Two Employees Quit at The Guardian Over Transphobic Culture

A news outlet once seen as United Kingdom's most progressive media voice saw two transgender employees resign in protest.

Two employees departed weeks apart, and made clear in they felt discrimination on the job, according to email excerpts published by BuzzFeed.

The newspaper "fundamentally not only stands against my own values but also against what I am," wrote one employee.

BuzzFeed did not reveal the names of employees, one of whom cited transphobic reporting in the publication as a reason for departure.

Notably, the outlet drew attention last month when it publicly outed an employee as the first transgender man in the U.K. seeking to be listed as a father on his child's birth certificate.

In that case, documentarian Freddy McConnell had asked courts to keep his identity private. He had shared the story of carrying a child and giving birth as a transgender man in the Guardian-produced film Seahorse, which media outlets cited as a reason the courts should not shield his identity from the public.

The newspaper also drew broad criticism last October when it published an editorial suggesting trans rights threaten those of cisgender women by allowing trans women access to safe female spaces. The TERF-like arguments have been widely criticized by mainstream LGBTQ and feminist organizations.

One of the former Guardian employees speaking to BuzzFeed called that piece the last straw.

"I'm entering this building with people who are denying my humanity," said a trans-feminine ex-employee.

Moreover, the editorial appeared to set a tone within the workplace, and within months two other employees made comments arguing against trans rights. One argued trans rights threatened women's sports.

Another cracked a cruel joke: "If you went to prison, I'm not sure which prison you should go to."

Considering The Guardian's place in the market as a publication of choice of liberal intellectuals, the employee said transphobic coverage seemed especially dangerous. She suggested it could actually cast transphobia as "a 'woke' way of thinking."

"It misleads people into thinking the respectable thing to do is to raise these issues," she said.