Reaction

15:18

by Julie Bindel

I would love someone to give me an example of anything ‘transphobic’ that Moore has written

I wrote my first article for The Guardian in 1996. I was a feminist campaigner against male violence and used the platform to get the message out about crucial issues such as rape, child abuse and domestic homicide.

In 2004, I switched to journalism full-time. And I always loved writing for The Guardian. But in recent years, a censorious fog has been descended over some of the sections of the paper. Over the past five years, I know of three — at least — lengthy features on the conflict between feminists and some transgender extremist views being spiked at the last minute because a commissioning editor feared a reaction from the ever-powerful trans-Taliban.

But the latest example of this hypocrisy and non-journalistic journalism is the appalling treatment of the redoubtable Suzanne Moore. The Guardian has long presented itself as a liberal media platform, inviting a broad range of opinion, including a justification of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a feature sympathetic to paedophiles — as well as other content that might greatly offend one group or another.

It would seem that the issue of transgender ideology is in a different league from child abuse and terrorism. When Moore wrote a perfectly reasonable opinion piece on how feminists are being abused, de-platformed and otherwise silenced by trans-extremists and their allies, 338 cowardly snakes signed a letter to the editor, on the condition that their names would not be made public, denouncing ‘trans-phobic’ coverage in the paper. It came very soon after Moore’s piece was published, and was leaked to Buzzfeed the same day, presumably by one of the signatories.

Moore did not attend morning conference post-publication at which there were well over 200 in attendance, some baying for blood, and a few brave souls speaking up for actual journalism. In fact, Moore never goes into the office, so must have been quite flummoxed when accused of pushing transgender staff members to resign over the past year.

Now Moore, who clearly has been pushed to the brink by her treatment by colleagues — some of whom she deemed friends — published the full list of signatories on social media. There are a few big names, including Owen Jones, Simon Hattenstone and Eva Wiseman, but the majority appear to be non-editorial staff. How on earth have they been allowed to hold writers to ransom? And I would love it if any one of them could provide me with an example of anything ‘transphobic’ that Moore has written. Journalists are supposed to be truth tellers. Those that signed that shameful letter might consider the disservice they are doing to their own trade.