A BBC radio show hosted by Lucy Worsley discussing murderers from a “feminist perspective” sparked a backlash from female listeners after highlighting discrimination against male drag artists.
A podcast series on BBC Radio 4 entitled ‘Lady Killers’ travels back in time to investigate historic murders committed by women from the 19th and 20th centuries.
But one episode about an affair between a teenage lesbian couple in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1892, which ended with one woman brutally murdering the other, drew an angry response.
Feminist activists and female listeners have criticized the show for “strangely” allowing discussion of discrimination against men in drag to dominate the show, rather than about women.
Criticism focused on the second half of the podcast, where Worsley raised the issue of “lesbian invisibility” after describing the murder of Frieda Ward by her boyfriend Alice Mitchell.
The historian and broadcaster took up the issue with his guest on the show, lesbian American comedian Cameron Esposito, and said, “Lesbians don’t live in popular culture, except when they’re being murdered or when they’re murdering someone.” “It seems to me that he is a barely noticeable presence in the world,” he said.
Ms. Worsley then mentioned the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women’s right to abortion in the United States, and suggested that LGBTQ+ rights could be rolled back.
Mumsnet backlash
But instead of using this as an opportunity to discuss lesbian rights, Esposito continued to lament the restrictions and bigoted attitudes currently placed on drag performers in the United States.
Continuing the theme, Worsley interviewed a male drag actor and activist from Memphis, Tennessee, called Magical Miss Mossy, about his experiences with discrimination.
The episode, which aired earlier this month, has since drawn a huge amount of disapproval from women on Mumsnet.
A member of a popular parenting website and a fan of the Lady Killer series said: “Yes, you guessed it, on a show that bemoans the visibility of lesbians, these are the people they choose to talk about their experiences with.” was a drag queen.”
“I don’t know what men have to tell us about lesbian invisibility…”
Another user of the site commented: “Very disappointing.” I love Lucy Worsley, she’s amazing. I suspect this had nothing to do with her and was a decision made by the trendy blue-haired member of the production team. ”
alienated lesbian
Feminist and gay campaign groups have similarly been harshly critical of the decision to focus on drag queen rights rather than lesbian rights.
Bev Jackson, co-founder of the LGB Alliance, a charity supporting gays, lesbians and bisexual people, said: “A lesbian guest who asked about the invisibility of lesbians in pop culture said “backsliding LGBTQ+ rights.” It’s ironic that we’re lamenting it.” As a restriction on drag queens performing for small children.
“The host obliges brings in a concerned drag queen to make a point. No matter what you think about drag performers, they are not lesbians.”
A spokesperson for women’s rights group Women’s Place UK praised the podcast series for “shedding valuable light on historical attitudes towards women and violence”.
But she, too, had doubts about the show’s theme of lesbians not being able to identify themselves.
“Strangely, rather than interviewing lesbians to explore this issue, Worsley instead chose to interview male drag artists about their experiences performing in Tennessee,” she said. Ta.
“This illustrates exactly the problem lesbians face: their voices are routinely silenced, and men’s voices are amplified, even in apparently unrelated situations. .”