Tina...I found this exchange so disturbing for a number of reasons. First, for the reasons you mentioned, exposing young children to such photos, followed by the need to explain the gender exhibition and photos to a young child who may be accompanying you. They are not mature enough. Secondly, many visitors may be taking a child who is not their own child. Perhaps their parents would prefer to have this covnersation with their own child. Many years ago, I began my ministry as a first grade teacher and brought my classes on various outings. I can't imagine how I would have handled this outing. And, thirdly, I am thinking of women who may have recently had a mastectomy and still dealing with the trauma of their experience. The exhibition may have been a very painful experience for them. I find the Museum's decision to have this exibition truly insensitive for visitors of all ages.
Thank you Maureen. This is such a divisive issue. It concerns me deeply that so many people ignore the complexity and ethical dilemmas that surround this, and simply condemn everyone who raises questions as transphobic and guilty of hate speech. I feel like a Jeremiah!
Thank you Ursula. Your constant encouragement helps me to cope with the accusations of hate speech and transphobia, neither of which accurately reflects my position on these immensely complex issues. All voices need to be heard in this if we're to come to any informed and fair position.
A powerful piece, Tina, and symptomatic of the extraordinary obtuseness of the museum authorities to the incendiary public debate taking place over gender. It is equally, if not more, offensive than those images of double mastectomised girls that appeared in Costa coffee shops around the country a few years ago.
On reflection, I regret what some have pointed out is the potentially hurtful reference to women cutting off their breasts so that they can pretend to be men. The concerns I was expressing are real and valid, and I don't think children should be encouraged to celebrate this kind of voluntary surgery, but I should have worded it more sensitively.
I accept that in rare cases of gender dysphoria - a little-understood phenomenon with deep psychological roots - this kind of surgery may be helpful. But the surge in the number of adolescent girls identifying as trans who have never previously shown any signs of gender dysphoria suggests that far from being a rare and authentic phenomenon, this is a consequence of peer pressure through social media and, I suspect, big pharma investment in creating lifelong dependences on expensive regimes of hormones to sustain the trans body. So I stand by what I say, but I also recognise that I should probably have chosen my wording more carefully or deleted that sentence in making this letter public.
This is where the word ‘shocking’ is for once, completely appropriate. And appalling. I’m glad I don’t live in Bristol as here in London I’ve taken all of my four grandsons to every museum that I can. The thought of exposing them to these horrors makes me feel truly frightened. Their parents agree. It’s clear that huge sections of the media and the Arts have been captured by the trans ideology and they are pushing it to the limits. I’d like to know who is funding this, what the trustees’ view of it is - and if they are happy with it, who selected them for the Board. I just hope they are not advertising this in schools and libraries and that if they are, then those who find it offensive will protest loud and long.
Tina...I found this exchange so disturbing for a number of reasons. First, for the reasons you mentioned, exposing young children to such photos, followed by the need to explain the gender exhibition and photos to a young child who may be accompanying you. They are not mature enough. Secondly, many visitors may be taking a child who is not their own child. Perhaps their parents would prefer to have this covnersation with their own child. Many years ago, I began my ministry as a first grade teacher and brought my classes on various outings. I can't imagine how I would have handled this outing. And, thirdly, I am thinking of women who may have recently had a mastectomy and still dealing with the trauma of their experience. The exhibition may have been a very painful experience for them. I find the Museum's decision to have this exibition truly insensitive for visitors of all ages.
Thank you Maureen. This is such a divisive issue. It concerns me deeply that so many people ignore the complexity and ethical dilemmas that surround this, and simply condemn everyone who raises questions as transphobic and guilty of hate speech. I feel like a Jeremiah!
Thank God for the clarity and courage of your thinking Tina! I had no idea the Bristol Museum was doing any of this. It’s perverse!
Thank you Ursula. Your constant encouragement helps me to cope with the accusations of hate speech and transphobia, neither of which accurately reflects my position on these immensely complex issues. All voices need to be heard in this if we're to come to any informed and fair position.
A powerful piece, Tina, and symptomatic of the extraordinary obtuseness of the museum authorities to the incendiary public debate taking place over gender. It is equally, if not more, offensive than those images of double mastectomised girls that appeared in Costa coffee shops around the country a few years ago.
Thanks for this post, and for raising the issues with the museum. I hope they are paying attention!!
I suspect this will be causing flurries of consternation and disagreement among trustees and management.
And so it should!
On reflection, I regret what some have pointed out is the potentially hurtful reference to women cutting off their breasts so that they can pretend to be men. The concerns I was expressing are real and valid, and I don't think children should be encouraged to celebrate this kind of voluntary surgery, but I should have worded it more sensitively.
I accept that in rare cases of gender dysphoria - a little-understood phenomenon with deep psychological roots - this kind of surgery may be helpful. But the surge in the number of adolescent girls identifying as trans who have never previously shown any signs of gender dysphoria suggests that far from being a rare and authentic phenomenon, this is a consequence of peer pressure through social media and, I suspect, big pharma investment in creating lifelong dependences on expensive regimes of hormones to sustain the trans body. So I stand by what I say, but I also recognise that I should probably have chosen my wording more carefully or deleted that sentence in making this letter public.
I have removed the correspondence with Bristol Museum to avoid offence. Please see my explanation in the edited post above.
This is where the word ‘shocking’ is for once, completely appropriate. And appalling. I’m glad I don’t live in Bristol as here in London I’ve taken all of my four grandsons to every museum that I can. The thought of exposing them to these horrors makes me feel truly frightened. Their parents agree. It’s clear that huge sections of the media and the Arts have been captured by the trans ideology and they are pushing it to the limits. I’d like to know who is funding this, what the trustees’ view of it is - and if they are happy with it, who selected them for the Board. I just hope they are not advertising this in schools and libraries and that if they are, then those who find it offensive will protest loud and long.
You can read about the exhibition here: https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/gender-stories/#:~:text=Gender%20Stories%20has%20been%20created,Lottery%20through%20Arts%20Council%20England. The funders are the National Lottery, Art Fund and Magnet (Museum and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring). I suspect many people are complaining, but I also suspect there might be school visits to see the exhibition. It would be interesting to know. I plan to visit it next month.