Press watchdog censures Daily Mail and nine.com.au for irrelevant use of ‘transgender’
The Press Council has lambasted Daily Mail Australia and nine.com.au over two articles which could cause substantial prejudice to the transgender community.
An article from nine.com.au titled ‘Brighton Le Sands death: Dylan Walker’s sister in court over boyfriend’s death’ and a Daily Mail Australia article, ‘Exclusive: Transgender sister, 31, of football star is charged with manslaughter over the death of her boyfriend, 51, after ‘domestic violence’ incident at a house in Sydney’s South’, both published on May 21, were found in breach of Press Council guidelines for unnecessarily using the word ‘transgender’.
The two articles from Nine (left) and Daily Mail Australia (right) have both been partially censured
In nine.com.au’s instance the article began with “The transgender sister of” a named football player “allegedly killing her boyfriend”. The woman and the name of the suburb were included and it was reported that the man had died from injuries relating to his head and face. The article also included a photograph of the woman and her brother.
Nine.com.au said it had only made one reference to the woman being transgender, also adding it was factually accurate and she had identified herself as openly transgender on social media. It said the use of the word was “relevant” and “presented in a neutral manner”, noting it had taken care to ensure the woman’s gender identity was not a major focus of the piece.
The website said it did not seek to link the woman’s gender identity with allegations against her, nor did it suggest being transgender was a bad quality. It also noted the woman had not complained about the article.
In a separate article, Daily Mail Australia reported a woman, the sister of a rugby league player, had been charged with manslaughter following the death of a man she was in a relationship with. The article said the woman, “a transgender women, had been involved in an ‘on and off’ relationship” with the man, and said she described herself on social media accounts as transgender. The article featured a social media post which said #transgender, #transisbeautiful’, although it made no suggest her sexuality was of relevance to the story. The article included photographs of the woman and a photograph of her and her brother. All charges against the woman were later withdrawn.
The publication argued the information was accurate, noting the woman had publicly and proudly described herself as transgender. It said the references made in the article were not used extensively or with disrespect.
The press watchdog’s ruling said publications must take great care not to place unwarranted emphasis on characteristics such as race, religion, nationality, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation and marital status.
“The council accepts that the woman had publicly stated on social media accounts that she was transgender,” the ruling said.
“However, the council notes the woman was already identified in the article by name and photograph, as was her brother. The man who had died, and the suburb involved were also identified by name. The council considers that it was not relevant to the alleged criminal acts reported to identify the woman as being transgender.”
The watchdog said while both nine.com.au and Daily Mail Australia had both taken reasonable steps to ensure the factual material was reasonably fair and balanced, the woman’s transgender status was not relevant to the allegations made against her. It said by identifying her as a transgender woman, it could lead readers to conclude it was the cause of, or a factor in, the alleged crime, thus contributing to substantial prejudice.
“The council considers that in prominently identifying the woman as transgender the publication failed to take reasonable steps to avoid contributing to substantial prejudice and that there was no sufficient public interest justifying doing so,” it said in both rulings.
The arrogance of these people telling us what we can and cannot hear is beyond belief. It is actually quite relevant to point out that the accused is male > female transgender. If we weren’t told this, it would appear that some biological women were suddenly acting crazy with knife attacks and another well reported random axe attack in a service station, which is virtually unheard of for a woman. Identifying the attacker as a male > female transgender opens a legitimate question about whether people who transition retain some of their original traits and risk factors. You may disagree with this assumption but if so, debate the point don’t try and suppress the facts. If reporting someone’s sexual characteristics is an unfair invitation to prejudice, whey are we allowed to report their sex at all? Why should women suffer “prejudice” by reporting the attacker as a woman, rather than transgender people suffer “prejudice” by accurately reporting her as a transgender woman? Why is it okay to report a male attack as male – doesn’t this invite prejudice against other males?
User ID not verified.
We are living in a post-fact world.
The news no longer reports the truth and leaves the audience to form their own opinion.
News now tells us what opinion to have and we have to find the facts to support what we believe.
User ID not verified.
Isn’t it more relevant to report that the (alleged?) attacker is transgender than to report that the (alleged) attacker is some football player’s sibling (I’m not up to date on the correct language so I’ll stick with sibling…)?
And while I don’t necessarily agree with Duncan that it is virtually unheard of for women to commit such acts I do agree that not mentioning the fact that the (alleged) attacker is a trans gender woman would “place unwarranted emphasis” on the “woman” part of trans gender woman.
User ID not verified.
Well said Duncan.
User ID not verified.
So we need to be trans-aware and accept the validity of this ‘gender’ in when it comes to everything from public toilets to school curriculum, but if a trans person commits a crime it’s irrelevant? They had to call ‘her’ something – gender identification is a valid part of every news story. Is trans a gender or not? Or only when it suits? Make up your minds people – if it’s irrelevant to a news story about a person, then I look forward to not hearing so much about trans rights and the constant pressure for recognition and wider acceptance. Be careful what you wish for…..
User ID not verified.
“…It said by identifying her as a transgender…”
Could you please NOT refer to trans people as transgenders. We are transgender PEOPLE. When you use the word transgender as a noun, it is dehumanising. It should only be used as an adjective eg: transgender man, transgender woman ect.
Thanks.
User ID not verified.
This a ridiculous, illiberal decision by the Press Council. The term transgender was obviously used because it’s an interesting fact, that is true.
I don’t think it was meant in a derogatory sense – not like the Courier Mail’s She Male headline that time. The story wasn’t outing her.
It was just an interesting and true fact.
User ID not verified.
Hi Helen, this was a typo on our part – I have amended now. Thank you for spotting. Cheers, Josie
Why isn’t every news outlet pulled up for referring to ‘African’ youths in crime reporting?
User ID not verified.