BBC bosses accused of ‘downplaying’ fears that kids’s programmes promoted transgender ideology after intense lobbying by activists
BBC bosses were today accused of ‘downplaying’ concerns that children’s programmes promoted transgender ideology after producers were lobbied by activists.
A Labour peer and gender-critical campaigners repeatedly warned of a ‘pro-transitioning narrative’ being pushed within the BBC children’s and education department.
However executives refused to meet groups concerned about the medical transitioning of children and a rise in gender identity teaching in schools.
Yet at the same time they were consulting controversial LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall as ‘experts’ on the topic.
Stonewall has been criticised for its hardline stance on trans issues.
BBC bias towards pro-trans lobby groups was one of the key findings in an internal memo which was leaked last week.
The row led to the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and news chief executive Deborah Turness.
The emails were sent by Transgender Trend, which campaigns for an ‘evidence-based’ approach towards children who identify as transgender.
Stephanie Davies-Arai, director of Transgender Trend, repeatedly emailed BBC bosses warning them of a ‘pro-transitioning narrative’ in programmes aimed at young people
Between 2020 and this year it raised concerns about content aimed at children, The Times reported.
One from Transgender Trend director Stephanie Davies-Arai to the director of the children’s and education department, Patricia Hidalgo, raised concern about a BBC Bitesize article which linked to Stonewall.
The page – which has since been removed – encouraged young people to use ‘preferred pronouns’ such as ‘they/them’ and ‘ze/zir’ to show that they are ‘allies’ to transgender people.
Ms Davies-Arai also flagged a video by BBC Teach, which provides resources to primary schools, that tells children there are more than 100 genders.
She also raised concerns about 2015 CBBC documentary I am Leo, about a 13-year-old girl who transitions to the opposite gender, and 2016 CBBC drama Just a Girl.
Ms Davies-Arai pointed out that ‘LGBT lobby groups’ had been invited to hold workshops and asked that her organisation had the same opportunity ‘in the interests of impartiality and balance’.
However Ms Hidalgo rejected the request, defending the involvement on Stonewall on the grounds that it was ‘usual for content producers to approach experts for advice and guidance’.
In December 2020, Labour peer Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, the former energy minister, raised the concerns with Mr Davie, the director-general.
Still from 2015 CBBC documentary I am Leo, about a 13-year-old girl who transitions to the opposite gender
His email raised fears that ‘a pro-transitioning narrative has dominated both drama and factual programmes on CBBC’.
In response, Ms Hidalgo insisted that the narrative within ‘the small number of programmes’ made about being transgender did not amount to being ‘pro-transitioning’.
Earlier this year Transgender Trend again contacted the BBC asking for a meeting to discuss ‘safeguarding issues’ over transgender storylines in programmes such as Waterloo Road and Casualty.
The emails highlighted ‘harmful and inaccurate information’ and storylines which ‘normalise binders and double mastectomies for young girls’.
In response, the BBC’s head of creative diversity, Jessica Schibli, told them the corporation had ‘robust safeguarding protocols’ and that the programmes followed its editorial standards and guidelines.
Ms Davies-Arai told the Daly Mail: ‘We are extremely concerned about content aimed at children as young as six that suggests they can change to the opposite sex.
‘The message has been consistent over ten years and it is still happening in dramas and soaps popular with children such as Waterloo Road and Casualty.
‘The BBC has promoted an adult ideology to children with no consideration of their age and the fact that children are suggestible and trusting.’
A BBC source insisted the examples relating to children’s and education content predated 2020 and that it had ‘stepped back’ from Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.
In a statement the corporation said: ‘We take our responsibility to our young audience extremely seriously and have already addressed the concerns directly.
‘Our number one priority is to ensure that every piece of content we create for them is age-appropriate, safe, and reflective of their lives and experiences.
‘The BBC is required to represent a broad range of views and perspectives across our output that adheres to our editorial guidelines and Ofcom standards.’
