CHARITY REPORT MAIL & SUN TO LEVESON INQUIRY AMID FEARS FOR CHILD SAFETY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A charity calling for accuracy, dignity and respect for transgender and intersex people in the British media has made a second submission to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards and regulation.

Trans Media Watch (TMW) addressed the Leveson Inquiry on February 8th. Since then, a surge of stories featuring trans people have appeared in the national press. Most of these have focused on two particular cases:

• A transgender man who became pregnant and gave birth to a child

• A five year old who has was born male, but who is now accepted by her family as female

Helen Belcher, Treasurer of TMW, says that recent coverage raises issues of child protection:

“With both stories, there are significant concerns over misrepresentation and, with both, there are serious concerns over the press affecting the safety of children.”

Referring to a Daily Mail article, in which Paul Bracchi claims gender dysphoria did not exist 20 years ago, Ms Belcher commented:

“We are particularly concerned about the inaccuracies and discrimination that appear in the Mail’s article of 25 February, and have taken these concerns to the Press Complaints Commission.”

Paris Lees, TMW’s Project Manager, adds:

“How dare Paul Bracchi claim that gender dysphoria didn’t exist 20 years ago? It did. I was a child then, but I can tell you it was very real. Sadly, like most of the journalists whipping up hysteria over trans children, he hasn’t got the faintest idea what he is talking about.”

Ms Lees said there was usually little news content in stories featuring trans and intersex people:

“In the search for a salacious story, parts of the press disregard the safety of innocent children. Why? Well, for the most part, these articles are just an excuse to point and stare.”

She concluded:

“This isn’t about transgender people, it’s about bad journalism. The tabloids are driving an atmosphere of fear by parading a vulnerable minority group as freaks and deliberately misrepresenting the realities of our lives.”

TMW has identified that, between early November and early February, the average number of articles about trans issues in the national press was less than one per day. In the fortnight following TMW’s appearance at Leveson, 34 such articles were published. 14 of those were published by the Daily Mail and its offshoots.

Both Belcher and Lees expressed concern about messages appearing under some of the articles, a number of which advocate violence against the children featured. Such comments, they argue, reveal the level of aggression that can be inspired by hostile coverage, and the risk to children this creates.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Trans Media Watch is a charity which works with the media to ensure transgender and intersex people are treated with accuracy, dignity and respect. Formed in 2009, it has collaborated with regulators, broadcasters and government, as well as with trans and intersex people, and their families, who are approached by the media.

TMW does not advocate censorship, but encourages journalists and editors to take responsibility for their work, particularly with stories concerning children. Its style guide, which provides advice on the coverage of trans and intersex-interest stories, and is backed by the PCC, has been widely circulated. TMW also boasts strong support on social networking sites, and has links with parallel organisations across the globe.

TMW addressed the Leveson Inquiry on 8th February.

http://www.transmediawatch.org

For more information please contact:

Paris Lees
TMW Project Manager
Tel: 07857 350121
Email: paris@millivres.co.uk

Helen Belcher
Treasurer of TMW
Tel: 07967466909
Email: tmw.helen@gmail.com

Paris Lees: Gaydar Radio Interview

I was really pleased, last week, when GaydarRadio invited me on to speak about my idols, my trans activism and the launch of META. To celebrate LGBT History Month, the station is running a series on Heroes and Heroines, so I talked about the amazing women in my family. I was still recovering from a pretty wild weekend, (darlings, if the police turn up at your house party, it’s wild) and was feeling a bit worse for wear. So I look a bit tired. But I was still fabulous. Did I already mention that? Catch the podcasts below.

Paris Lees GaydarRadio Interview Part 1

Paris Lees GaydarRadio Interview Part 2

★
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CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

In the great cities of the world groups of dissidents form their gaunt nexi of discontent and send the roots of change through the black soil of our existence.

Fay Weldon, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil

In a dusty Delhi side street, deep inside a mother’s womb, life grows. A flush of hormones flood the tiny being and mesodermal tissues react and morph. The future is formed in flesh as testosterone stimulates the Wolffian duct and male sexual organs take shape; the Müllerian duct, so full of fallopian potential, degrades. Cells multiply. Screens flicker. A neural tube is created, a brain, a tiny seed of consciousness waiting to be watered. Eyes to see emerge, and ears to listen too. There will be much to see and much to hear. This is the youngest trans person in the world.

Outside. In the Incan heat of Peru, a mother smothers her own child. Appalled, she also kills herself. She writes their names in the book of dead, a woman who created life only to end it, a baby which was neither boy nor girl. The winds blow.

In Africa, a newborn takes its first breath. Around the world, tectonic plates shift, human bones replace themselves and snakes slither from their skins. Winds tear the leaves from the trees and dreams sink to the ocean bed as a billion ejaculations inject the globe with the scripts of a million species. The weak march together, in Turkey, Toronto and Tashkent, and demonstrate their strength. Icy villages house those who thank the cold and cover their bodies in shame. In Australia, a weathered face is held up to the mirror one last time. It blinks.

I converse with the air. Like the sun, which contacts my skin, our dialogue never changes. It recognises nothing new in me. It cannot detect my rage, the meaning behind livid tears, which evaporate from my cheeks, rising up to become part of it. I fly through the vapour, and gaze upon black clouds.

Loud voices shout about my people, filling me with fear. Perhaps they are reading the lies about my life, printed on papers which litter our vessel? I look at time, dangling from my hands, and long to land in a nexus of discontent.

At first they ignored us, pretended we didn’t exist. We have always existed. In the bible we are Eunuchs, castrated and seedless, or angels, genderless and beautiful. In the tribes of North America, long before European intrusion, we took our place in public life, respected and integrated. In sticky Eastern climes, Buddhas have watched us for centuries, and rags have hidden the space between our legs, and bound our breasts, since the times of Homer. Our gods are ancient.

But still they laugh at us. They humiliate us on the streets, spit on us, give us names which reduce and ridicule. They joke about us on their stages, and refuse to present us as equals. We appear, but it is as body parts, display items, oddities. We are questioned. Afterwards, we are harassed, genitals grabbed and groped in order to satisfy a hostile world’s claim on us. We call out, but it’s hard to make our voices heard. When we ask for basic respect, we are accused of seeking special treatment.

Now. They fight us. They tell lies about us: malicious mendax, masquerading as concern. They don’t care about us. They discuss our state of being purely to entertain one another, and repulse our truths. They say our experience is not valid. Sometimes, others defend our right to simply be, but we’re held back from defending ourselves. That which could not be more personal becomes a story told by others; nasty, false, and cruel. Its authors claim we are unfit people, that we endanger growing minds, because their own are so closed. They ignore the damage they’ve inflicted on ours for centuries.

Now. It’s time. We must not be bullied. We must be angry. We must mobilise. Our friends must join us, but it starts with you. Today. We can no longer kill ourselves. Instead, we must give birth to a better world, one which celebrates our natural diversity. We can live in that world. You have seen, in recent years, that determined minds can achieve great things. Yes, change is possible; we of all people know this. But only you can make it happen.

Now.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CHARITY SLAMS SUN NEWSPAPER’S “HUNT FOR INNOCENT MAN”

A charity calling for accuracy, dignity and respect for transgender and intersex people in the British press has condemned the Sun newspaper’s hunt for a pregnant man.

TMW’s Project Manager, Paris Lees, accused the Sun of harassment and hypocrisy:

“This week, the Sun claimed it was subject to ‘a witch-hunt’. Odd, coming from a newspaper now trying to expose an innocent member of the public simply for being transgender.”

She continued:

“Is it in the public interest if a private individual chooses to become pregnant? Quite frankly, this person’s gender identity is nobody else’s business – and certainly not cause for a national phone-in.”

The Sun has urged its readers to call a hotline to expose the man’s identity. This, says Paris Lees, has caused great anxiety in the trans community:

“There are trans men around the country who’ve been living in fear for the past few days, scared they could be paraded as freaks on the Sun’s front page. What right does a newspaper have to make innocent members of the public feel this way?”

TMW points out that papers pursuing the story breach the PCC Editors’ Code in four distinct areas: privacy, harassment, protection of children, and discrimination.

Helen Belcher, TMW’s Treasurer, advised the PCC that its code had been broken, but says that the regulator was unable to take action:

“The PCC clearly felt there was some substance in those claims but, sadly, has yet again shown it is incapable of halting such abusive behaviour.”

The charity’s criticism comes just one week after Ms Belcher presented evidence of gross invasions of privacy to the Leveson Inquiry.

In the submission, TMW made clear reference to the damage often caused by such outings, whether individuals or families are linked to a story or not.

The Sun’s editor, Dominic Mohan, also spoke to the Inquiry last week, where he insisted his editorial team had: “raised [its] game in terms of transgender reporting”.

This, Ms Belcher argues, brings Mr Mohan’s evidence into doubt:

“The manner in which the Sun is pursuing this story raises serious doubts that they have mended their ways, despite Dominic Mohan’s evidence in front of Lord Justice Leveson”

TMW calls on all press outlets to end the unnecessary search immediately and allow the individual to continue their pregnancy undisturbed.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Trans Media Watch is a charity which works with the media to ensure transgender and intersex people are treated with accuracy, dignity and respect. Formed in 2009, it has collaborated with regulators, broadcasters and government, as well as with trans and intersex people, and their families, who are approached by the media.

TMW does not advocate censorship, but encourages journalists and editors to take responsibility for their work. Its style guide, which provides advice on the coverage of trans and intersex-interest stories, and is backed by the PCC, has been widely circulated. TMW also boasts strong support on social networking sites, and has links with parallel organisations across the globe.

TMW addressed the Leveson Inquiry on 8th February.

http://www.transmediwatch.org

For more information please contact:

Paris Lees
TMW Project Manager
Tel: 07857 350121
Email: paris@millivres.co.uk

Helen Belcher
Treasurer of TMW
Email: tmw.helen@gmail.com

META MAGAZINE: SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The publishers of Gaytimes and DIVA magazine launch a groundbreaking digital publication aimed at the transgender community – META.

VIEW THE COVER

• META is a unique magazine designed for a wide community of gender variant people. It is written by trans people and their friends for trans people and their friends

• Through in-depth features, community discourse, arts coverage, celebrity interviews, comprehensive event listings, and charitable causes, META is a celebration of diversity

• META is connected to the UK’s exciting trans activism movement and is committed to challenging bigotry

• It is dedicated to promoting positive self esteem and connectivity among trans people, generating creativity, motivation and aspiration through inspiring imagery and positive ethos

In the historic first issue, Vivian Bond, of Kiki and Herb fame, chats about changing personas:

“I am a Mixtress of reinvention. I’ve thrown everything up in the air many times to see where it lands. As to reinventing myself personally, well… I have always known who I am.”

Reality star Lewis Hancox responds to criticism following his appearance in Channel 4’s My Transsexual Summer:

“I outed myself, basically, and put myself in a vulnerable position. People shouldn’t be attacking me for that – it should be encouraged.”

Performance artist Diane Torr discusses traditional sexism:

“I was following a programme about famous dead people and they’d always have men on. I wrote in and said, “What is it, do women not die?”

Editor Paris Lees said:

“Transgender writers have been gaining ground over the past few years, appearing in the New Statesman, the Guardian and the Times. Now, with META, we finally have our own platform. Forget ‘editor’ – speaking purely as a trans woman, I can honestly say I’m thrilled.”

She added:

“META isn’t just for trans people, it’s for anyone who’s ready for lively, intelligent discussion about gender – something we don’t always see in the mainstream media”.

META’s debut issue is on sale 5 February – and will cost £1.99. As iPad and iPhone users will need to pay a one-off fee for the META App (£1.50), they will receive one issue free. It includes features on gender-free parenting, exclusive video content, real life stories and debate.

META features: Justin Bond, Diane Torr, Lewis Hancox, Del LaGrace Volcano, Natacha Kennedy, DJ Lady Lloyd, Bagachipz, Christine Burns, Jane Fae, Roz Kaveney, Jennie Kermode and Jay Stewart.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

META is the world’s first magazine aimed at the whole of the trans community. It is published by Millivres Prowler Group.

META is on sale through digital distribution via PocketMags.com, for Android, PC & Mac computers, iPad and iPhone devices here.

www.http://metamag.tumblr.com/

MPG is the UK’s largest gay and lesbian business, and is celebrating 35 years in business.
For over 35 years, MPG’s core principle has been that gay men, lesbians and transgender people should enjoy the same full human and civil rights as other sectors of the population.

Our media brands include the most famous and well established gay and lesbian publications in the UK: GT (Gay Times), DIVA and PinkPaper.com.

www.millivres.co.uk

For more information please contact:

Stu Hurford
Marketing and Communications Executive
Tel: 020 7424 7483
Email: stu.hurford@millivres.co.uk

Sam Normington
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Tel: 020 7424 7462
Email: sam.normington@millivres.co.uk

META Magazine – Editor’s Letter

Transgender writers have been gaining ground over the past few years, appearing in various respected titles including the New Statesman, the Guardian and the Times. Now, with new digital publication META, we finally have our own platform. META isn’t just for trans people though, it’s for anyone who’s ready for lively, intelligent discussion about gender – something we don’t always see in the mainstream media. Be sure to check out META’s Facebook page, follow META on Twitter, and keep an eye our for when it goes on sale! You can also read META’s mission statement here, featuring a promotional clip with Lewis Hancox from Channel 4′s My Transsexual Summer. Lewis also appears in the magazine, giving his side of the story following criticisms from the online trans community. Sneak preview below.

EDITOR’S LETTER

O what is it in me that makes me tremble so at voices?
Surely, whoever speaks to me in the right voice, him or her I shall follow,
As the water follows the moon, silently, with fluid steps, anywhere around the globe.

Walt Whitman

Isolation can be a real problem for trans people, but even those of us with good social networks can be excluded from mainstream culture. Research conducted by Trans Media Watch revealed that 95% of British trans people feel like the media doesn’t care about them. So welcome, then, to a publication that not only cares, but positively depends on you.

SNEAK PREVIEW: How the Editor's Letter will look

What do we mean by “trans” though? You probably have your own definition, but we use it in the most inclusive sense; covering all types of genderqueer, genderless, transsexual, gender variant and gender non-conforming people, and also those with a trans history, loved-ones, family, friends and allies. It’s an idea which is sometimes expressed using ‘trans*’, but we’ve opted against the asterix. This is partly a question of style, but also a matter of principle. We believe that everyone should feel welcome under the trans umbrella, regardless of punctuation. Roz Kaveney wonderfully outlines this broad concept of family on Page 23.

I believe in our community. I’ve noticed increasing optimism over the past few years, and a growing sense that we can effect real change. So we’re delighted to have Justin Bond on our first cover. A true star, both within and without the trans community, we feel v sums up our outward-looking, upbeat ethos.

META is about having a voice. We’re produced by trans people for trans people – whilst never excluding our allies. We focus on the issues that matter to you, so expect campaigns, politics and, of course, lashings of humour. We have plans to expand our content over the coming months and we want you to let us know if we’re getting it right. We listen.

Indeed, we asked you how you’d feel about a trans magazine using the word “tranny” – and over 60 per cent of you said “unhappy”. So don’t expect to read the t-word in META, apart from when we report other people’s speech. Or indeed when we discuss the term, as Natacha Kennedy and Dru Marland do in our debut debate (Pages 6 and 7).

Issue one has been produced on zero budget. I would personally like to thank our hardworking team of top quality writers, photographers, designers, illustrators and marketers, who have given so much of their time for free. I hope you’ll enjoy engaging with META as much as we did making it. And we loved every minute of it.

Paris Lees

★
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Paris Lees – Channel 4′s first transgender presenter?

Looking at the Jonathan Ross “ladyboy” fiasco, it occurs to me that what we need is a transgender presenter: someone who will champion trans people rather than ridicule them. Someone who understands why the media’s obsession with our genitals is so pernicious. Someone who will stand up for one of the most vulnerable and downtrodden minorities in 21st Century Britain.

Well, I’m working on it. Below is my “taster tape” – a short film used to sell ideas to TV producers. I can’t tell you exactly what I’ve got in the pipeline, but don’t expect anything too high profile. Yet.

You’ll find out soon enough though…

Paris Lees; UK’s first Transgender presenter – taster tape from Channel 4 Creative Diversity on Vimeo.

★
Follow @parislees

Jonathan Ross: You Should Know Better

POOR COMPANY: Jonathan Ross and Ricky Gervais share a joke about "mongs and ladyboys". Perhaps.

Jonathan Ross will be lucky if my mum watches his show tonight. He managed to infuriate her last week, and my mum’s ever so difficult to annoy, even when you try, really hard – even if you give her tacky, worn jewellery for Christmas; or forget her birthday, twice, consecutively; or secretly redecorate her house, horrendously, while she’s on holiday, in a style you know she’ll hate. But Wossy, somehow, really made her snarl. It all boiled down to his intro (available here, 2 minutes, 30 seconds in):

Have you seen this story, I love this story today, a Thai airline, a company called PC Air has announced an exciting new recruitment policy – they’re going to recruit more ladyboys to be air stewards! [pauses: audience laughter]

Unlike most airlines, they’re actually encouraging you to take a concealed weapon on board, it’s a whole new, it’s a whole new (just waiting for some of you) it’s a whole new (I would! I think I have for one of them…)

The biggest shock on that plane is when the plane hits turbulence because it’s not just the oxygen masks that fall down in front of your face. [audience express disgust]

What a great way to spend a flight though, because you wouldn’t need puzzles or movies, because you’d just be, “Is she? Is he? Is she?” And when you want to find out the answer you just press the buzzer and go, “Excuse me, do you have any nuts?”

Soon after it aired, mother called. Have you seen it, Paris? Isn’t it disgusting? How is he allowed to get away with it? What are you going to do about it? My only question was: why are you so surprised? I suppose she’s only just started noticing crap like this which has, in fact, been there all along. I’m both glad that she gets it, and sad that she’ll now get so very much of it. Welcome to my world, mother.

Last year, a Russell Howard’s Good News sketch caused outrage after deriving humour in exactly the same way from exactly the same news story. (Yeah: this joke is old.) Then too we saw a focus on genitals, audience disgust, and laughter that such a serious scheme should help such ridiculous people. Ladyboys! The RHGN team defended the shit skit, saying it wasn’t about trans people, not really. After meeting one of the show’s producers, I’m inclined to think they actually believed this. Targeting a vulnerable minority wasn’t Russell’s aim: the boy just wanted to drag up. So what’s Jonathan’s excuse? His words relate unequivocally to real trans people, who face equally real discrimination.

CRUEL RESPONSE: Jonathan's shocking reply to a critic on Twitter

Is it even worth mentioning the £150,000 fine his obscene phone messages cost the BBC? Or the time he claimed to be “mortified” by accusations of homophobia? I wonder how he’d feel about being labelled a transphobe. As my mum noted, Ross was in the news again just days before his “ladyboy” comments, revealing his love and support for gay daughter Betty. Speaking to Gaydar Radio, Ross said he wanted his children to be “good, happy, stable people”. Funny, because that’s precisely what my mum wants for me. How do you think she feels then, Jonathan, when she turns on the TV and sees you ridiculing people like her daughter? For added empathy, go back and read your words about trans people, replacing “ladyboy” with “lesbian”. Still laughing?

Maddeningly, Jonathan and I have mutual friends. Trans friends. Oblivious, he makes cheap cracks about people within his own social circle, jokes which I doubt he’d make in person. Of course, comedy should be free to lampoon indiscriminately, but it’s rather galling when this freedom is abused by dominant social groups to humiliate the downtrodden and the disenfranchised. More than that though, the humour in question is both lazy and unsophisticated – which is fine, sometimes – but don’t we deserve at least some intelligent comedy about gender, you know, every now and then? Please? Is this really the best Ross and Russell can come up with: sniggering at people’s genitals and making rubbish “nuts” jokes? Wossy, you may have upset my mum on behalf of trans people and their loved ones, but that didn’t offend me. I’m insulted on behalf of comedy.

Now, where did I put my Tim Minchin DVD?

★
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META Magazine – Mission Statement

META magazine, the new digital publication for trans people, has been sent off to Apple for inspection. When it gets the thumbs up, you can purchase it on various devices, including PC & Mac computers, iPad, iPhone and Android. I don’t care how you get it, just get it if you can. While you wait, why not follow META on twitter, like META’s Facebook page, or find our tumblr site at metamag.co.uk?

Mission statement below:

• META is a unique digital magazine which brings you the very best trans and genderqueer news and entertainment coverage

• Its goal is to connect with a broad community of gender variant people and give them voice(s) in the media.

• META is written by trans people and their allies for trans people and their allies – and anyone interested in smart discussion about gender

• META subverts the traditional media narrative and offers a genuinely fresh and lively perspective

• Through in-depth features, community discourse, extensive fashion and arts coverage, celebrity interviews, comprehensive event listings, and charitable causes, META is a celebration of diversity

• META is connected to the UK’s exciting trans activism movement and is committed to challenging transphobia at every level

• It’s dedicated to promoting positive self esteem and connectivity within the trans community, and aims to generate creativity, motivation and aspiration through inspiring imagery and positive ethos

What’s the difference between a transgender woman and a pantomime dame?

I despair, sometimes, at what outsiders must think whenever they happen to stumble across one of the trans community’s weekly outrages. Don’t get me wrong, these moral crusades are, usually, entirely justified – but of most the time you’d need to be pretty clued up on your gender theory to understand why. I still struggle to make sense of some of it, so lord knows what the muggles must think.

Case in point: the “transphobic” Libra ad. Turns out she wasn’t “a trans woman” after all, but rather a self-identified gay man who does drag: “I have never considered myself to be transgendered [sic] and never will do,” said Sandee Crack. And therein lies the problem: sometimes you just don’t know who you’re looking at.

Some people thought he identified as a woman. I suspected he might be a drag queen, because he “looked” like a drag queen. Turns out he was. But what if I’d made that assumption, as many people did, and got it wrong? The fact is, most of the general public haven’t got a frigging clue what they’re looking at when they see a trans person. This was made clear to me after someone in television asked me what the difference was between a trans woman and a pantomime dame. Stupid question huh? But the person who asked it wasn’t – quite the opposite, in fact. They just didn’t know.

The guessing game can be more than a bit tricky. Last weekend, I bumped into London drag princess Baga Chipz. Though I know that she performs in cabaret and wears over the top outfits and heavy make up – rightly or wrongly, all things which I associate with drag queens – I had always thought she might be transsexual. After all, trans woman Calpernia Addams, not to mention many other transsexual women I can think of, frequently perform in showgirl acts, with costumes which might, by some, be described as drag. But, after chatting to Baga Chipz for a while, she explained to me that she’s “just a gay guy” who likes to come out dressed up at the weekend. Fair enough.

She’s often out with Lady Lloyd, another drag princess who, to me, looks as though she could be female full time. I have no idea if she is, or even if she prefers male or female pronouns, though I’m guessing the latter. My partner thought she’d prefer male pronouns “because she has Lloyd in her name”. As you can you see, there’s a great deal of guess work in this game. Now, I may be wrong, as I can’t read people’s minds, but I’d say there were many in the club last weekend who wouldn’t have made the slightest distinction between my gender identity and Lady Lloyd’s and Baga Chipz’s. To them, we were just “trannies” or “T-girls”.

I don’t mind being categorised in this way when I’m at a club for transgender people. The very fact that drag artists socialise in transgender venues indicates that, on some level, they do in fact see themselves as part of the trans community. Nevertheless, when speaking to Baga Chipz, she referred to “transgender people” as just that, and not “other transgender people”. She seemed to imply that trans people are a separate group. Confused?

That’s why the Libra advert was problematic. It’s fine for drag queens to go on TV and say they’re not representing all trans people. The fact is though, the majority of people who watched that advert probably wouldn’t realise there’s a difference between someone like Sandee C and a transsexual woman who perhaps isn’t lucky enough to have passing privilege.

Frequently I’m left feeling perplexed as to why I’m meant to be offended by stuff which really seems to upset my friends. When I see anything with a man dressed up as a woman in it for example, I just don’t feel any connection. What has it got to do with me? I simply don’t believe that every time a man cross-dresses for humour it is directed at trans people, or indeed is automatically “transphobic”. The problem, I think, lies with those who cannot differentiate between a man in a dress, and a trans woman. To some people, we’re one and the same. The trouble with Sandee Crack’s response is that it fails to acknowledge this phenomenon:

“…I feel hurt that representing myself as a drag queen on television and playing out a common-place scenario in my life has lead to a clear “Dragphobia” among some transgendered [sic] individuals who wish to pull the plug on something that reflects true honesty about the life of a drag queen. A drag queen is a man in women’s clothing and if that offends a trans woman I am afraid I cannot apologise, as by doing so I am apologising for being me.”

I respect Sandee Crack, but I think we need to give this problem of mix-ups some thought. I don’t have the solution and I suspect it’s a hornet’s nest, but that’s precisely why we should address it. In the meantime, I’m off to buy some Tampax…

★
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