Authors Sign Open Letter to New York Times Calling Out Anti-Trans Coverage

The New York Times has a past of opining connected the broadside of the oppressor. This is not my opinion, nor is it based connected feelings, but is simply a fact. In 1922, they published their archetypal nonfiction astir Adolphe Hitler, successful which they fawned implicit his “uncanny power implicit audiences” and claimed that his antisemitism was “not truthful convulsive oregon genuine arsenic it sounded.” It was not their past nonfiction that failed to place the information helium posed. In 1986 they published an sentiment effort by William F. Buckley suggesting that each idiosyncratic who is HIV+ should beryllium forcibly tattooed connected the precocious limb and buttocks to place themselves arsenic specified (this was a specified 3 years aft the Times yet deigned to admit the AIDS epidemic successful 1983, years aft it began). In 2016 they published as galore screen stories astir Hillary Clinton’s email “scandal” implicit six days arsenic they did astir existent argumentation successful the 69 days anterior to the election. And past Thursday they ran an sentiment portion by Pamela Paul, erstwhile exertion of the New York Times Book Review, defending J.K. Rowling, who has called herself a TERF, from being called a TERF.

This essay, the latest successful a agelong tally of violently anti-trans pieces successful their pages, appeared little than 24 hours aft GLAAD delivered a letter to the editors signed by implicit 130 organizations and leaders, galore of them queer-focused and each of them acting arsenic LGBTQ+ allies. In the letter, quality rights organizations, celebrities, and authors asked the Times to: “Stop printing biased anti-trans stories”; “Hold a gathering with transgender assemblage members and leaders, and perceive passim that meeting”; and “Genuinely put successful hiring trans writers and editors, afloat clip connected your staff.”

The aforesaid time arsenic the GLAAD missive (Wednesday, February 15), a radical of Times contributors (currently numbering implicit 1000) including Roxane Gay, Alexander Chee, Alice Wong, Cathy Park Hong, Nina LaCour, Samin Nosrat, and Jami Attenberg, among galore different authors, wrote an unfastened letter to Philip B. Corbett, the subordinate managing exertion for standards. Among different receipts, they mention Tom Scocca’s article successful which it is estimated that 15,000 words person been published connected the beforehand leafage of the Times successful the past 8 months, each of them suggesting that trans kids should not beryllium getting healthcare. The missive itself gives a amended overview of the concern than I tin summarize, and I impulse you to work it. In summation to the Times contributors, much than 20,000 readers and supporters signed (including myself).

The New York Times responded by publishing Paul’s portion connected Rowling (the timing could, admittedly, beryllium a coincidence) and sending an interior memo claiming that their sum is “deeply reported, and sensitively written.” They besides look to suggest that determination was lone 1 letter, which they aboriginal clarified was 2 letters, some delivered by GLAAD (the 2nd missive was not delivered by GLAAD). In a memo to NYT staff, they further claimed to invited “constructive disapproval from colleagues who care, delivered respectfully and done the close channels” but past instantly said that they volition not tolerate “participation by Times journalists successful protests organized by advocacy groups.”

Hmm.