Veteran BBC television and radio presenter John Humphrys has received backlash from the LGBTQ+ community following comments where he stated that the BBC is too supportive of trans people.
The former presenter of Radio 4's Today programme spoke out against his former employer last weekend whilst appearing at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He claimed that the BBC and their staff have a 'liberal left agenda', which he said leads to coverage about trans issues that is too 'sensitive'.
'If you take something like, for instance transgender, the BBC's mindset is such that you must , kind of accept what the prevailing view is.' He said. 'Except that's their prevailing view, and perhaps mine is slightly different.
'The BBC’s attitude with that sort of social development is to be immediately sympathetic, not entirely detached as I believe they should be, but sympathetic and that worries me.'
He also added, 'I happen to believe, personally, that there are not an unlimited number of genders. I believe that we are born men and women. I feel slightly worried when large numbers of children are being told 'You think you might be a girl or you think you might be a boy? We'll go and get you medical attention'.'
He continued to use the fear of trans children to compound his point by saying, 'I'm uneasy about children being told in schools there are more than 100 different genders and it's possible for someone to change gender overnight. I'm worried about where it's heading. The BBC's attitude with that sort of social development is to be immediately sympathetic, not entirely detached as it should be.'
John Humphrys has in the past faced criticism for voicing anti-trans sentiment live on air when he described trans women as 'men who think they are women'.
Many of Humphrys' arguments are ones that will be familiar to many members of the trans community, as they are often used by TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists) to attack members of the trans community. They also bear a striking similarity to homophobic arguments that were used in past decades by somehow framing the trans community and their existence as a threat to children.
Whilst the BBC is by far not the worst broadcaster for anti-trans sentiment, it is far from the sympathetic network that Humphrys believes it to be. Perhaps anything less than outright hate is seen as sympathy towards those who harbor anti-transgender views. But then again, is anyone really surprised that an old white man in his late seventies isn't okay with those who don't conform to narrow viewpoints on gender and sex?
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