A columnist for The Times has complained to the BBC for the ‘first time in her life’ after the broadcaster promoted radical gender ideology in the lives of children.
Janice Turner gave a scathing review of a BBC Radio 4 programme in which presenter Jennifer Tracey interviewed a 10-year-old girl, whose parents used the internet to help her decide she is ‘non-binary’ – neither male nor female.
The Christian Institute has recently highlighted the BBC’s long record of using its influence to promote damaging, politically-correct ideas.
Unquestioning
In her article, published today, Turner criticised the child’s mother for initially concluding that her little girl was transsexual because she wanted a “pirates birthday party, disdained dolls” and “liked Peter Pan”.
The mother later decided that her child was “between the genders” because she wanted to keep her Barbie dolls.
Criticising the BBC, Turner noted that throughout the interview, on Radio 4’s iPM programme, the presenter “did not once challenge this mother.
Pernicious
“Not whether asking every day ‘are you a boy or a girl?’ was good for her daughter’s mental health. Not whether it was appropriate to ask your ten-year-old ‘if you were a man would you be gay or straight?'”
She also slammed the broadcaster for failing to question whether “talking about puberty-blocking hormones was driving a still-developing child towards a lifetime of sterility-creating drugs and surgery”.
She continued: “The BBC is allowing to enter the mainstream, unquestioned, a pernicious ideology that demands parents patrol their children for gender crimes – boys who like dolls, girls who climb trees – and then seek a label and treatment.”
The BBC is allowing to enter the mainstream, unquestioned, a pernicious ideology…
Mouthpiece
Deputy Director of The Christian Institute Simon Calvert said: “Some children experience confused feelings at a young age but the vast majority pass through this stage naturally.
“Telling them it is perfectly normal to swap sexes or become ‘gender neutral’ will only compound their confusion and potentially set them on a path towards psychological suffering and harmful surgery.
“Whether it’s abortion, gay marriage or transsexualism the BBC has shown again and again that it is only prepared to publicise one side of the debate.
“As a publicly-funded broadcaster, with a large audience and huge influence, the BBC should not be an unquestioning mouthpiece for the harmful and experimental ideas of the trans lobby.”
Bias
The liberal bias of the BBC has been noted by former Political Editor Andrew Marr, who described it as a “publicly funded, urban organisation with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people”.
In May this year bosses pledged to ensure that eight per cent of employees are LGBT, despite the fact that just 1.5 per cent of the UK population are lesbian, gay or bisexual and that less than 4,500 people have been issued a gender recognition certificate.
In an interview with The Christian Institute Walt Heyer, an author and former transsexual, said he found it “puzzling that somebody like the BBC doesn’t look at the actual research”.
More information
The issue of transsexualism – wanting to change physical sex because you feel you are ‘in the wrong body’ – has become increasingly high-profile and has already had implications for workplaces and schools.
To aid understanding in this area, the Institute has produced a briefing with key information and theology on the subject.
