Twitter saw a surge in the word “f*ggot”.

    A hide feature would help users control what they see and when they see it. It could work very similarly to the Turn Off Comments function on YouTube.

    It could also allow the primary user to help control the conversation, remove falsehoods or hate from their timeline, before other users jump in on a thread.

    Twitter has recently rolled out a number of schemes to help detoxify the app.

    In 2018 it said it would ban deadnaming and misgendering for trans people.

    It’s not clear if and when this feature will be rolled out.

     

     

  • Drag Race’s Felicia Heal’s daughter, 10, has created an incredible and powerful new equality project

    Drag Race’s Felicia Heal’s daughter, 10, has created an incredible and powerful new equality project

    Drag Queen, Felicia Heals’ daughter, Dasha, who is just 10-years-old and her friends have created a beautiful and powerful project all about equality.

    The ten-year-old daughter of Felicia Heals, who made headlines in January after becoming Drag Race Thailand’s first ever bio drag queen hopeful, has created an incredibly powerful and emotional video project, inspired in part by Drag Race Thailand’s star Pangina Heals and the model Cindy Sirinya, to help fellow students at her school realise there is no need to bully or judge other students.

     

    Dasha managed to get Drag Race star Pagina Heals into her video and say the powerful lines ” I am equal”

    Speaking about the project, Felicia Heals said, “As some of you know my daughter has been working on a project about equality that was inspired by @panginaheals And @cindysirinya, I was and am in full support of her idea and this was the video she has created with her friends about equality. The thing she said at the end of the video made me think about our perception on people…

    “Thank you all of you for the support and giving her your time , so she can spread such a wonderful message out”

    The video starts by asking the viewer, “Have you ever judged a person by their gender? By their sexuality? Their skin colour? Or what they do? before allowing a number of people, who identify in many ways, including trans, non-binary and gay to introduce themselves before saying the line “I am equal”.

    Speaking to THEGAYUK, Dasha said, “I got inspiration from the global goals and from all the different but equal people I know.

    “I think that my project will inspire all types of people that can encourage people who are afraid of letting other people know about themselves and fight for their own rights and respect.

    “Also I wanted to open eyes to people in my school to see that no matter how different a person is we are all equal and there is no reason to bully and judge them for being who they are.

    “I am really happy to have different people to join my project no matter what is their gender, sexuality , religion and nationality. And thank you so much for the wishes, I hope it makes a difference for someone.

    “We can all learn alot from people with different backgrounds.

  • Katie Hopkins just dropped the T word

    Katie Hopkins just dropped the T word

    Katie Hopkins has stooped to a new low

    Yes even for Katie Hopkins and her rabid anti–trans tweeting has stooped to a new low after she published a limerick which included a transphobic slur aimed at Humberside police, after the force revealed that they would always investigate reports of potential hate crime, which includes transphobia.
    (more…)

  • Hate crimes against gay people rockets in the UK

    Hate crimes against gay people rockets in the UK

    Hate crimes against gay and bisexual people in the UK have rocketed by double-digit figures, new statistics show.

    (C) BIGSTOCK

    Twelve percent (11,638 crimes) of recorded hate crimes in England and Wales were directed at gay and bisexual people new figures from the Home Office reveal, a 17 percent increase since last year.

    Two percent of recorded hate crime (1651 crimes) were those against transgender people – up a staggering 32 percent.

    Overall recorded hate crimes were up, with nearly 100,000 crimes reported. Double the amount in just five years. The majority of hate crime (75%, 71,251 crimes) were racially motivated. Religious-based hate crime accounted for 9 percent (8336 crimes) of recorded crimes.

    A report from the Home Office made a suggestion as to why the figures had soared stating, “This increase is thought to be largely driven by improvements in police recording, although there has been spikes in hate crime following certain events such as the EU referendum and the terrorist attacks in 2017,

    “It is thought that the sharp increase in religious hate crimes is due to a rise in these offences following the terrorist attacks in 2017.”

    Worryingly, the number of closed prosecutions dropped by over 2 per cent from 14,480 in 2016/17 to 14,151 in 2017/18.

    Home Secretary Sajid Javid said, “Hate crime goes directly against the long-standing British values of unity, tolerance and mutual respect – and I am committed to stamping this sickening behaviour out.

    “Our refreshed action plan sets out how we will tackle the root causes of prejudice and racism, support hate crime victims and ensure offenders face the full force of the law”.

    Only a small proportion of crimes get recorded

    The home office report also suggests that only a small proportion of hate crimes against LGBT people are reported. The combined 2015/16 to 2017/18  dataset estimates that there were 30,000 sexual orientation hate crimes per year.