The British tabloid 'newspaper' The Sun has published a story about a transgender couple getting married on it's front page, under the headline 'Tran and Wife'. The headline is accompanied by the heading, 'Jake who used to be a woman weds Hannah who was a man'.
Actor and filmmaker Jake Graf and Captain Hannah Winterbourne, the highest ranking trans officer in the British Army, were married on Friday in a ceremony at Chelsea's Town Hall in London; an event that was reported on in a number outlets, including The Mail Online, and The Mirror, all of which contained anti-transgender sentiment, but The Sun was the only one to feature the story on their front page.
Jake Graf spoke to Pink News about the story, saying; 'We felt that the article itself in The Sun was very positive, sympathetic, and hopeful. Hannah and I have always had huge support from the LGBT Press and of course wanted to share our story with them and as widely as possible, but we also strongly felt that getting our story out to a mainstream audience was important.
'Whilst The Sun has a less than positive history when it comes to reporting on LGBT issues, it did feel that there had been a real turn around in the last year or so, with some very sympathetic and supportive reporting on trans issues.
'We were assured that the story would be positive, which we feel it was, and were obviously very disappointed when it was let down by such an offensive and garish headline and front page.'
The headline immediately drew criticism, with many taking to social media such as Facebook and Twitter to express their anger and distress at the way the paper reported on the event.
A spokesperson from The Sun has said, 'We've put this story on a front page in order to celebrate a wonderful modern romance. I want to emphasise that there was no intention to offend, and we wish them both the very best for the rest of their happy lives together. We are confident that our readers, especially after reading the piece, will join us in wishing them the same.'
The spokesperson also claimed that members of the LGBT+ community was consulted about the headline before it was printed, who found no issue with the content.
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