Hopefully, he takes some notes during his sensitivity training
An Australian radio host has been met with criticism after saying he doesn’t want his 14-year-old daughter sharing a bathroom with a transgender student.
Paul Campion, who hosts River 94.9FN’s Marnie and Campo breakfast show, pushed back on Queensland’s landmark decision to allow transgender students to choose which bathroom they use. The conversation had started by discussing “furries”, the community that dresses and acts like animals, but Campion thought it prudent to evoke a completely unrelated topic.
Essentially, the radio host does not want his daughter sharing a bathroom with a 13-year-old trans kid she goes to school with.
According to the Courier Mail, he also made several references to the student’s genitalia.
Following the inflammatory comments, the radio station was met with a flurry of complaints.
Michelle Inns, founder of Parents of Transgender Kids, pushed back on Campion’s comments.
“There is a significant level of disgust in our community for the comments made on the show about transgender children, their access to school bathrooms (a right that is enforced by Education Queensland),” she said. “The discussion of a minor’s genitalia on public radio is also extremely inappropriate.”
Inns continued to say that it’s “disappointing” that the radio station contributed to the ongoing discrimination against trans people.
“People seem to assume that shared bathroom use is putting their children at risk,” she added. “Our kids are already struggling with their bodies and are incredibly self conscious, it’s more likely they will be seeking privacy and trying to avoid conflict.”
On Friday, Campion spoke out once again and said that his comments were not “meant” to hurt anyone. Campion claimed that his comments were “simply a father trying to manoeuvre a changing world” alongside his daughter.
Ironically, he then doubled down in the next sentence and said, “If you see my protection and feelings about my daughter as transphobic, there is not much I can do about that.”
“We can all learn something but this is about everyone’s feelings and not just one group … my feelings were purely about my daughter and protecting her,” he added.
Studio general manager David Wiltshire has since admitted that the conversation should not have happened on air.
“We agree that the discussion around transgender girls sharing changing facilities with cisgender girls should never have taken place on our broadcast,” he said.
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