The BBC has left the Stonewall Diversity Scheme, as membership has been preventing them from being impartial.
As many of us have been saying for a while now, Stonewall's No Debate policy has led to large organisations fighting shy of standing up to them, but now the BBC has opted out of the dictatorship.
For those who aren't aware of the issues, Stonewall was formed to fight for gay and lesbian rights in the 80s, when Section 28 made it illegal for schools or local authorities to 'promote' homosexuality, and when AIDS was causing fear and discrimination against gay people. Stonewall did a lot of good, but now that there is less discrimination against gay people, they have found themselves a victim of their own success, and have been pushing the trans agenda. Their Diversity award is coveted by many universities and local authorities (amongst other large employers) and this, coupled with a lack of understanding of the issues and how they impact on others (particularly women) has led to speakers who disagree with their one-sided perspective being 'cancelled' or 'no platformed', so young people are not able to even hear a gender-critical point of view. It has also led to the imposition of initiatives such as compelling staff to declare preferred pronouns on their email signatures, on pain of having the award withdrawn and being accused of transphobia. The act of declaring pronouns indicates buying into the idea that gender-identification is optional and that gender and sex are the same thing, which is a viewpoint that is in no way shared by everyone.
Anyway, there has been a shift away from their stranglehold, and the latest company to do so is the BBC. UCL and the University of Winchester have already pulled out, and both OFCOM and the Equality and Human Rights Commission did so some time ago, on the grounds that the refusal to listen to other points of view than the Transwomen Are Women stance (the only one allowed by Stonewal)l is not conducive to impartiality.
Do people think that this movement towards common sense is a good thing, and that Stonewall's over-reaching has brought about its own demise?
I am so pleased the BBC have withdrawn from Stonewall's stranglehold, and can only hope other organisations will take courage too. There seems to be a collective sigh of relief that debate and discussion may now be on the agenda instead of outright bullying.