Member-only story
My Article Was Suspended for ‘Hateful Content’
It’s easy to say the wrong thing in the most well-meaning way
As regular readers know, I am not a hateful person. I’ve previously said I don’t hate anyone. This angered someone in the comments so much that she told me I was privileged for not harbouring hate.
If you knew how my dad treated me growing up, you might think not hating anyone was quite an achievement. I try to understand where people are coming from and to let things go. Life is too short to hate. It’s not good for your mental health.
So imagine my astonishment to get a suspension for ‘hateful content’ last night. A lady had reported my article on transgender boxing. It was relaying a news item that’s been reported worldwide about a female boxer who’d withdrawn from a match after learning that her opponent was trans.
I thought my piece was sensitive reporting, which stuck strictly to the facts, while allowing for some discussion about what is reasonable in women’s sports, and asking whether we need new categories.
I was even credited for my unbiased reporting by one reader, and a publication owner asked me to elaborate on the story, such was her view that it was inoffensive and would make a good longform piece. I didn’t want to elaborate on the news report, so I…
