Marc Bolan History

Celebrating the history of Marc Bolan

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

Love @bpfallon

[RTÉ Archives @RTEArchives]

BP Fallon's rock and roll memories. @bpfallon

WATCH: The Late Late Show broadcast #OnThisDay in 1983
https://t.co/EacIlGeL5E

[Maeve Halligan @MaeveHalligan]

"The fact of the matter is: the more kids are trans, the more money she makes."

I spoke to @piersmorgan about my recent speech at the Cambridge Union. There are people profiting from trans ideology - people who must be called out.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@Gaynotqueer1 "We were in 1st place in 2015", she says. Well, we have the same laws as we did then.
So, what changed?
All you TRAs ruined it for LGBs, that's what changed.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@jan_murray All power to you, @jan_murray. Apparently @scope "shares truth" - except, um, they don't, do they.

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

Yes, the people who call themselves 'trans' exist and they deserve exactly the same rights as everyone else, which, fortunately, they already have in the UK. It would rightly be considered discrimination if a person was refused employment, housing or the vote because they identified as trans.

'Trans women are women' is a thought-terminating cliché. Men are not women. That doesn't mean they're not allowed to present themselves however they like, call themselves whatever they like and believe whatever they like about themselves. It means they haven't changed sex.

If we replace the objective, observable characteristic of sex with the unfalsifiable concept of gender identify, women and girls lose, among other things, their right to fair and safe sport and women-only spaces, including changing rooms, prison cells and rape crisis services.

Women and girls are provably more vulnerable to forms of abuse including sexual assault, harassment and voyeurism in mixed-sex spaces. There is no evidence that trans-identified men don't have exactly the same rates of criminal offending as all other men.

Trans people exist. I have no desire for them not to exist; indeed, I wish them safety, happiness and health. However, 'existence' does not, and should not, mean the violation of other people's right to privacy, dignity and freedom of speech, or the reconfiguration of society to indulge a fallacy.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@PeterTatchell A little reminder for you, Peter, There is no such thing as a "Trans Woman" or a "Trans Man". If these mentally ill people weren't clogging up the NHS with their narcissistic nonsense there would be more resource for us all. Now do run along, there's a good boy.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@GlamRockMarc Kosh won a prestigious D&AD for his work on this exquisite sleeve.

[Janet Murray @jan_murray]

Dear friend (who thinks I’m unkind - or even homophobic),

Remember how much we loved Boy George and Marilyn when we were growing up? Our parents weren’t thrilled by men in make-up and dresses - but we thought they were cool. They were expressing individuality and challenging rigid gender stereotypes.

You and I both grew up supporting gay rights for a simple reason: people shouldn’t be punished, excluded or shamed for who they love.

That belief hasn’t changed.

But being gay, lesbian or bisexual is about who you’re attracted to. Gender identity is about how someone understands or describes themselves.

Those are not the same thing. And treating them as if they are puts women and girls at risk.

Here’s the crucial difference.

Many of the pop stars we grew up with played with gender expression - flamboyant clothes, make-up, theatrical performance. David Bowie made a whole art form out of it.

But we still understood they were men - and so did they.

They weren’t demanding entry to women’s spaces.

They weren’t claiming women’s awards or competing in women’s sporting categories.

And women weren’t being forced to agree that the man standing in front of them was a woman - or risk social or professional consequences.

We both have daughters now - young women just starting their adult lives. I’ve taught mine that no means no and I’m sure you’ve taught yours the same.

But that message becomes meaningless if our girls are also being told they must say “yes” to any man who says he’s a woman - even when their instincts say otherwise.

If a girl isn’t interested in make-up or stereotypically feminine things, she may be told she’s actually a man - rather than simply a strong, independent young woman who dresses and behaves as she pleases.

And if she’s same-sex attracted, she may face pressure from men who identify as “lesbians” and expect access to her spaces - and her body - something we'd never have accepted as progressive or 'kind' when we were younger.

Single-sex spaces - toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, refuges, prisons - exist because women need them. Not because all men are dangerous, but because male violence is a reality and sex-based boundaries reduce risk.

Women cannot know which men pose a threat and which don’t.

That’s why all must stay out of women's spaces. Good men understand this - without question.

I know you want to be kind. So do I.

But kindness isn’t asking women and girls to surrender their privacy, dignity or safety in order to prove they’re “tolerant”.

Or calling them 'homophobic' or bigoted for saying no.

With love,
Janet

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@ZackPolanski It's particularly horrendous to see someone who is apparently a part of the LGB community selling out women and promoting homophobia

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@AttitudeMag Maybe Zack should take a break from trying to erase the rights of women and LGB people and look out of the window? Seems the planet is on fire and we're all going to hell in a handcart. If only there were a party which represented green issues. Oh.

[Janet Murray @jan_murray]

I didn’t really get the problem with gender ideology at first.

I’m liberal-minded about most things. 'Live and let' live has generally been my motto. I believed inclusion mattered. I believed in being kind. In not using language that might upset people unnecessarily.

I knew people who identified as transgender. I knew some adults chose medical treatments or surgery to resemble the opposite sex. That seemed to me a matter of personal autonomy. Adults can do what they wish with their own bodies.

What I hadn’t realised - and I feel slightly embarrassed admitting this - was that I’d misunderstood what was being claimed.

I thought “transgender” meant a form of self-expression. A man who liked wearing women’s clothes. Someone changing their name. Gender non-conformity.

What I hadn’t grasped was that some activists weren’t just asking for tolerance. They were asserting that declaring yourself the opposite sex made you the opposite sex. Not metaphorically. Literally.

And that this wasn’t just cultural. It had legal consequences.

- It meant men who said they were women were demanding access to women’s sports, prisons, domestic violence shelters and hospital wards

- It meant the rewriting of healthcare language - “pregnant people”, “bodies with cervixes” - to avoid saying “women”

- It meant children struggling with identity being affirmed onto medical pathways with lifelong implications

And also redefining same-sex attraction. Lesbians called 'bigoted' for not wanting relationships with men who identify as women. Gay men accused of prejudice for saying they're not attracted to female bodies. None of which made any sense.

But I'd also overlooked how far this had travelled - into HR policies, professional bodies, schools, political parties and public institutions.

And how easily disagreement was framed as cruelty. Speaking up felt risky - because others were being publicly humiliated for doing so.

None of this is abstract.

Because sex is the basis on which safeguarding works. On which data is collected. On which cancer screening programmes run. On which fair sport and single-sex spaces depend. It’s written into law - including the Equality Act - because material differences matter.

If sex becomes a 'feeling' rather than a biological category, those protections become unstable.

And once reality becomes negotiable, everything does.

Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
But I needed to be sure.

So I read. Books, research papers, policy documents. When I finally spoke publicly, there was backlash from all directions.

Many women thanked me - both quietly and publicly.
But some feminists criticised me for speaking too late.

Others were angry about a past interview I’d done with the parent of a transgender person, accusing me of promoting harm.

It takes courage to change your mind publicly.

It takes courage to speak when you know your reputation, friendships or livelihood may be on the line - when you know raising your voice could strain, or even end, relationships you value.

Once I understood what was at stake, staying silent was no longer an option. I lost my livelihood simply for saying I didn’t like the phrase “pregnant people”. That alone tells you something is deeply wrong. It shouldn’t be this way.

I will never judge any woman for when she finds her voice.

Because every voice adds value - whenever it is raised.

And I know how persuasive this ideology can be. I know how easily it bypassed me. And I know how much courage it takes to admit, publicly, that you got something wrong.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@Gaynotqueer1 IncelXS

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@NadiaWhittomeMP What on earth are you talking about? You have no idea about the history of the LGB movement and you do not represent us.

[Emma Bateman @EmmaBatemanGPW]

It's me in the Telegraph!
@TheGreenParty insists it is progressive to pump hormones into kids and to wreck single sex services.
It plays at democracy but stops political dissent.
So I am taking the fight to court where I will win.
Please support my case:
https://t.co/5z9FsXmB0K

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@MyArrse Nice story but not true. Rolan's education was funded via a Trust Fund set up by Marc in 1973. Rolan never met Bowie.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

In the UK album chart dated 18 Dec 1971, Electric Warrior reached the summit after 10 weeks pinging between 2 and 6.
It was the Christmas number one.
After six weeks at #1 it slipped for a week to #2, reclaiming the crown on 6 Feb 1972.
8 weeks at #1 in all.
#electricwarrior

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@GlamSlam72 It was UK #1 for six weeks initially, then spent a week at #2, then two more at #1. Non-consecutive, therefore.

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

21 December 1972: T.Rex perform Telegram Sam for the special Christmas edition of #topofthepops, broadcast on Christmas Day.
This performance was wiped and has yet to be found...

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

@20th_Centurygal Prince

[Marc Bolan History @BolanHistory]

Vogue magazine, December 1972, considering different types of stars.
Which - in your opinion - was Marc?