The BBC has denied giving any specific instruction or directive to editorial staff on using the phrase “biological males” to discuss trans women in their stories.

In recent weeks, many people have noted that the BBC has seemingly begun using the phrase “biological males” in copy to refer to trans women, a dogwhistle often used in gender-critical circles.

For example, in the BBC’s recent coverage of the outcome of the Graham Linehan harassment and criminal damage trial – in which he was found guilty of the latter charge and not guilty of the former – the victim in the case, Sophia Brooks, was described as “born a biological male but identifies as a woman”.

Brooks was 17 years old in October 2024 when a confrontation between the two took place at the Battle of Ideas festival in London.

Another example of the term appears in the BBC’s recent coverage of the Sandie Peggie tribunal. In it, the BBC writes: “(Peggie) claimed that having to get changed beside her transgender colleague Dr Beth Upton – a biological male who identifies as a woman – amounted to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act.”

There has been a lot of discussion on social media about the BBC’s phrasing, so much so that it led US-based trans journalist Erin Reed to publish a piece on the topic, written by S. Baum, on her blog, in which the BBC’s use of “biological male” is described as “unscientific and pejorative rhetoric surrounding trans people.”

The change comes amid allegations that the BBC has been taken over by a so-called “pro-trans” bias following director general Tim Davie’s resignation. In the wake of this, a leaked memo – attributed to ex-journalist Michael Prescott when he acted as advisor to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board –– suggested BBC reporters had “censored” coverage of LGBTQ+ issues as part of a so-called ‘pro-trans agenda’.

However, the BBC’s long history of trans and wider LGBTQ+ coverage could not, to a discerning reader, be seen as “pro”, as outlined by PinkNews’ reporter Amelia Hansford.

Indeed, the most infamous example of the BBC’s coverage was a 2021 article entitled “The lesbians who feel pressured to have sex and relationships with trans women” – which asserted cisgender lesbians are being “pressured and coerced into accepting trans women as partners”.

Currently, as of Friday (28 November), the BBC’s publicly-available style guide has a lengthy section on information about how to cover the LGBTQ+ community in a variety of contexts.  

The style guide states that “using appropriate language is an important part of how we portray people in our stories” and protected characteristics such as “sexuality, race, ethnicity or disability should not be mentioned unless they are relevant to the subject matter”. Additionally to this, when one aspect of a person’s identity is mentioned “we should ensure we do not define them by it”. 

When specifically referring to gender, and ergo trans people, the style guide outlines gender is “how people feel or present themselves, distinct from their biological sex or sexual orientation” and therefore journalists should “use sex to refer to a person’s physical development and gender to describe how they identify themselves”. 

“We should be aware that the concept of a gender identity is contested by some,” it goes on to say. “Sex is “recorded” or “observed” at birth. Use of “assigned at birth” should be attributed.” 

The guidance states, on discussing trans people, that in some stories it “may be appropriate to refer to their previous identity” or to someone’s transition to “help audience understanding” and “to make sense of some stories”. 

It reads in full: “Transgender, or trans, is an umbrella term for a person whose gender identity differs from their sex recorded at birth. A person born male who lives as a female, would typically be described as a “transgender woman” and would take the pronoun “she”. And vice versa. 

“We generally use the term and pronoun preferred by the person in question, unless there are editorial reasons not to do so. If that’s unknown – apply that which fits with the way the person lives publicly. 

“If reporting on someone who is making their transition public, it may be appropriate to refer to their previous identity to help audience understanding. 

“It may also be appropriate to refer to a transition to make sense of some stories. We should not include “intersex” or people with differences of sexual development as part of this group.” 

Separately, guidance on reporting about non-binary people reads: “Non-binary is an adjective used to describe a person who does not identify as only male or only female, or who may identify as both . It is increasingly common for non-binary people to use the singular pronoun “they”. 

“We should not ascribe a gender to someone non-binary. 

“But we may need to explain any use of “they” as a singular pronoun to the audience for clarity. This could be without explicitly mentioning their gender, however (eg: [First name surname] – who uses “they” and “them” as personal pronouns – is…).””

“There hasn’t been any directive”

PinkNews approached the BBC for comment on the matter – querying if any specific guidance had been given to staff or if the news organisation’s style guide had been updated internally.

A spokesperson responded by stating “there hasn’t been any directive and there’s no separate internal version of the BBC style guide”.

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