© Internet

Today is „Trans Day of Visibility“. What do they want now, even worse representation?

The main page of RTL publishes around 2 articles on queer topics a year, usually just in time for Pride. Outside of Pride, the topic is only mentioned when it comes to justifying a review of the new Harry Potter game. The RTL1 editorial team checked whether what RTL reports on queer people even deserved the word „representation“.

In terms of content, these articles show an absolute minimum of research and care, and use expressions that would have been criticized as completely unacceptable in the 90s. For example: an article from 2023 about what the individual letters of the LGBTQI+ abbreviation mean, reads like a homework assignment broken above the knee - including an incorrect definition of the term „intersex“.

RTL googles: This is the right definition… for the term „non-binary“

Clichéd reporting about trans* people

Instead of following the ILGA Guidelines for reporting on LGBTQI+ people, RTL journalists prefer to engage in so-called „deadnaming“; the practice of addressing a trans* person by the wrong name, or reporting on them by the wrong name.

In an article about Caroline, a trans woman, RTL repeats her deadname over and over again, reproduces clichés such as „born in the wrong body“, and in the end reduces her completely to her gender reassignment surgery.

The same pattern is found over and over again in the RTL archive. In 2021, in a segment in the RTL show „People and Stories“, the trans woman Veronica is addressed directly by her deadname and old pronouns. Even in the description of the episode, only the deadname is mentioned, and as in the above article, the „born in the wrong body“ cliché is used again and again - here it is even the title of the episode. „You are still a man inside yourself“, the reporter says to the woman.

The same thing happens in 2020, this time about a trans man, Jan. He is shown during an operation, and while this time they at least mention his real name and the correct pronouns in the intro of the video, he is repeatedly deadnamed throughout the video, and again the „born in the wrong body“ cliché is used.

„Misgendering“ trans people, i.e. intentionally addressing them with the wrong gender or pronouns - whether in direct conversation or later in a voiceover - is violent in a way that is often difficult for cis people to comprehend. The obsession with the bodies and genitals of trans people, which becomes clear in these articles, is not only reprehensible and disrespectful, but also deeply harmful and in no way comes close to the responsibility of serious journalists. In this sense, RTL also reaches the standards of its general ethical and journalistic level on this issue.

The journalists (who often hide behind the almighty author „RTL“) should perhaps be ashamed of how they deal with these issues, and take time to think about whether they should report on anything at all if they cannot do so without harmful stereotypes and untruths. But even that could be generalized and the RTL1 editorial team would be very surprised if critical reflection were ever to occur at RTL.

These fetishizing and sensationalizing narratives contribute to an environment that is increasingly hostile towards trans people. The Luxembourg media monopolist contributes to a climate that is to blame for the increased suicide rate, self-harm, and mental and physical problems among trans people, and this from a young age. It is obvious that they have not even tried to fulfill a duty of care here, and probably will not in the future.

It’s also different

All of this stands in stark contrast to RTL Today, the English-language site of RTL. Here, one or two queer people seem to have managed to sneak into the editorial office and have published well-researched, well-written, and liberating articles from the perspective of queer people. According to RTL1 information, the real RTL is disavowing any connection to these unapproved individuals from RTL Today and intends to continue to remain old-fashioned and transphobic in the media that is actually consumed.

Unlike usual for RTL, this article was written by people from the LGBTQI+ community.