Australian newspaper makes second apology attempt after calling murdered trans woman ‘she-male’
A newspaper in Australia which came under heavy criticism for describing the transgender victim of a brutal murder as “she-male” has once again attempted to apologise.
Earlier this month, the front page of the Brisbane paper, the Courier-Mail today, described transgender murder victim Mayang Prasetyo using the derogatory term.
The headline of the News-Corp paper read: “Monster chef and the she-male”.
After a petition gathered nearly 22,000 signatures, the paper issued a half-hearted apology just a few days later, saying it had “no intention of diminishing the value of Mayang’s life.”
The front cover of the Courier Mail
The Brisbane paper has now once again apologised for causing “unintentional” offence.
In an editorial on page 62, the paper said it had only run the same story as every other paper, and that the victim’s mother never expressed offence.
The statement read: “Every mainstream media outlet in Queensland had published identical facts about Mayang and her killer’s gender and profession as well as the same pictures.
“We responded at the time, restating that Mayang was the innocent victim of a dreadful crime, and that publication of the details of her life and murder were never in any way intended to disrespect her or upset her family.
“Her mother, who we were in contact with, through the week never expressed offense.
“In our reporting, we never intended to offend any member of the community. Clearly the coverage did, unintentionally, offend the LGBT community and others, and for that the newspaper is sorry.”
