Simon Callow criticises Stonewall over transgender views

Veteran gay actor Simon Callow has slammed Stonewall over its views on self-identification for transgender people.

In The Times he said that the LGBTQ+ charity’s policy on self-identification for transgender people infringed women’s rights and could pressurise young gay people to transition.

“This is just tyranny and that’s what we’ve fought against all our lives, people saying, ‘This cannot be discussed,’” he said. “Yes, it can be discussed. Everything can be discussed.”

He called the charity’s stance “tyrannical” and “a dangerously prescriptive position on a complex issue.”

He went on to say “The most dangerous thing is that it may well be that [young gay people] are just gay and they’re being somehow lured into thinking that they are obviously in the wrong gender, which is not the case.”

In a statement to The Times Stonewall said that they were proud of their work towards tarns equality, and were striving for a “world in which all lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people are able to thrive as themselves.”