Viewers draw the line at racist or transphobic language

Britons are increasingly concerned by the use of racist and transphobic language on television but much more tolerant of swearing, according to the media regulator’s latest investigation into changing social attitudes.

Ofcom found that attitudes to racist language have hardened, with Britons wanting a very strong justification for its inclusion in programmes. Last summer the BBC had to apologise after broadcasting the N-word during a news report on an allegedly racist attack .

Another big change has been in attitudes towards transphobia. The research found that most of the public felt “deliberate misgendering” of a trans person would be considered highly offensive. Deadnaming – using a person’s pre-transition identity – was considered to be particularly unjustifiable because it was likely to have been done deliberately.

The research by Ofcom will help set the parameters of what can be broadcast on British media outlets and shows substantial changes in attitudes since the exercise was last conducted five years ago. It concluded audiences were increasingly tolerant of swearing on TV, as long as it was either editorially justified or the presenter swiftly apologised.

As part of the research members of the public were asked to rank the offensiveness of various swear words, slang for body parts, sexual terminology, racial terms and political labels. One issue is around the environment in which words are used, with LGBT respondents broadly approving of the word “queer” but only if used in a positive context.

At one point in the study participants were shown a transcript from James O’Brien’s LBC radio show and asked to reflect on his use of the word “gammon” to describe ruddy-faced Brexit supporters. Other participants considered the term “snowflake” to describe sensitive younger people.

“Both [gammon and snowflake] were seen as less offensive compared with other derogatory words because they focus on people’s attitudes rather than their identity,” concluded Ofcom. Terms such as “Karen”, “boomer”, and “remoaner” were also ranked as “mild”.