JK Rowling praises BBC presenter for ‘pregnant women' correction
JK Rowling has praised a BBC presenter who corrected the term 'pregnant people' to 'women' during a live news broadcast in an apparent rejection of gender-neutral language.
Martine Croxall was citing a heart-related study about protecting vulnerable people against extreme weather when she appeared to roll her eyes at the phrase.
'London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has released research which says that nearly 600 heat-related deaths are expected in the UK,' she read.
'Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people … women … and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.'
The original wording came from the study's authors rather than the BBC, it is understood.
Responding to Saturday's incident, Rowling, the gender-critical author, wrote on X: 'I have a new favourite BBC presenter.'
The BBC does not have specific guidelines on the use of gender-neutral terms such as 'pregnant people', which has become more frequent in the wake of calls to remove gender from discussions of pregnancy and childbirth.
JK Rowling
DAVE J HOGAN/GETTY IMAGES
The BBC News style guide does, however, encourage 'appropriate language' when reporting on a person's gender, including using whichever gender pronouns are 'preferred by the person in question, unless there are editorial reasons not to do so'.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman was based on biological sex.
In a previous statement, the BBC said that it was assessing how to implement the ruling into its editorial guidelines. A spokesman said: 'In our news reporting, we always aim to deal with issues fairly and impartially, and this is informed by our editorial guidelines. BBC News are assessing the ruling to consider any updates which might need to be made to the style guide as a result.'
The BBC has been approached for comment.
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