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4 anti-trans articles in Sunday Telegraph

Lee Hurley
Lee Hurley

The Sunday Telegraph love their anti-trans content and this week they’ve produced four pieces from Ewan Somerville, David Spencer, Edward Malnick and, of course, Hayley Dixon as usual.

First up on the Sunday Telegraph‘s page of trans hate, we have books designed to make trans kids feel less isolated being a massive danger

Trans library books raise huge safeguarding red flags, say parents The Sunday Telegraph16 Oct 2022By Ewan Somerville ‘The book gives vulnerable children the message that taking puberty blockers is a part of growing up’ PARENTS have reacted with fury to a taxpayer-funded national library scheme for teenagers as young as 13 that promotes puberty blockers and transgender surgery. A booklist has been produced by the Reading Agency, a charity, for public libraries, GPs and school nurses in the UK to address an estimated one in eight young people in every classroom with a diagnosable mental health condition. But the new wellbeing collection of 27 books, targeted at those aged 13 to 19, has provoked a backlash over a section on sexuality and gender identity. Families have written complaint letters claiming the section “promotes self harm” and has “safeguarding red flags”. One of two gender books is titled Welcome to St Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure, by Lewis Hancox, a memoir of a girl transitioning to a boy, narrated through illustrations. One full-page diagram annotates her body, describing her breasts as “fatty lumps that need to be gone”, her “hips from hell” and “my imaginary willy”. Other sections of the book narrate a conversation between two teenagers about how puberty blockers “basically press pause on puberty”, to which the other responds: “Sign me up!” The cartoon mentions Keira Bell, who sued the NHS Tavistock gender clinic after regretting taking the drugs, to which the fictional teenager asks, “But you didn’t regret it right?”, and the other responds, “Best thing I ever did.” Another teenage character describes a puberty blocker prescription as having “got the key”, while other scenes feature boasts about life on testosterone medication, stopping periods and breast binding using a sports bra. The project is backed by Arts Council England funding, totalling £1.5million last year, and similar schemes by the Reading Agency received £3.5 million from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport last year. The Reading Agency said the books were selected by experts including the NHS, GPs, psychiatrists, library staff and Government, and “received many endorsements and positive support” at launch events last week. Another book, titled Queer Up, contains tips for teenagers on issues such as transgender “top and bottom surgery” and “welcomes” children to the queer “family”, with references to asexual identities and “non-binary animals”. This book also recommends Mermaids in its list of resources, a youth trans charity that is being investigated by the Charity Commission. The Family Education Trust alleges that the books have “massive safeguarding red flags” by grouping 13-year-olds with those above the age of consent. It said: “The Trans Teen Misadventure book [gives] vulnerable children the message that taking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones is a normal part of growing [up].”
Trans library books raise huge safeguarding red flags, say parents
The Sunday Telegraph16 Oct 2022By Ewan Somerville
It quotes only cis people.

Next, we have Hayley Dixon warning that doctors are ‘promoting transgender surgery with TikTok videos’

Doctors promoting transgender surgery with TikTok videos spark alarm at charity The Sunday Telegraph16 Oct 2022By Hayley Dixon SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT DOCTORS are promoting trans “top surgery” on social media, it has emerged amid concerns about the impact on young people. Clinics have been posting videos on TikTok showing young transgender men celebrating that they are having double mastectomies or reacting to “amazing” surgery “reveals”. Campaigners warned last night that the messages on social media are “compelling and addictive” and show the “urgent” need to “help young people reconnect with reality”. Dr Sidhbh Gallagher, who calls herself “Dr Teetus Deletus”, is now the subject of a complaint in the US, where she practises. Last month, she told Medscape she used “gimmicky” terms because they are “the words of the community I serve” and this helped put patients at ease. She said she followed standards that required mental health evaluations so the risk of regret in her patients “is incredibly low” and defended operating on patients under 18 years of age. In the UK, the Cosmedicare clinic has been identified as sharing videos promoting double mastectomies and offering a “streamlined” service for patients looking for sex-change surgeons. In one video, they show their surgery dates while a backing soundtrack plays: “I wish that I could be like the cool kids”. The clinic said last night these are dates for all surgeries, not just trans patients. There is no suggestion that Cosmedicare’s post on their social page breaches advertising guidelines. The clips were found in an analysis by the LGB Alliance into the influence ‘Interacting with a few gay-friendly videos quickly sends people into the rabbit hole of “queer TikTok”’ of social media. The findings, which will be presented at the charity’s conference on Oct 21, say “young people are being radicalised into online subcultures” and call the online space the “canary in the coal mine” for culture. Shannon Woulahan and Hannah Berrelli will say that for young LGB people, “interacting with a few gay-friendly videos will quickly send them into the rabbit hole of ‘queer TikTok’”, which they will claim is “populated by gender surgeons promoting cosmetic double mastectomies”. One video from Cosmedicare, which has clinics in Edinburgh and Glasgow, shows a trans man in a consulting room who tells viewers that they are “always talking about surgery and a lot of your concerns are the fact that you just want your hormones”. He says they have discussed the issue with medical professionals at the clinic and “put a thing in place to streamline you getting hormones”. Gill Baird, the clinic’s founder and director, told The Sunday Telegraph that they “take any accusation of promoting surgery to young people extremely seriously”. The clinic follows NHS pathways and only operates on over-18s who have gone through a strict vetting process, including psychiatric assessment, she said, adding: “The risks of not being able to access gender-affirming care and information are higher than any question over whether there are risks over younger people being able to view online content.” Adverts for cosmetic surgeries are governed by strict rules which prevent them being targeted at under-18s which were introduced earlier this year. The Advertising Standards Agency said it is working with social media firms to have “problem” ads removed and is clamping down on posts that do not “clearly signpost when they’re ads”. Neither account runs paid-for advertising and/or violates TikTok’s community guidelines. The site has strict rules around advertising cosmetic surgery.
Doctors promoting transgender surgery with TikTok videos spark alarm at charity
The Sunday Telegraph16 Oct 2022By Hayley Dixon SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Again, just more cis people complaining and blowing things out of all proportion.

Take this paragraph, for instance – “In one video, they show their surgery dates while a backing soundtrack plays: “I wish that I could be like the cool kids”. The clinic said last night these are dates for all surgeries, not just trans patients.”

If you want to know where this story has come from, the clue is in the paragraph that follows. “The clips were found in an analysis by the LGB Alliance into the influence ‘Interacting with a few gay-friendly videos quickly sends people into the rabbit hole of “queer TikTok”’”

Malnick’s article is headlined “UN Blocks Stonewall move on rights group.

UN blocks Stonewall move on rights group World body refuses to downgrade UK watchdog after charity said it failed to protect transgender rights The Sunday Telegraph16 Oct 2022By Edward Malnick SUNDAY POLITICAL EDITOR THE United Nations has rejected an attempt led by Stonewall to downgrade Britain’s equality watchdog to the status of equivalent bodies in Azerbaijan and Bahrain. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will retain its “A” status despite allegations that it is failing to sufficiently protect the rights of transgender people. Campaign groups, led by equalities charity Stonewall and the Good Law Project, headed by the barrister Jolyon Maugham, had lobbied the UN-affiliated Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to strip the EHRC of its top-tier ranking as part of a review of all GANHRI-affiliated bodies carried out every five years. The lower, “B” status is held by the human rights watchdogs in countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Venezuela. The coalition of campaign groups claimed that ministers had “repeatedly denigrated trans rights” and installed senior figures at the EHRC who had failed to challenge the Government’s approach. The claims have been dismissed by the EHRC and Sir Trevor Phillips, the body’s first chairman. Now, GANHRI has privately told the UK that it has concluded that the EHRC still complies with the so-called Paris principles, which require human rights watchdogs to be independent from national governments. The decision follows its refusal to open a special review of the EHRC, in response to an earlier attempt by Stonewall in February. Whitehall sources accused the groups of trying to restore “policy capture” of the EHRC and claimed that the body had previously championed trans rights at the expense of women’s rights and that Stonewall wanted to force the watchdog to revert to that stance. Stonewall complained about the approach of Baroness Falkner of Margravine, who leads the EHRC, citing critical comments made by David Isaac, her predecessor and a former chairman of Stonewall. One Whitehall source said: “The groups who need the EHRC the most are keen to drive it down because one of them isn’t leading it. But they have failed.” A 19-page complaint issued by Stonewall, the Good Law Project and Disabled People Against Cuts, an anti-austerity group set up in 2010, said the EHRC had issued guidance stating that bodies such as the NHS can legally maintain single-sex wards and separate male and female lavatories. The document said Lady Falkner had been installed to carry out the Government’s agenda, citing as evidence a speech in which Liz Truss, then foreign secretary, said she was appointing the former Liberal Democrat peer to help “reduce unfairness in our society”. The complaint, published online, stated that the EHRC had been “systemically reshaped and underfunded by the Government for over a decade, and in particular since 2019”. “A” status gives human rights watchdogs the right to vote and hold governance positions in GANHRI as well as to participate in the UN Human Rights Council and subsidiary bodies. On Friday, Lady Falkner said: “We are delighted that our vital work as a defender of human rights in this country has been recognised internationally again. “I am proud of the powerful example we continue to set as a national human rights institution on the global stage.” A Stonewall spokesman said: ‘We await the full report from GAHNRI, and hope it makes some clear recommendations that guide the EHRC to strengthen its work in protecting and promoting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, in particular trans people.”
UN blocks Stonewall move on rights group. World body refuses to downgrade UK watchdog after charity said it failed to protect transgender rights

It begins, “The United Nations has rejected an attempt led by Stonewall to downgrade Britain’s equality watchdog to the status of equivalent bodies in Azerbaijan and Bahrain.

“The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will retain its “A” status despite allegations that it is failing to sufficiently protect the rights of transgender people.”

You don’t need me to go into why the EHRC is so problematic for trans people, especially when they are standing with anti-trans groups in Scotland in opposition to Gender Recognition Reform.

All three of these articles were on one Sunday Telegraph page.

16 October 2022 Sunday Telegraph full page featuring three anti-trans articles
Sunday Telegraph page 11, 16 October 2022

Finally, we come to David Spencer’s piece which tells us all that ‘Public faith in the woke police is evaporating’.

Public faith in the woke police is evaporating The Met shouldn’t be indulging in Twitter spats or handing out trans T-shirts until every single wanted criminal is in prison The Sunday Telegraph16 Oct 2022DAVID SPENCER David Spencer is head of crime and policing at Policy Exchange and a former detective chief inspector The state of the markets led to much talk of a run on the pound. The run on the public’s confidence in policing should be of equal concern. Too many streets feel lawless. Robbers act with impunity. Drug dealing is obvious and shrugged off. A lack of faith that the police will apply the law is resulting in have-a-go heroes taking on the protesters that are bringing London to a standstill. Meanwhile, all too often we see officers indulging in activities that should be nothing to do with the police. Only last week, officers in Streatham, south London, were handing out trans-flag T-shirts as part of a misguided effort to support Hate Crime Awareness Week. With fewer than half of Londoners saying that their local police do a good job, the public’s confidence in policing is being thrown away. A recent poll found that the public were “almost twice as likely to agree than disagree that the police are more interested in being woke than solving crimes”. Last week marked a month since Sir Mark Rowley started his term as Met Commissioner. He has made a good start. He has set out his plan to deliver “less crime, more trust, higher standards”. He has appointed a new leadership team, including as his interim deputy the highly regarded Dame Lynne Owens. He has made commitments to clear the backlog of 13,000 wanted criminals who are wandering London’s streets and for a police officer to attend every home burglary. But, as Sir Mark himself would acknowledge, this is only the beginning. As my recent paper for Policy Exchange made clear, policing can only win if the public believe that the new Commissioner is delivering more than just words. Central to taking back the streets is the reinvigoration of Neighbourhood Policing Teams. Over the past decade they have been hollowed out. Rebuilding, with officers who know the area they are patrolling and are led by street-smart sergeants, is essential. To regain the public’s confidence, officers also need to focus on what really matters to the vast majority of Londoners. They want to see the police using every legal and ethical means to hunt down thugs, robbers and drug dealers. Until every single one of them has been put before a court, the Met shouldn’t be spending any of its time on Twitter spats or handing out T-shirts. Images of protesters climbing on top of police vans outside Downing Street, as officers watch on, make a mockery of the New Scotland Yard brand. Police officers need to be far quicker to move in and make arrests, particularly where protesters are delaying ambulances and fire engines from reaching lifethreatening emergencies. Key to the public’s trust in the force are higher standards of professionalism, competence and leadership. A radical overhaul of the Met’s approach to recruitment, training and leadership development is needed. If any of those responsible for these areas, and therefore many of the Met’s lamentable failings in recent years, are still in post then the gaze of Sir Mark needs to turn, Sauron-like, in their direction. The difference needs to be obvious. The public need to feel their streets are safe to walk. Robbers and drug dealers need to fear they are going to be caught. Officers need to be confident they have the training and leadership to deliver the policing that Londoners deserve and expect. Sir Mark was the best candidate for the Commissioner’s job. But he only has a short time to get the Met back on track. Given his policing credentials, if he can’t turn the force around questions will need to be asked whether anyone from policing can. If that’s the case, more radical solutions to the Met’s problems will need to be found. The public need to feel their streets are safe to walk. Robbers and drug dealers need to fear that they are going to be caught

Sunday Telegraph 16 Oct 2022 

Mr Spencer, here, doesn’t believe the police should be “indulging in Twitter spats or handing out trans T-shirts until every single wanted criminal is in prison.”

You’ll no doubt be delighted to know that Spencer “is head of crime and policing at Policy Exchange and a former detective chief inspector.”

I want to know where I can get my free trans tshirt.

You can see what nonsense was going on in the Mail on Sunday this weekend here.

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