BBC Presenter Refuses To Use Trans-Inclusive Language Live On Air

A video of a BBC presenter has attracted worldwide attention after she refused to use trans-inclusive language during a live broadcast.

BBC News host Martine Croxall was reading a report on vulnerable people during the UK’s current heatwave from the teleprompter, when she used the term “pregnant people”. Croxall then rolled her eyes and added “women” with emphasis, before continuing the story.

The segment, which aired around lunchtime on Saturday, quickly went viral, catching the attention of self-described TERF JK Rowling.

“I have a new favourite BBC presenter,” she wrote on X alongside a clip of the incident.

Only last week, Rowling said that the BBC could “no longer be trusted to report truthfully or impartially on matters relating to sex” after they covered a story about the UK’s first women only tower block, which permits trans women to live there.

Rowling has previously taken issue with gender neutral wording. In 2020, she retweeted a story that used the term “people who menstruate” to include those with uteruses who don’t identify as women.

“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she wrote.

Croxall took to her own X account after the incident, writing, “A huge thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me today for whatever reason. It’s been quite a ride…”

BBC not responsible for gender neutral language

The trans inclusive wording was a direct quote from the heat-related study being reported on and was not the wording of the BBC.

The BBC News style guide states: “A person born male who lives as a female would typically be described as a ‘transgender woman’ and would take the pronoun ‘she’. And vice versa. We generally use the term and pronoun preferred by the person in question.”

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who conducted the report, have not made a public statement on the issue, but have spoken in the past about LGBTQIA+ issues, especially when it comes to issues of public policy.

The LSHTM website also states that the school is committed to “being proactive in championing LGBTQ+ equality worldwide”, and is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, which gives them access external expertise to ensure their procedures and general practice are equitable.