Graham Linehan

Graham Linehan, a comedy writer and director behind such shows as Father Ted, The IT Crowd and Black Books, examines the capture of women’s rights discourse and public space by gender-identity ideology. He discusses the policing and media coverage of women’s safety vigils, the infiltration of groups such as Sisters Uncut by males, and the routine removal of women’s comments in ostensibly feminist online spaces for the simple statement that men are not women. Linehan argues that the strategic redefinition of language has rendered it nearly impossible to defend sex-based rights without being accused of bigotry, turning basic biological reality into a prohibited opinion. He links this to a wider collapse of free speech, illustrated by cases such as Sharon Osbourne’s dismissal for defending the right to criticise, and observes that disagreement has been replaced by attempts to silence, deplatform or destroy livelihoods. Drawing on his own experience of sustained targeting, he portrays the current climate as one in which comedy, journalism and ordinary conversation are increasingly policed by an ideology that treats dissent as violence and demands compulsory affirmation.