Not organic, but top down capture

A timeline Part 1: how the BBC switched to sex self-identification and struggles to let it go

This is a dates, names and places blog - there’s no speculation about motive. Many of those involved were more active in ensuring the BBC complied with the demands of activists: some were simply at meetings. Included in the log are the activities of other parties involved such as Channel 4, Trans Media Watch, Ofcom, All About Trans and so on. Channel 4 fell faster and, over time, has fallen harder, while the BBC shows signs of waking up.

This is Part One, to 2015/16, so does not include the LGBT Progression Report partnered with Stonewall, the creation of two specialist gender identity roles, the call for staff to start adopting pronoun declarations, the failed attempt by Stonewall to further subvert accurate language, the revelation that 400 staff are trans, the rising influence of BBC Pride, or the eventual exit of Mermaids and Stonewall from the BBC. There might be more names and illustrations to come. But this is an initial skeletal guide, with links for reference. It’s a living log and more info will be added.

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Summer 2009 - Future Director General Tim Davie volunteers to chair the BBC LGB working group and oversees a public consultation. At this point (the year before the Equality Act) the LGB is not formally attached to the T at the BBC, and trans people were not within the consultation’s terms of reference.

2009 - Trans activist group Trans Media Watch is founded and immediately commissions its own research on trans people in the media. It’s published and sent to outlets Feb 2010

April 2010 - Equality Act gets Royal Assent

Mid-2010 - TMW begins meetings with the BBC and Channel 4 on how to change media portrayal. Amanda Rice, then BBC Head of Diversity, is enthusiastic.

Sept 2010 - BBC LGB consultation is published. 384 trans people respond to the consultation and complain that they weren’t included (for example the BBC is urged to put trans children on CBBC). A working group is set up by Tim Davie which would partner with Stonewall in future.

Sept 2010 - TMW meets the Press Complaints Council, the precursor to IPSO, and presses the case for ‘gender identity’ to be installed in the Editors’ Code. The PCC is sympathetic.

Sept 2010 - Tim Davie addresses a conference ‘Reflecting Diversity - the LGBT Community and the Media’ at Westminster Policy Forum. Peter Tatchell was the guest of honour and Stephen Whittle attended. This is a write up by Jane Fae (male trans) of Trans Media Watch in October 2010.

‘TMW has been working quietly behind the scenes with Channel 4 and the BBC for some while, in an effort to put together simple guidelines that would help broadcasters to avoid giving unintended offence to their transgender audience’

October 2010 - Equality Act takes effect

October 2010 - Nathalie McDermott sees trans-identified man Sonia Burgess pushed to his death under a tube train by another trans-identified man. Sonia (David) Burgess was a well-connected lawyer and Nathalie is/was a well-connected media consultant - her firm On Road Media (now Heard) advises charities on raising profile. She’s upset by the killing and media coverage of it.

Late 2010 - January 2011 - Nathalie McDermott’s upset drives her to approach Trans Media Watch to collaborate on ‘improving’ trans media portrayal. She and TMW start work to convince the BBC, under Director General Mark Thompson, and Channel 4, under David Abraham and Jay Hunt as Chief Content Officer, to put up £20,000 to fund a newly formed TMW offshoot, Trans Media Action, which later becomes All About Trans. Both broadcasters agree and funding is approved.

Feb 2011 - Press Council approves trans-affirmative style guide prepared with TMW ‘with the intention of making it easier for journalists to write accurately and respectfully about transgender and intersex people’ (sic).

Spring 2011 Channel 4 launches and signs the Trans Media Watch ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ at an event attended by Ofcom, then run by Colette Bowe (more on Ofcom later). Paris Lees was working for C4 and had helped to bring them on board. Lynne Featherstone MP, then an equality minister, congratulates C4 on the signing and urges other broadcasters to do so too. Objections that it was a form of censorship are ignored.

March 2011 - BBC takes over from Channel 4 at the helm of the transgender affirmative Creative Diversity Network

May 2011 - BBC publishes a four year Diversity Strategy that still doesn’t include ‘trans people’ and refers only to LGB

Sept 2011 - Trans Media Action (later All About Trans) is formally launched

Nov 2011 - Channel 4 broadcasts My Transsexual Summer

Dec 2011 - Trans Media Watch is represented at BBC Media City Salford for the Creative Diversity Network awards by Susie Green of Mermaids, Nathalie McDermott, Paris Lees and Sarah Lennox (another trans-identified male). Their fares are paid by GIRES. We don’t know who invited them.

Dec 2011 - First major Trans Media Action/All About Trans workshop at the BBC is held ‘with a lot of support from the BBC diversity team’. In attendance: a ‘powerful group’ of executives including the Commissioning Editor of Radio 1, Piers Bradford, the Controller of Production Talent, Ian Critchley, veteran producer Jon Plowman, executive producers from Radio Four, script editors and comedy and factual producers.

This marked the start of dozens of interactions between the BBC and All About Trans. Some are listed here, others still need verifying.

December 2011 TMW submits to Leveson inquiry (work with Channel 4 described as ‘extensive’ at this point)

January 2012 Trans Camp - co-sponsored by the BBC and hosted by Nathalie McDermott at Channel 4 HQ. More than 60 media professionals and trans people attend brainstorming conference. The BBC staff who attended included Ian Critchley. One workshop looked at ‘raising awareness of trans children’ - Susie Green was a speaker. The BBC series 'Boy Meets Girl’ ‘came out of an idea that was born at Trans Camp’

2012 (month unknown) Ofcom organises a ‘very well attended in-house training session for Ofcom colleagues about trans issues and the media’ as a result of contacts made at the C4 launch of the Trans Media Watch Memorandum of Understanding. It was run with help from Trans Media Action/All About Trans.

November 2012 BBC Writers, in partnership with Trans Comedy, launched the Trans Comedy Award at the Creative Diversity Network Awards

‘One team pitched a scriptwriter’s competition that would invite writers to come up with funny material that contained positive portrayals of trans people. That team included..former BBC Head of Creative Resources Ian Critchley. With support from the BBC Writers Room their plan came to fruition and became the Trans Comedy Award. The winning script Boy Meets Girl was commissioned by BBC Two’

Archived All About Trans background page here. Most of the pages containing details of its media interactions have been deleted.

By 2012 BBC Audience Research is ‘scoping a piece of research on gender and transgender’ as per a Diversity Update (published Jan 2013) under Tim Davie, then acting Director General

January 2013 Jon Plowman announces a bursary of £5,000 for a comedy pitch by and about trans people

April 2013 - New DG - Tony Hall

April 2013 All About Trans activist spend the day at London Aquarium with a BBC Controller and two commissioning executives from Comedy and Entertainment

May 2013 Paris Lees and Leng Montgomery from All About Trans meet Steve Herrmann, Editor BBC Online, who was then in charge of the Online Style Guide. Montgomery tells Herrmann: ‘If in doubt, ask the trans person what pronouns they prefer’.

Summer 2013 (month unknown) All About Trans meets BBC Complaints editorial adviser Colin Tregear

October 2013 BBC Diversity update BBC commissions ‘an in-depth piece of qualitative research that .. will include a discrete element talking to transgender (trans) people..As a result of work with Trans Media Action which we reported on last year, Radio1 has worked with Paris Lees, top of this year’s Independent Pink List and their first trans presenter…We continue to support the now titled All About Trans project as it raises awareness of trans people, their lives and coverage in the broadcast sector across the UK – including BBC English Regions’

Objective linked with Trans Media Watch and On Road Media of Phase Two of media workshops is ‘complete’.

BBC Style Guide in August 2013 said this

“Transsexual - Do not refer to ‘transsexuals’, in the same way we would not talk about ‘gays’ or ‘blacks’. Transsexual people who have completed surgery to become a member of the opposite sex should be referred to as the gender they have become. Pre-operative transsexual people should be described as they wish. If their wishes are not known, and it is not possible to find out, take an informed view based on knowledge of the individual’s lifestyle. For example, it is reasonable to assume that a woman living as a man would wish to be referred to as ‘he’ rather than ‘she’.”

Autumn 2013 All About Trans has multiple ‘interactions’ with editorial executives in which they are advised by activists including Leng Montgomery that the BBC should refer to trans people according to the trans person’s preference.

November 2013 BBC Style Guide is updated to :

‘Homosexual means people of either sex who are attracted to people of their own gender but take care how you use it..it can be considered offensive because of past associations with illegal behaviour and mental illness’. ..Transgender or trans is a good umbrella term. A person born male would be described as a transgender woman and vice versa. Use the appropriate pronoun - she or he…we would generally refer to a trans person by their current identity only..if in doubt ask the person involved how they would like to be described’.

Summer 2014 All About Trans had an Interaction with CBeebies and CBBC, attended by Helen Bullough, Head of CBBC In House Productions, and Joe Godwin, Head of BBC Children’s, who went on to chair a second social event in September 2014 of that year

‘Outcome of the meeting: volunteers worked with the researchers to provide support for the My Life documentary featuring a young transgender boy called Leo. My Life – I am Leo was broadcast in November 2014 on CBBC’

July 2014 All About trans interaction with Sue Owen, the Managing Editor for BBC Radio Merseyside and Aziz Rashid, Head of Regional & Local Programmes at BBC North West.

August 2014 All About Trans interaction with the Audience Council in Wales (which no longer exists)

September 2014 Second CBBC About Trans interaction (see above) attended by Kay Benbow (Controller at CBeebies) and Vanessa Amberleigh (Executive Producer CBeebies).

April 2015 BBC2 broadcasts Louis Theroux: Transgender kids

Around this period Cathy Newman met All About Trans but we haven’t got the date.

April 2015 BBC producer Louisa Compton (now head of Channel 4 News and Current Affairs) and Victoria Derbyshire launch the Victoria Derbyshire show. The first programme is dominated by a 15-minute film on ‘Transgender Children’ and guest discussions. Later that year the programme wins Pink News Broadcaster of the Year. ‘Compton: “In the six months we’ve been on air, I’m really proud that our first and probably only ever award is a PinkNews Award’

October 2015 Ofcom attends roundtable organised by the LGBT Consortium about portrayals in the media of members of the trans community. At the event Trans Media Watch asked for and was promised a meeting with Ofcom’s Content Standards Team.

November 2015 Culture Minister Ed Vaizey tells Maria Miller MP that ‘Ofcom are currently updating their research about attitudes to offensive language’ and ‘testing audience attitudes to discriminatory language about trans people including a sub-group of participants from the trans community’.

March 2016 All About Trans has a third interaction with BBC Wales in Cardiff. Records of the first two were wiped. The third interaction involved ‘chatting about trans experiences in schools’. This time transactivists also met Pete Shuttleworth, Sport Digital Editor.

March 2016 - All About Trans further interaction with BBC North West ‘talking schools and education’ (Follow up April 2016 - Second Victoria Derbyshire film on ‘trans’ children under 10 and associated articles and discussions. There have been no more follow ups but throughout its life the VD show driven by Louisa Compton focussed on affirming transgender identities.

Spring 2016 All About Trans interaction with Newsnight team including Evan Davies

2016 Diversity strategy for the first time includes an ‘LGBT’ target representation of 8%. ‘Unconscious bias’ training made mandatory. Inclusion objectives issued to managers.

2016 IPSO meets All About Trans and publishes new Transgender Guidance recommending All About Trans, Trans Media Watch, Mermaids and several other trans activist organisations for ‘further advice and support’.

Records of this guidance and meeting were subsequently deleted.

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End of Part One

By 2015, when Stonewall adopted the ‘T’, trans affirmation and self-identification were already embedded at the BBC. By 2016 and 2017 BBC programmes and pages were flooded with transgender ‘lived experiences’. As soon as a Women’s Network was established it was immediately declared to be ‘for all genders’. By 2018 its Diversity Lead was speaking at a conference on the ‘Next Steps for Transgender Equality’ and the BBC had a staff member ‘managing the relationship with Stonewall’, yet it struggled to report the GRA consultation at all. Capture was complete and there was some way to go before there was any glimmer of change.