Julie Burchill

{{pundits}}'''Julie Burchill''' {{lived|1959|}} is a [[United Kingdom|British]] serial columnist, putative [[iconoclast]] and occasional novelist. Burchill made a name for herself by having an "offensive view on everything,"<ref>http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,729941,00.html</ref> and currently writes for a variety of British newspapers. She has played a hero to many on the [[right-wing|right]] due to her utter rejection of [[political correctness]] (whatever that means) and most social progressivism, despite referring to herself as a "militant feminist".<ref> http://m.guardiannews.com/lifeandstyle/2009/may/13/julie-bindel-burchill-feminism</ref> Right-wingers keep describing her as part of "the left," despite the absence of left-wing views, because she has previously self-labeled as socialist.

Burchill started her career writing about punk rock for the ''New Musical Express'' in the late 1970s with her equally obnoxious then-boyfriend/husband Tony Parsons (though he has since calmed down). Her writing style has not changed in 40+ years: outrageous trolling, beloved by editors because [[Proll|it's reliably controversial]] and she gets her copy in on time. She describes her style as "the writing equivalent of screaming and throwing things,"<ref>http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sos-review/39I-live-the-life-of.4354542.jp</ref> and we couldn't agree more.

==Greatest hits==
*In 2002, London Mayor [[Ken Livingstone]]'s civic sponsorship of St Patrick's Day celebrations prompted an anti-[[Irish]] rant in which Burchill condemned the day as celebrating "almost compulsory child molestation by the national church" and "[[Godwin's Law|aiding and abetting Herr Hitler in his hour of need]]" (a reference to Irish neutrality in the [[Second World War]]), also referring to the Irish flag as "the Hitler-licking, altarboy-molesting, abortion-banning Irish tricolour."<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2002/jun/29/weekend.julieburchill</ref> This ''[[Guardian]]'' column was later investigated by [[police]] as possible [[hate speech|incitement to racial hatred]],<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1403336/Now-Guardian-is-accused-of-racial-intolerance.html</ref> but ultimately she was not charged.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/12/race.uk</ref>
*"[[Israel]] is the only country I would fucking die for. [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is] the enemy of the [[Jew]]s. Chucking his own people off the Gaza; to me that's disgusting."<ref>http://www.spikemagazine.com/0605-julie-burchill.php</ref>
*"[[Islam]] and [[democracy]] appear to find it difficult to co-exist for long."<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/julie-burchill/julie-burchill-armchair-revolutionaries-be-careful-what-you-wish-for-in-the-middle-east-2202457.html</ref>
*"[[Croatia]]'s not a country, it's bloody division of the German armed forces - scratch a Croat, find a Kraut."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110227081155/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jonsimmons/julie/JB990403.HTM A war too far (from Wayback Machine)]</ref>

===Special mention===
In 2005, Burchill said in a critique of English [[classism]], "Picking on people worse off than you are isn't humour. It's pathetic, it's cowardly and it's bullying."<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3637660/Dead-common-and-proud-of-it.html</ref> Now let's see where she stands on other denigrated [[transgender|classes]] of [[transsexualism|people]]...
*"[T]hey’re lucky I’m not calling them shemales. Or shims."
*"And we are damned if we are going to be accused of being privileged by a bunch of bed-wetters in bad wigs."
*"Shims, shemales, whatever you’re calling yourselves these days..." (Apparently they're not so lucky.)
*"[[Trans-exclusionary radical feminism|To have your cock cut off and then plead special privileges as women – above natural-born women, who don’t know the meaning of suffering]], apparently – is a bit like the old definition of chutzpah: the boy who killed his parents and then asked the jury for clemency on the grounds he was an orphan."
The above quotes are from a [[transphobia|polemic]] ''Observer'' column Burchill wrote in January 2013. Two of the paper's editors responded to the immense backlash by removing the piece from the ''Observer'' website and apologizing, causing the usual suspects bleat about [[censorship]]; the right-wing paper ''[[The Telegraph]]'' then reprinted the column online.<ref>http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100198116/here-is-julie-burchills-censored-observer-article/</ref>  Following hundreds of complaints, this ''Observer'' column and its publication were investigated by the Press Complaints Commission.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/jan/18/julie-burchill-pcc</ref>. A poll conducted among online readers of ''The Independent'' resulted in 90% deeming Burchill's article offensive, and former equalities minister Lynne Featherstone called for Burchill to be sacked<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/jan/14/theobserver-transgender?INTCMP=SRCH] Minister calls for sacking of Observer columnist Burchill - and paper's editor</ref> .

===Gay Pride===
In a particularly bizarre polemic against Gay Pride, she opined that:

*Being gay was "practically mandatory".
*There existed a "powerful and loud transgender lobby". 
*Feminism was now opposed to LGBT people. 
*Asked "Why are the non-binaries such a vicious, miserable lot?"

Paradoxically, Burchill has described herself as a "gay person who went wrong".<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/julie-burchill-the-queer-lady-8436.html?form=MG0AV3 Julie Burchill: The queer lady] ''The Independent'', 27 March, 2005</ref>

She also, like most TERFs, demonstrated her thorough misunderstanding of ''[[the Handmaid's Tale]]'' (a book that specifically warns against the dangers of socially conservative feminists collaborating with the right wing), before ironically quoting right wing misogynist and homophobe [[Spiked|Brendan O'Neill]].<ref>[https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/08/02/more-trans-pride-oh-please-no/ More Trans Pride Oh Please No</ref>

===Male suicide===
In 1999, Burchill wrote in ''The Guardian'':

{{cquote|That young men succeed in [[suicide]] more often than girls isn't really the point. Indeed, the more callous among us would say that it was quite nice for young men finally to find something that they're better at than girls. … No one is 'in favour' of suicide, but when we interfere with people's right to take their own lives, we are on very dangerous ground. … And suicide, like car theft, is a side-effect of peace and affluence. … The last time I suggested that suicides should be left to get on with it, I received a small number of letters from people whose sons had killed themselves. All of them demanded an apology. I'd advise them this time to save their stamps because, you see, I don't care.<ref>(October 16, 1999). [https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/oct/16/weekend7.weekend6 "Julie Burchill"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref>}}

About sixteen years later, Burchill's own son killed himself, which she reported had emotionally devastated her.<ref>Josh Halliday (July 19, 2015). [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/19/julie-burchill-death-of-son-jack-mental-health "Julie Burchill speaks of 'wilderness of loss' after death of son"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> Hell of a coincidence.

==Books==
Burchill has written several books that have received widely variable reception. Her 1989 book, a tawdry work of hackery called ''Ambition'', should be avoided under all circumstances. Her lesbian-themed young adult novel ''Sugar Rush'' was turned into an apparently not awful TV series. Her nonfiction ''Burchill on Beckham'', an attempt to cash in on the name of footballer David Beckham at the peak of his career, attracted "some of the worst notices since Jeffrey Archer's heyday."<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20050513034322/http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2002/08/25/story526110628.asp</ref>

After being forced to crowdfund her previous book, she attempted to promote the next one by harassing young left-wing journalist Ash Sarkar. <ref>[https://twitter.com/ayocaesar/status/1338222781889212417] Industry Big Wigs Ignore Burchill's Islamophobic Harassment</ref> The book focuses on her experience of being condemned for a transphobic column she wrote. The condemnation resulted in the ''Observer'' coming under investigation and MPs calling for her to be sacked. So far, her publicity attempt has backfired, and publisher Hachette imprint Little, Brown have dropped Burchill. Apparently Hachette was happy with publishing a transphobe, but Islamophobia was a step too far.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/dec/15/julie-burchill-publisher-cancels-book-contract-islam-tweet-little-brown Julie Burchill's publisher cancels book contract over Islam tweets], The Guardian, 15 Dec 2020</ref> She then tried to get it published by Scottish indie Stirling Publishing, but their boss turned out to be an actual genuine neo-nazi, a member of far-right ethno-nationalist group [[Patriotic Alternative]], and Burchill was forced to cancel.<ref name=guardianstirling>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/17/julie-burchill-fires-new-publisher-identified-as-a-white-nationalist Julie Burchill fires new publisher identified as a white nationalist], ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2021</ref> Burchill also lost a libel action brought by Sarkar over various absurd Islamophobic claims, resulting in large damages and an apology.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/mar/16/julie-burchill-agrees-to-pay-ash-sarkar-substantial-damages-in-libel-case Julie Burchill agrees to pay Ash Sarkar 'substantial damages' in libel case], ''The Guardian'', 16 March 2021</ref>

==Addiction==
In 2020 announced she had spent thirty years taking cocaine, and claimed she was "not affected by it".<ref>[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/13/julie-burchill-cocaine-habit-anti-trans-gay-spectator-spiked-lasting-damage/] Julie Burchill says her 30-year cocaine habit was a ‘cheap thrill’ that she ‘gave up overnight’</ref> She has also reported abusing codeine and the drug Modafinil, designed to treat hypersomnia.<ref>[https://silvermagazine.co.uk/modafinil-motivation-burchill-on-the-pill-thats-more-buzzkill-than-thrill] Julie Burchill on the drug that's more buzzkill than thrill</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Political pundits]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:TERFs]]

Categories: Authors, British people, Journalists, Living people, Political pundits, Racists, TERFs