Saying ‘Trans Women’ Are Male Breaches Guidelines, Confirms BBC Chief

Tim Davie director-general at BBC giving evidence on the work of the BBC to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, England, on March 20, 2024. House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire

The director-general of the BBC has defended the corporation’s decision to uphold an impartiality complaint against a Radio 4 presenter for saying “trans women” are male.

Tim Davie made the remarks during a meeting of the Culture, Media, and Sport Committee in the House of Commons on Wednesday, where he said that Justin Webb using the phrase “trans women, in other words, males,” was a breach of the BBC’s editorial guidelines.

In August 2023, the corporation upheld the impartiality complaint against Mr. Webb, who had made the comment during a discussion of the new guidelines by the International Chess Federation on the “Today” programme. The federation had introduced a ban on men who identify as women competing in women-only events.

Conservative MP Damian Green put it to the BBC director-general that the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) upholding the complaint had signalled to people that “this is a clear sign of institutional bias at the BBC.”

Mr. Davie replied, “I don’t think we suffer institutional bias in this area.”

The BBC chief said that while the topic of gender identity was “an area of controversy,” there are no “no-go areas” at the corporation.

“We don’t have no go areas in the BBC. To do that, we do demand of our journalists to keep within editorial guidelines. The editorial guidelines are clear in this area,” he said.

The BBC’s style guide states, “Using appropriate language is an important part of how we portray people in our stories.”

On the matter of gender, journalists should describe “a person born male who lives as a female” as a “transgender woman,” using the pronoun “she” and vice-versa.

“We generally use the term and pronoun preferred by the person in question, unless there are editorial reasons not to do so,” it says.

‘Be Kind and Caring’

Mr. Davie said that Mr. Webb’s comment “was a breach.”

“It’s quite a small thing. But it registered. It was just a sentence that wasn’t quite right. [...] I think that’s what it was, no more, no less. And to act on that quickly is the right thing,” he said in support of the ECU’s decision.

“The other thing is, we have to be kind and caring in this, and listen to people. And be nice,” he said.

Also present at the committee was David Jordan, the director of editorial policy and standards at the BBC, who said, “In the case of Justin Webb, it’s unfortunate that he didn’t define his terms a bit more.”

Mr. Jordan said that had the BBC Radio 4 presenter said “biological male” or “born male,” then “it wouldn’t have been a problem.”

“It’s a very sensitive subject for trans women to be called male, rather than female. And that’s part of the debate. And we need to steer very carefully through that difficult debate, make sure that we are not offending either side of it or not using terms that are clearly offensive to outsiders or seem to them to be taking sides in it,” Mr. Jordan said.

“But just asserting that all trans women are male is not what the BBC style is on this,” he continued.

Mr. Davie also dismissed reports he had been “deluged” with complaints over the issue, claiming: “This has been whipped up, as well, around us in a way that’s deeply, deeply damaging to civilised debate about these topics. Having said that, there are also people who care very deeply on either side of this debate, and we need to hear from them.”

Protesters holding placards and Israeli flags join a gathering outside the headquarters of the BBC to appeal to the corporation to call Hamas “terrorists,” in London on Oct. 16, 2023. Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images

‘Unacceptable’ Posts on Israel Shared by BBC Staff

In the wide-ranging committee session, Mr. Davie also faced questions on social media posts about Israel being shared by some BBC journalists, which Mr. Green called “essentially pro-Hamas.”

Mr. Davie said the remarks were “unacceptable.”

He told the committee: “Some of those tweets that we’ve seen are unacceptable, and we have taken action. And we will continue to take action.

“Now, whether I can commit to you it will never happen again, of course not. But we are robust [...] We’re acting fairly and judiciously.”

“Wherever we see something that’s not within our guidelines. We are taking action,” he said.

Outlining what kind of measures the broadcaster could take, Mr. Davie said the BBC would “look at the appropriate sanction that will not always be leaving the BBC.”

The director-general was reluctant to discuss individual cases but when pressed by Mr. Green, Mr. Davie confirmed the BBC Arabic staff who had made the posts had been asked to leave the corporation.

Israel–Hamas War

In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel, the BBC received criticism for refusing to call Hamas—a proscribed terror group in the UK—“terrorists,” opting instead to call them “militants.”

The broadcaster’s style guide says that while the term “terrorist” is not banned, it can be “a barrier rather than an aid to understanding.”

The decision prompted criticism from Jewish groups as well as members of the Cabinet, including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews then met with Mr. Davie and on Oct. 20, the board said the BBC had agreed to a change in policy, confirming it would no longer refer to Hamas as “militants.”

“Instead, the BBC describes the group as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK government and others, or simply as Hamas,” the board said.