Reformatorisch Dagblad — Criticism of the Transgender Act cautiously finds its way into the media
In this article from September 14, 2021, Tineke van der Waal describes in Reformatorisch Dagblad how coverage of gender and transgender issues in the Dutch media is beginning to shift. After years of predominantly supportive reporting, the newspaper says that critical opinion pieces are now also cautiously starting to appear.
The main article on this subject is Reformatorisch Dagblad.
What it is about
The article cites several examples. Media sociologist Peter Vasterman called on journalists in an opinion piece to take off their rose-tinted glasses and investigate the possible harm caused by medical interventions in teenagers. Journalist Jan Kuitenbrouwer wrote several critical pieces in HP/De Tijd about the lack of public debate on the proposed Transgender Act. Columnist Willem Pekelder expressed concern about changing language, such as avoiding the word woman.
Caroline Franssen of the feminist foundation Voorzij is also mentioned. According to the article, she struggled for a long time to draw attention to objections to the law's consequences for women.
The examples at a glance
The article places the examples in chronological order. As an example of the earlier, predominantly positive coverage, the newspaper cites a piece in Trouw from early 2020 about YouTube star Nikkie de Jager. Vasterman's opinion piece appeared in NRC on May 17, 2021; shortly afterward, the same newspaper gave transgender young people an opportunity to respond. On May 31, a column by Maxim Februari followed. Kuitenbrouwer's piece in HP/De Tijd dates from July 14, and Pekelder's column in Trouw from August 17. On September 3, NRC ombudsman Sjoerd de Jong wrote about a book review by Vasterman that the newspaper had initially accepted but later decided not to publish. That review appears in this archive as The Struggle Between Sex and Gender.
The law at issue
The bill had been prepared by caretaker minister Dekker. According to the newspaper, Kuitenbrouwer wondered which party would have the courage to break the silence surrounding it. The article concludes with the expectation that HP/De Tijd would publish more of its investigation in September.
What happened next
A year later, on September 27 and 28, 2022, the House of Representatives debated the bill. It never came to a vote, and the cabinet ultimately withdrew the proposal. The timeline is set out in the archive entry on the bill amending sex registration. The rules currently in force are explained in the article about the Transgender Act in the Netherlands.
Why it is included in this archive
The piece is a snapshot of the Dutch media debate surrounding the amendment of the Transgender Act. How word choice and source selection shape the picture presented in such reporting is explained by gendermedia.nl in the article on framing in the gender debate. It belongs among the sources on developments in the Netherlands and the legal aspects of the subject.