January 22, 2013 • 10:17 PM 3

UK’s Telegraph newspaper publishes yanked Julie Burchill transgender hate piece

Toby Young of the UK’s Telegraph (Photo: socialregister.co.uk)

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — In the midst of this ongoing explosion in the transgender community over the Julie Burchill trans-hate piece that was pulled from the UK’s The Observer newspaper, another UK paper, the Telegraph, has recently republished it on their website.

The Telegraph‘s Toby Young argued that The Observer’s actions amounted to censorship. He stated that he was a friend of Burchill and that she had given him permission to republish it as part of an article for his paper.

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It appears clear to me that ad hominem attacks like Burchill’s article, especially when used against a marginalized group of people, have no place in entities other than those that exploit to pad their pocketbooks. This appears pretty much what the Telegraph is doing. Young could have still made his argument without republishing the piece, but now, any point he had is lost.

Likewise, Burchill could have easily made her arguments without using ad hominem comments to engage a public discourse on something that concerned her, however, by doing a hate piece, she invalidated any point she was trying to make.

The Guardian, The Observer: Thumbs up.

Telegraph: Thumbs down.

More on Julie Burchill’s trans hate piece: http://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/?s=burchill

Up to the minute monitoring of the Burchill affair: http://www.facebook.com/groups/transmediawatch/

[Trigger Warning!] The Observer’s decision to censor Julie Burchill is a disgrace – Telegraph Blogs.

Toby Young of the UK’s Telegraph (Photo: socialregister.co.uk)

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Filed under: Exploitation, Dehumanizing, Media, Positive PR, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, Violence, Hate, ad hominem, Julie Burchill, Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, Toby Young, uk

January 18, 2013 • 11:31 PM 5

UK’s “Observer” owns up to transphobic article publication blunder

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — While the massive fallout from Julie Burchill’s now-pulled transphobic article continues, the United Kingdom publisher is owning up to what is, as Observer readers’ editor Stephen Pritchard, described as ‘a collective failing of editing by Observer staff’.

Burchhill’s article, which, among other things, contained transphobic slurs directed at trans people. The paper pulled the article after a massive social media protest from the trans community and allies.

I wrote briefly about Burchhill’s article here: http://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/intl-trans-community-comes-to-the-defense-of-uk-doctor-transphobic-article-published-in-the-guardian/

The paper’s editor, John Mulholland:

“It was a mistake to publish it. I could not let the mistake stand. I didn’t want that legacy for the Observer. The idea that I would compound a mistake by continuing to publish the piece online is absurd. . . .

“It was not a complicated decision to make. The responsibility I had was to try to make amends to a group of people we had needlessly and mistakenly offended.”

Prichard stated that the editor will have discussions with the trans community shortly. “A lesson has been learned,” Prichard said.

Meanwhile, the Burchill article has released pent-up anger within the trans community beyond the mere publication of it. The suppression or rejection of trans woman by certain vocal cis women has been a point of contention for some time and has now come to a head. I’ve found this site a good place to stay on top of the Julie Burchill affair: http://www.facebook.com/groups/transmediawatch/

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The preceding was compiled from these sources and elsewhere: Burchill column ‘a collective failing of editing’ by senior staff | Media | guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/18/julie-burchill-and-the-observer

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Filed under: Exploitation, Dehumanizing, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, John Mulholland, Julie Burchill, observer, Stephen Pritchard, transphobic, uk

January 13, 2013 • 10:15 PM 3

[UPDATED] Int’l trans community comes to the defense of UK doctor; transphobic article published in “The Guardian”

Dr. Richard Curtis (Photo guardian.uk)

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — [UPDATE: Transphobic article pulled. See below.] In recent days the international transgender community has responded angrily to two different incidents, both potentially impacting the well-being of trans people in the United Kingdom in a negative way.

The first began when it became known that the UK’s General Medical Council (GMC) was investigating Dr. Richard Curtis, a rare physician who does gender re-assignment support outside the NHS. Although not everyone can afford his services, he is respected among many trans people for providing a rare alternative to the NHS path.

Trans activists fear the GMC’s actions could eliminate trans patients options, leaving everyone with just one choice — the NHS system, which some trans activists say is ‘slow, controlling and unsympathetic.’

The response from the trans community not only focused on Dr. Curtis but also revealed the many shortcomings of the NHS from the trans perspective.

Read more about this uproar in this piece by trans woman Jane Fae: The real trans scandal is not the failings of one doctor but cruelty by many | Jane Fae | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.

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The second storm followed the publication of a transphobic article in the UK’s The Guardian. Written by Julie Burchill and titled “Transsexuals should cut it out”, the piece clearly crosses the border into deep transphobia territory.

Here’s a snippet: “Shims, shemales, whatever you’re calling yourselves these days – don’t threaten or bully us lowly natural-born women, I warn you.”

That’s quite enough to get a flag thrown for me.

UPDATE — Jan. 14, 2013: The Guardian has pulled the transphobic article. See below:

~~Following an uproar from the trans community, the publication’s Readers’ editor says he will be looking into the matter, however, you can still contact them and voice your opinion:~~

Statement from John Mulholland, editor of The Observer

Observer.co.uk, Monday 14 January 2013 12.48 EST

Statement from John Mulholland, editor of The Observer:

We have decided to withdraw from publication the Julie Burchill comment piece ‘Transsexuals should cut it out’. The piece was an attempt to explore contentious issues within what had become a highly-charged debate. The Observer is a paper which prides itself on ventilating difficult debates and airing challenging views. On this occasion we got it wrong and in light of the hurt and offence caused I apologise and have made the decision to withdraw the piece. The Observer Readers’ Editor will report on these issues at greater length.

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Write to: Readers’ Editor
The Observer
Kings Place
90 York Way
London N1 9GU
Tel: 020 3353 4656
Email: reader@observer.co.uk

Here’s the entire article [Trigger Warning]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/13/julie-burchill-suzanne-moore-transsexuals?mobile-redirect=false#comment-20580194