Last Friday, Piotr Maślak, director of the agency that creates journalism, documentaries and social programs on Polish television, in the afternoon “Kontrapunkt” on TVP Info spoke about transgenderism in sport in connection with the controversy surrounding the participation of some athletes in competitions with other women at the Paris Olympic Games.
At the beginning of the program, Maślak cited several examples of successful athletes at the Olympics who are biologically male. Her guests were Magdalena Grzbyb – a lawyer and criminologist who deals with, among other things, gender issues in law and biologist Łukasz Sakowski, who had an interrupted transition.
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There were many critical opinions on social media about the choice of guests and statements during the discussion. – It was @maslak_piotr who hosted today’s Kontrapunkt program on TVP Info, to which anti-trans activists were invited and hate speech against trans and intersex people was used. Do you agree with calling transitions “castration” and intersex women “men”? – asked activist Maja Heban on the X platform.
As we have already reported, Piotr Maślak commented on these opinions on Monday. – Due to the questioning of the competences of the guests of the program dedicated to gender in sport, we will return to the topic next Friday. We will invite people in consultation with organizations representing the transgender community. We care about the scientific perspective – we want to invite such guests, – he announced at the 10th meeting.
Katarzyna Kotula to TVP chief: lots of harmful and discriminatory content
Also on Monday, Telewizja Polska CEO Tomasz Sygut received a letter on this matter from Katarzyna Kotula, a left-wing MP and Minister for Equality. Kotula stressed that as minister she monitors the situation in terms of compliance with the principle of equal treatment, and is obliged to “take measures aimed at eliminating or limiting the effects resulting from the violation of the principle of equal treatment”.
– In view of the above, the “Kontrapunkt” program broadcast on August 9, 2024 caught my attention, in which, in my opinion, there was a lot of harmful and discriminatory content towards transgender and intersex people. I would like to kindly ask the Director to carefully review the above-mentioned material, especially in the context of raising the issue of equal treatment. Diversity and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) communities – she said.
She encouraged people to “broaden their knowledge of this community” and expressed support in this regard from the Department for Equality in the Prime Minister’s Office.
– In recent years, we have seen a growing movement in the media, but especially on the Internet, that excludes transgender, non-binary people and, as recent weeks have shown, also intersex people. The aforementioned programme addressed the issue of the Paris Olympic Games and the alleged participation of transgender and intersex people in them, and the guests were Magdalena Grzyb and Łukasz Sakowski. The content of the programme raised many questions and provoked a reaction from the LGBTI community, which pointed out the unreliability and discriminatory nature of the statements of both the host and his guests, which are inconsistent with contemporary knowledge, he listed.
Kotula stressed that TVP “implements a public mission by offering society as a whole and its individual parts various programmes and other services in the field of information, journalism, culture, entertainment, education and sports”. It is characterised by pluralism, impartiality, balance and independence, as well as innovation, high quality and integrity of the message. On the other hand, according to the Broadcasting Law, TVP’s content “may not promote illegal activities, in particular it may not contain discriminatory content due to, among other things, gender.”
– In my opinion, the “Kontrapunkt” programme did not contribute to the implementation of the mission described in the Broadcasting Act and its fragments contained discriminatory content based on gender. – said Katarzyna Kotula.
– Taking into account the above-mentioned attributions of the Ministry of Equality, I request the Director to: 1) carefully analyze the material mentioned in the letter, especially in terms of the provisions of the Broadcasting Law; 2) consider taking measures to increase the knowledge of the editorial staff in the field of trans and intersex issues and inclusive language; 3) the possibility of meeting with the Department for Equal Treatment to outline the possibilities and framework for cooperation in the future – he listed.
