Newspaper Apologises for Transphobic Cartoon

The Morning Star, a British daily, apologized Sunday for a cartoon it ran Tuesday:

The Morning Star apologises unreservedly for the publication last Tuesday of a cartoon which was offensive to trans people.

The cartoon had not been authorised for publication and its appearance in the print edition represents a failure to follow our own procedures for approving submissions. It was removed from online editions of the paper the same day, as soon as it was seen by the editor…

Again, we apologise for the offence caused by this cartoon, especially to our trans contributors and readers whom we have let down.

From Pink News:

The gaudy drawing was doodled by Stella Perrett, a political cartoonist whose work, spanning 40 years, has “regularly” been featured in The Daily Star, according to the artist’s website.

Reading between the lines it seems, as a regular contributor to the paper, this latest submission by the cartoonist bypassed regular channels and went straight to publication.

The cartoonist’s website calls The Morning Star “UK’s only Socialist daily newspaper.”

Back to the Pink News article:

The cartoon winnowed through Twitter immediately drawing intense detraction, with countless users stressing the importance of inclusivity in socialism as well as pressuring trade unions on the paper’s management committee to condiment it…

Currently, Labour leadership and potential deputies are being asked by independent lobby group Labour Campaign for Trans rights to sign a 12-point pledge to back trans and non-binary people.

But the cartoon appears to reference the retaliation the pledge has faced, where some anti-trans lobbying are advocating that certain spaces and services for cis women exclude trans women.

The Pink News article showcases some of the negative feedback about the cartoon,
as does Metro UK in their article about the blunder.

 

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