In response to an episode of Doctor Who, a BBC social media account has unpublished posts claiming that “humans cannot change sex” and “sex is immutable.”
Yasmin Finney, who is trans, played the transgender character Rose Noble for the first time in the special 60th-anniversary shows of the sci-fi series.
While Finney’s performance received praise from critics, the BBC received 144 complaints from people who felt the showrunners’ use of the character was “inappropriate.”
After the official Twitter accounts for Doctor Who, which is run by BBC Studios, the company’s commercial arm, hid dozens of posts in response to a picture in which Finney discussed the new role, it was urged that the public broadcaster allow viewers to “respectfully disagree.”
“It’s the picture that I always had, that a lot of the younger generation are going to have, but it’ll be really exciting,” Finney was heard saying: “She’s a new character, fresh, and this young, youthful queer person with so much confidence.”
“Why is this show anti-woman?” was one of the people’s posts that were hidden by the account, meaning they are only accessible in a “hidden replies” section on the platform. “My partner, a biologist, says sex is immutable and binary… Stop gaslighting us,” and “Humans cannot change their sex.”
“The BBC is pushing ‘LGBTQ+’ for all it’s worth,” according to another post. “A publicly funded broadcaster shouldn’t be so ideologically biased. #DefundTheBBC”
“Highly inappropriate”
The Conservative Party’s deputy chairman, Brendan Clarke-Smith, said: “If they start making ridiculous statements about sex and gender, they really expect people to respectfully believe online.”
“They shouldn’t be tampering with their social media accounts to remove any unfavorable comments. People who watched Doctor Who as children want to see the real McCoy, not a lecture.”
“It’s ironic that the Cybermen—or Cyberpeople as they’d likely be known today—used to transform people into more Cybermen by removing their thoughts and personalities. They would likely be eligible for a place at the BBC today if they did this.”
Maya Forstater, the executive director of the campaign group Sex Matters, pointed out that the guidelines for the management of BBC social media accounts specify that it should be “light touch” and focus on specific issues and unpleasant language.
“Why then does a publicly-funded BBC account actively hide factual statements about biological truths like the impossibility of humans to change sex?” said Ms. Forstater.
“Years of pandering to and investing in trans-activist organizations have led to the infiltration of harmful gender identity ideology right across the BBC, and this can be seen in anything from children’s programming to news and current affairs.”
“It’s highly inappropriate for a national, taxpayer-funded broadcaster to be attempting to police views like an ideologically driven activist in charge of a Twitter account,” according to the law.
“Full of absolute hatred and poison.”
The show’s episodes featured Rose making reference to “something a female-presenting Time Lord wouldn’t understand,” as well as bringing up Catherine Tate using the word “binary” in the context of referring to being non-binary in an episode from 2008.
Rose was heard responding, “You’re assuming ‘he’ as a pronoun?,” when The Doctor, played by David Tennant in the episode, said of a humanoid: “I promise I can help get him home.”
The BBC has insisted that Doctor Who “has and always will continue to proudly celebrate diversity and reflect the world we live in,” in a statement in response to concerns about the character.
Those who opposed Finney’s roles were “full of absolute love and poison and death and violence,” added Showrunner Russell T Davies, who returned to the show after stepping down in 2009. He also said, “Shame on you, and good luck to you in your lonely life.”
“People will have their opinions about any character that has been running for years and you get a black trans person playing the role,” as Finney once said.
“It’s so funny because I’ll say, ‘Your acting was so bad, and I hate trans people,’ when I hear a hate comment. You had one opinion, which is fair enough, but when you include my identity in it, it becomes somewhat cruel.”
All BBC Studios-managed social media channels, including Doctor Who, have moderation processes in place to hide harmful or offensive language, according to a BBC official. “We always keep the standards and guidelines for moderation in mind.”
