I'm escalating my complaint to the @bbc about I Kissed a Boy, after their lame and generic response: Coercive Inclusivity Used to Justify Homophobia "I wish to request that my complaint about the programme I Kissed a Boy be escalated to Stage 1B for further consideration. The response I received at Stage 1A was a generic reply that failed to meaningfully address the substance of my concerns. As a gay man, I take issue with the BBC’s use of the term “inclusive” to describe a programme that presents itself as a gay male dating show, while incorporating participants who do not fit the definition of male in any biological or commonly understood sense. The implication that homosexuality must now accommodate mixed-sex attraction under the banner of inclusivity is regressive and offensive. Growing up, I was repeatedly told—explicitly or implicitly—that I should be more inclusive of women in my dating choices. This attitude denied the legitimacy of same-sex attraction and contributed to shame, confusion, and alienation. It is despicable that the BBC is returning to this ideology under a superficial rebranding of progress. What is presented as inclusion in I Kissed a Boy is in fact a reassertion of the expectation that gay men suppress or reframe their sexual boundaries to accommodate others. That is not inclusion—it is erasure. The programme should be accurately described as a mixed-sex or gender-diverse dating show, not a gay male dating show. To conflate the two misrepresents both the nature of the show and the protected characteristic of sexual orientation as defined under the Equality Act 2010, which is based on sex, not gender identity. I request a full and specific response to this concern, and for the BBC to reconsider how it labels and promotes content that purports to represent gay men but fundamentally alters the meaning of that term without transparency or respect for those it claims to represent."
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