Columnist James Wong quits The Observer newspaper citing ‘institutionalised transphobia’
The Guardian’s office in London (Wikimedia Commons)
A columnist for The Observer has resigned after voicing his disgust at an anti-trans article, which was found to be in breach of the publicationās social media policies.
James Wong ā a botanist, science writer and broadcaster, based in London ā announced his resignation on Twitter on Friday (24 February).
His resignation follows a tweet he published on 29 January calling out an opinion piece by Catherine Bennett, with the headline Forget Andrew Tate ā what about the host of misogynists in Labourās ranks.
In the article, Bennett wrote that āthe transgender debate seems to offer many proudly progressive men a licence to insult women who disagree with themā.
At the time, Wong tweeted in response: āAs a columnist at the Observer, I have written to them to express my shock. This is completely unacceptable.ā
Wong said his earlier tweet breached a requirement to āabide by social media guidelinesā, with the paper allegedly calling it a āserious matterā.
And when asked by a reader “what the hell is wrong with The Observer”, Wong simply replied: “Institutionalised transphobia.”
This is not the first time The Observer and its sister publication The Guardian have come under fire for ant-trans sentiments.
In September 2021, The Guardian was accused of ācensoringā feminist icon Judith Butler after the newspaper deleted part of an interview in which they compared trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) to fascists.
Just one month later, the publication was in hot water again over a controversial article about the murder of Sarah Everard and single-sex spaces.
In her article, Catherine Bennett linked the brutal rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March to the ongoing debate among āgender criticalā feminists about whether trans women should be excluded from āsingle-sexā spaces.
This culminated in, just days later, a protest outside the publications London headquarters calling for both newspapers to āstop platforming transphobiaā.
Protester Natacha Kennedy told PinkNews she organised the demonstration because she was āreally shockedā at how the Guardian had āappropriated Sarah Everardās murderā.
āThat was such a horrible crime, there arenāt words for it,ā Natacha said. āI thought there would be somebody in the anti-trans community who would do this, one of the really extreme fanatics, but I really did not expect it to be the Guardian using her memory to oppress people. I really never thought the Guardian would sink this low.ā
James Wongās resignation from the broadsheet title comes as The New York Times faces a continued backlash for its coverage of trans issues.
An opinion piece, under the heading “In defence of JK Rowling”, by columnist Pamela Paul, was published by the US news organisation on 16 February.
In reaction to the news that the Harry Potter author would be appearing on a limited-series podcast with former Westboro Baptist Church member Megan Phelps-Roper, Paul argued that the so-called “demonisation” of Rowling was unjust.
āThe campaign against Rowling is as dangerous as it is absurd,ā she argued.
āThe brutal stabbing of Salman Rushdie last summer is a forceful reminder of what can happen when writers are demonised.
āIn Rowlingās case, the characterisation of her as a transphobe doesnāt square with her actual views.ā
As well as the Rowling article appearing, a letter was sent to NYT staff and freelancers, defending the paperās coverage of trans issues, and stating that policy āprohibitsā its staff from āaligning themselves with advocacy groups and joining protest actionsā.
Trans rights activist Rose Schmits responded to a tweet noting the article, writing: āNot a dog whistle, but a big booming horn.
ā[The] New York Times is now an anti-trans propaganda mouthpiece.ā
A GNM spokesperson said: “James has been a gardening columnist with the Observer for seven years. We wish him the best for the future.”
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