© 2009-2012
Trans Media Watch

Charity registered in England
Number 1144430
 

Guidance for the Media - A Right to be Treated Fairly

Like any other law abiding citizens of the UK, trans people have a right to be treated fairly and with dignity.

The best parallel we can draw is with the experience of black people over the last fifty years in the UK.

In the 1960s, black people – if they were portrayed at all – were often presented on television and in the print media in racially offensive ways. Shows like ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ and ‘Mind Your Language’ routinely characterised black people in a particular way. Elsewhere, ‘The Black and White Minstrel Show’ reduced black people to a caricature, whilst popular comedians routinely used racist material demeaning black people en masse (indeed a small number still do). Much of this racism was based around ideas about physical appearance, speech and accent; or other false assertions.

Many black people felt very uneasy or even humiliated by the manner in which they were portrayed.

Gradually, the climate changed, driven by a growing understanding that it was entirely unacceptable to treat another human being with ridicule, hostility or prejudice simply because of their skin colour – something over which they had no control and which had no bearing whatsoever on their worth as a human being. As communities of Black and Asian people became more politically aware, Britain saw the introduction of race relations legislation which began to protect their rights and shield them from discrimination and abuse.

Whilst racism clearly still exists, step by step, gratuitous prejudice began to disappear from the newspapers and tv screens - as awareness of the pernicious power of racist language grew. The ability of the media to lead opinion to either fan or condemn racism became increasingly clear and it began to exercise more self control (encouraged by the arrival of legislation and regulatory bodies). Along the way, events like the Lawrence Enquiry fuelled public understanding. In recent years, the furore that surrounded the use of the word nigger on Channel Four’s ‘Big Brother’, and Ofcom’s response to it, have indicated how far society has come since such a word could have been routinely used on television.

Trans people often see many parallels in the experience of black people. Like black people, or those born with disabilities, they must simply live with who they are. They have no choice about how they feel – they may have tried everything to eliminate their (very likely biologically based) feelings (up to attempting suicide). Despite this, certain sections of the media continue to insist on singling them out for unprovoked and gratuitous attack, seeking easy appeals to base attitudes in society as a whole (in the same way they may once have picked on black people). Were members of various ethnic minority or disability groups to be treated in this way in the modern world it would be widely regarded as shameful (or even illegal).

Trans people ask only to be treated with the same dignity and respect that other members of society enjoy and which black people and other minority groups have now mostly achieved from the media.

BM TMW - LONDON - WC1N 3XX