Teaching union boss criticised for 'deeply offensive' pro-trans t-shirt at SNP conference
Mike Corbett of the NASUWT wore the ‘Protect the Dolls’ t-shirt at a fringe event at SNP conference
A teaching union boss has come under fire for wearing a trans rights t-shirt he claimed has been “censored” by the BBC.
Mike Corbett, Scotland official for the NASUWT teaching union, called on teachers to complain to the BBC for “stepping out of line”.
He used a fringe event with Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth to criticise the BBC for editing a slogan from a t-shirt during a recent Strictly Come Dancing episode.
While showing the audience his Protect The Dolls shirt, he said: “If you are a Strictly Come Dancing fan you will know all about this.”
He added: “This is not what the BBC calls it, the BBC says this is a political slogan and they censored it.
“It is not a political slogan, it is an absolute necessity that we protect trans people at the moment.”
Protect The Dolls is a slogan in support of trans women, who are known as “dolls” in the LGBT+ community.
Susan Smith, of the gender critical group For Women Scotland, said: “If Mr Corbett really wants to sort out misogyny, maybe he could start by working on himself.”
She called the t-shirt “deeply offensive”, adding that Mr Corbett would have worn it “in full knowledge of the harm and hurt he is causing’.
“‘Dolls’ is a regressive term to denote hyper-feminised men who make a claim to ‘womanhood’ based on stereotyped appearance and performance which draws on the most reductive, sexist ideas of women's lives,” she said.
“We know from bitter experience that the ‘protection’ of such men comes at the expense of women, who are forced to cede safety, privacy, and dignity.”
Ms Smith went on to call Mr Corbett’s choice a “deliberate insult” to women in the union who would assume him to prioritise men in any workplace dispute.
She added: “The unions might like to pretend they've made strides in the last 50 years, but this suggests they still see women's rights as secondary and an inconvenience.”
Mr Corbett went on to say he “used to be quite proud of the BBC” but said he was now “ashamed of some of its output”.
He went on to say the corporation gives too much air time to Nigel Farage and his party, Reform UK, and has “hostility” towards Scottish independence.
He added that the NASUWT is “apolitical”.
Ms Gilruth attended the event in lieu of education secretary Mairi McAllan, who was too unwell to attend.
A BBC spokeswoman said, last week, that it had been “standard practice” for them to remove slogans or “overt branding” from entertainment programmes.
The spokeswoman said: “As is standard practice on any entertainment show on the BBC and in line with our editorial guidelines, appropriate steps are taken to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question.”
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