BBC is STILL ‘in thrall of trans lobby’: Insider claims staff are being told to declare pronouns in training sessions by same group behind controversial ‘Genderbread person graphic’… after broadcaster cut ties with Stonewall
- BBC staff have been told there are more than 150 genders in training session
- Corporation organised seminars by trans lobby group Global Butterflies
- The group is behind the disputed ‘Genderbread person’ graphic
- BBC staff also told they should declare their pronouns on email signoffs
BBC staff have been told there are more than 150 genders and urged to develop their ‘trans brand’ by declaring their pronouns on email signoffs, whistleblowers have revealed.
Emails were sent to radio producers and programme editors urging them to attend training seminars by Global Butterflies, a transgender lobby group behind the disputed ‘Genderbread person’ graphic, that the BBC organised last summer and autumn.
The BBC quit the controversial diversity scheme run by LGBT charity Stonewall last November – but whistleblowers believe that ‘Stonewall injected the ideology into the BBC and it’s still circulating’.
According to material leaked to the Telegraph, staff were shown a string of gender-neutral pronouns they should use including ‘xe, xem, xyrs’.
They were told that they should include their pronouns in email signature boxes to be ‘part of your trans brand’ as an ‘inclusive and welcoming… brilliant show of ally support’, and that: ‘People can self-identify themselves in over 150 ways, and increasing!’
Global Butterflies trainers told BBC staff that ‘he/she’ pronouns ‘can create ‘discomfort, stress and anxiety’ for gender non-conforming people and ‘it has been shown that in young trans people, using correct pronouns and names reduces depression and suicide risks’.
Anyone who uses an ‘incorrect pronoun for someone’ should be ‘taken aside and reminded of the correct pronouns’, while the term ‘transsexual’ and staring should be avoided, the diversity training added.
Staff were also shown a diagram of pronoun badges that they could wear around offices, and shown how to use gender pronouns on air.
General view of the Broadcasting House, BBC headquarters, in central London
Global Butterflies was founded in 2015 by Rachel Reese, pictured
An investigation by Nolan Investigates, a podcast run by the 5 Live presenter, revealed how staff were shown a controversial ‘genderbread person’ graphic in equality training for Stonewall.
His investigation found that the image was presented to employees as part of an internal BBC course set up in conjunction with the lobby group.
The ‘genderbread person’ graphic depicts sex as a spectrum and defines gender identity as ‘how you think about yourself’.
It claims anatomical sex is ‘male-ness’ or ‘female-ness’, which has been rubbished by some academics.
The training sessions were reportedly organised by Fergus Dudley, the head of compliance and complaints for BBC Radio commissioning and a child protection and safeguarding adviser.
A whistleblower told the Telegraph: ‘The BBC simply doesn’t understand what’s going on with gender identity ideology.
‘They’ve been pandering to a social contagion amongst young people rather than being the adult in the room. ‘Inform and educate’ from the BBC Charter has left the BBC when it covers trans issues.’
The BBC told MailOnline that Global Butterflies no longer provides training for the corporation.
A spokesperson said: ‘Third party voluntary training material does not instruct BBC staff, but is available to increase awareness and understanding.
‘There is no link to, or influence on, any editorial decision making and to suggest otherwise is wrong.
‘As we have said many times before, the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines are sacrosanct, our staff know this and they understand their responsibilities.’
MailOnline has contacted Global Butterflies for comment.
It comes after the BBC was accused of going against its own impartiality guidelines by offering training courses in which staff are told to use ‘their magical ally powers’ to ‘access influencers and influence politicians’ over trans and non-binary issues.
An insider claimed journalists have been given a training session about how ‘allies’ could use their ‘influence to affect trans rights for people’.
During the talk by Global Butterflies, staff were also said to have been encouraged to ‘access influencers, change the mind of the media and influence politicians’. This is despite the importance of impartiality being ‘hammered into them’ from the start of their BBC training, the BBC insider claimed.
The allegations were broadcast on the BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show, fronted by radio host Stephen Nolan – who produced award-nominated podcast Nolan Investigates: Stonewall last year.
The podcast, which sparked both acclaim and accusations of transphobia, examined the campaign group’s influence on UK institutions, including the BBC.
A month later the BBC pulled out of the Stonewall Diversity Scheme – though the corporation insisted its review of its membership came before the podcast.
A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: ‘This is a voluntary course and includes generic training materials provided by a third party, but the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines are sacrosanct, our staff know this and they understand their responsibilities.’
It comes after the BBC insider revealed the contents of the training course on Nolan’s show.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, and with a voice-over to protect the person’s identity, the insider said: ‘During that session we were given a lot of different points of how allies could sort of use their influence to affect trans rights for people, and one of the slides was headlined: “with your magical powers of being an ally”.
The ‘Genderbread person’ graphic, which was presented to employees as part of an internal BBC course set up in conjunction with the lobby group, depicts sex as a spectrum
Activists supporting LGBT charity Stonewall during Pride London on July 27, 2015
‘And it wasn’t until we got further down that slide that I realised that it talked about using your influence on politicians to affect change which was sort of the main point that they were trying to get across.
‘And I suppose this was how you affect change and influence on politicians.
The host of the segment then responded: ‘It is said that trainees should access influencers, change the minds of the media, and influence politicians
‘And by this point in the BBC, you’ve been taught about the importance of impartiality. So what did you make of this?’
The insider replied: ‘The second you join the BBC, impartiality is hammered into you and how you can’t influence people and that you always have to be neutral.
‘And that is hammered into us from the very beginning. But as soon as I saw that I was thinking, how is that impartial?
‘Are they now telling us to break the impartiality? I started debating whether the training I had in impartiality was incorrect, or whether my understanding of what was correct, to the actual point where I had to ask a colleague if the impartiality meant that I could do this?’
BBC podcast Nolan Investigates: Stonewall examined the campaign group’s influence on UK institutions and was nominated in four categories at the annual Audio and Radio Industry Awards (Arias)
It is the second time that Nolan has run critical claims against LGBTQ+ training schemes used by the BBC.
An investigation by Nolan Investigates, a podcast run by the 5 Live presenter, revealed how staff were shown a controversial ‘genderbread person’ graphic in equality training for Stonewall.
His investigation found that the image was presented to employees as part of an internal BBC course set up in conjunction with the lobby group.
The ‘genderbread person’ graphic depicts sex as a spectrum and defines gender identity as ‘how you think about yourself’.
It was apparently shown to BBC staff with no alternative explanations despite these ideas being contested.
The podcast also examined how public-funded bodies including the BBC, Ofcom and the Scottish and Welsh governments had been influenced by Stonewall due to their involvement in the group’s diversity schemes.
The programme revealed that Nicola Sturgeon’s government agreed to delete the word ‘mother’ from its maternity leave policy after pressure from Stonewall.
Stonewall requests ministers to remove ‘gendered’ words from official policies as part of its advice on becoming more LGBT friendly.
Nolan Investigates also found that broadcast regulator Ofcom submitted evidence about its diversity practices to the Workplace Equality Index in a bid to get the best possible ranking.
Among this evidence was rulings it had made against broadcasters in response to allegedly transphobic comments – prompting some commentators to suggest its rulings were being influenced by the charity’s agenda. This was strongly denied by Ofcom, which insisted its involvement with the index had ‘no bearing whatsoever’ on its decisions as a regulator.
The programme also found that Stonewall ‘dictated policy’ to the Welsh government – convincing officials to adopt its interpretation of the Equality Act to include ‘gender identity’ as a protected characteristic.
The podcast, which came with an accompanying news piece that also accused the charity of exerting undue influence on bodies through its Diversity Champions Programme, was met with mixed reactions.
It was nominated in four categories at the annual Audio and Radio Industry Awards (Arias).
The programme was also widely praised and may have played a role in the government’s decision to distance itself from the charity last year over its allegedly ‘extremist stance’ on trans issues and hostility to gender-critical opinions.
But a group of radio producers slammed the decision to nominate the programme due to its ‘harmful nature’, while a production company threatened to boycott awards organiser the Radio Academy if it ‘continues to promote transphobic work’.
It was also criticised by Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, LGBT+ Labour and Trans Media Watch.
A Stonewall spokesperson said at the time of the investigation: ‘Our work with employers focuses on helping to build an LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace for their employees, and in no way affects their impartiality.
‘Supporting LGBTQ+ people in the workplace should not be seen as a political or controversial act.’
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