Boyz magazine trans editor resigns

Rebecca Tallon de Havilland, trans activist and co-editor of Boyz magazine, has resigned after finding the publication has continued to associate with anti-trans organisation, the LGB Alliance. Boyz editor, David Bridle, first faced backlash in November 2020 when his magazine promoted a webinar hosted by the LGB Alliance, after which he hired Havilland to make the publication more trans inclusive. 

However, in a recent interview with Spiked, Bridle claimed he was being “punished” for “debating” trans issues, saying Terrence Higgins Trust had withdrawn an advertisement in Boyz magazine’s national HIV testing week issue for his support of the LGB Alliance. The TH Trust refuted his claims, but Bridle then continued to praise the LGB Alliance in his interview, saying: “[The LGB Alliance is] a group that believes in biological sex rather than gender-based public policy. We were clear that people might not agree with the LGB Alliance, but for the purposes of community debate, why not hear it out?”

After hearing of the interview, Havilland said she felt “betrayed”, as Bridle had supposedly promised to run any pieces on trans topics by her first. She told PinkNews: “I genuinely was kind of hurt, Because I really felt that the conversation that we had that led to me being trans affairs editor was that anything trans-related would be run by me. At the time, David said he needed to know more about the trans community and that he would run everything by me…Basically, he had gone over my head on this. I just felt betrayed and I think initially I was kind of numb.” Hallivand has subsequently resigned from her position, and tweeted: “It saddens me but it won’t deter me in the future from reaching out to people that wish to support trans affairs”

Scottish actor and LGBTQ+ activist, David Paisley, tweeted in support of Havilland, saying: “Boyz Magazine publicly apologised for associating with the LGB Alliance hate group, and hired the wonderful @BexDeHavilland as Trans Affairs Correspondent. This was to save face, they betrayed Rebecca by again supporting the LGB Alliance – so she resigned.” He then urged his followers to boycott Boyz. Paisley is also known for setting up a petition which called for UK media outlets to stop uncritically platforming the LGB Alliance, saying: “They do not speak for us, and they should not be quoted or asked to comment on issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community without clear and unequivocal reference to their status as a perceived hate group…We reject anti-trans rhetoric & support our fellow community members. Trans rights are human rights.”