Trans People Deserve Better.

[cleddyf]

wanted to make this post in honour of trans day of visibility. i've noticed that there are very few people here voicing support for trans people. no fault to them, by the way. this website is a bit terrifying. and no, i won't be reading comments. bit too mentally exhausting for my tastes, thanks.

when i use the term 'cis' in this post, i don't necessarily mean the dictionary definition (which is having a gender matching your birth sex). i use this term to describe the ability to benefit from a cis-normative society, but the dictionary definition can also apply in some cases.

i saw a post a few days ago from the partner of a trans person, and all the replies were super condescending. considering the op was a cis woman, i thought it came across as pretty misogynistic. patronising a woman while she's trying to speak really isn't the way to go, guys. can't remember the op's user for the life of me, but they're pog.

let's get to the point, then. im trans myself, and i'm ftm, pre-everything. this is because i'm actually also disabled. there are still some living prejudices against disabled people in the gender clinic section of the nhs. to avoid this, i'd have to go private, which i absolutely cannot afford. and yet, there are some people worse off than i am. but i am still trans. please do not call me a girl, a 'tra', a tif, or anything else along those lines. you might as well call me a tranny if you want to stoop that low.

i want to live my life in peace. i want to live in a body that fits me. the government is run entirely by cis people, who will never fully understand what drives me as a trans person. it isn't their fault, but we gotta have some gender diversity somewhere. so it stands to reason that the trans community needs political representation from someone like us. depicting trans people as crazy predatory lunatics is incredibly detrimental to that goal.

we gotta talk about why the life expectancy for black trans women in america is 35. we gotta talk about why the rate of hate crimes against trans people is rapidly increasing. we gotta talk about the legislation being signed over and over again that makes medical care seem like a lost dream for us.

these issues take precedence over fucking bathrooms and football games. trans people want to piss in peace. trans people want to play amateur footie with their friends on the school football pitch without getting harrassed. more than any of that, trans people don't want to fucking die. we have families, friends, lovers, memories. why should we lose all of that for the sake of some privileged bigot spewing misinformation on twittle dot hell?

anyways thanks for reading you're a real one. POGCHAMP!!!!!!!!

[Saltyslug]

In my mind trans body dysmorphia is much like anorexia or other body issues effecting mental health. They need appropriate psychological support from the nhs.

[TaraR2020]

Great post, op.

[Saltyslug]

On a practical note Creating trans spaces and trans sports might work. That way women’s needs for privacy and safety are met while trans people will also have a safe space

[fallfallfall]

Why post if your not going to be interested in the replies?
Trans people need their own third spaces. You deserve good care and equal services.
But no surgery or drugs will ever make you a male or female same as xx or xy.

[SD1978]

I don't think it's fair to post everyone and everything in society is against me, and I'm not responding. I appreciate your experience and point of view. But you mention several terms, that whilst factual. You find offensive. Great- I wouldn't use them fir that reason. So why can't you see Cis the same way, and give me the same respect? You want to feel safe, and want there to be appropriate places and resources for you to be able to. Great. So do I- but our views of how to find these spaces, and where, differ. It doesn't mean I am against you- I will always use preferred pronouns, and act with respect- can't say I've found the same for my views, which have to be kept hidden, for fear of having TERF screeched at me. We both want the same things, but the difference is that we also can't both have what we want. It's a difficulty. I wish you well.

[FloraFox]

why the life expectancy for black trans women in america is 35

It's not though, is it?

why the rate of hate crimes against trans people is rapidly increasing

Is it because the police will treat a statement that men are not women as a hate crime?

the legislation being signed over and over again that makes medical care seem like a lost dream for us

What legislation is that?

[TaraR2020]

Why post if your not going to be interested in the replies?

Because typically the posts about trans issues on this forum take highly gender critical views (for whatever reason) and posts voicing those opinions of the op seem to get drowned out. The op wants to make a statement which will be heard without having to enter into circular arguments with people over dozens of pages. And before that is criticised, it their disability may mean that they don't have the wherewithal to deal with the sheer number of replies their post is likely to receive.

[Finfintytint]

@TaraR2020

Why post if your not going to be interested in the replies?

Because typically the posts about trans issues on this forum take highly gender critical views (for whatever reason) and posts voicing those opinions of the op seem to get drowned out. The op wants to make a statement which will be heard without having to enter into circular arguments with people over dozens of pages. And before that is criticised, it their disability may mean that they don't have the wherewithal to deal with the sheer number of replies their post is likely to receive.

Nah...attention seeking.

[VuvuZavala]

Ooh you almost had me until the 'POGCHAMP'

Good one, OP...

[Ritascornershop]

All my other questions are eclipsed by needing to know why you don’t believe that capital letters are real.

[NoSquirrels]

@TaraR2020

Why post if your not going to be interested in the replies?

Because typically the posts about trans issues on this forum take highly gender critical views (for whatever reason) and posts voicing those opinions of the op seem to get drowned out. The op wants to make a statement which will be heard without having to enter into circular arguments with people over dozens of pages. And before that is criticised, it their disability may mean that they don't have the wherewithal to deal with the sheer number of replies their post is likely to receive.

MN is a discussion site, though. Not somewhere like Medium for blog posts or ‘statements’. If f you’re not going to discuss you shouldn’t post.

[NoSquirrels]

OP, I’m absolutely in support of you living your best life however you are most comfortable, and I think political representation for trans people is a great aim. As long as it’s not at the expense of any other minority or protected group then of course campaigning to have your unique issues represented is a very valid aim.

we gotta talk about why the life expectancy for black trans women in america is 35. we gotta talk about why the rate of hate crimes against trans people is rapidly increasing. we gotta talk about the legislation being signed over and over again that makes medical care seem like a lost dream for us.

Not sure how the murder rate of black trans women in America is applicable to political representation in the UK, though. If anything can be taken from these stats it’s probably most relevant to why this demographic end up in sex work, and why sex workers are at extreme risk from male violence.

I think the ‘rate of hate crimes against trans people’ increasing is something I’d like to see the statistics on. There’s lots of possible reasons but I’d want to understand your baseline assumptions first before discussion, obviously.

When you mention ‘legislation being signed over and over’ do you mean the fact that laws haven’t been changed to demedicalise trans aas a condition and allow self ID? I’m not in favour of self ID but I’d welcome reasoned debate on this issue. That’s hard to have, though, given the tone of ‘no debate’ that comes from trans rights activists.

You’ve issued a ‘no debate’ statement here asking to be understood- it’s not cool.

[Nancydrawn]

Based on the time this was posted, I think we might be able to assume that the OP is in America.

There is indeed a raft of trans restrictions being legislated in America, with restrictions on sports participation; banning hormone treatments for those under 19 and making it a felony with 10 years in prison for prescribing them; making it a crime for teachers not to immediately inform parents if their children say or do anything "related to a minor’s perception that his or her gender is inconsistent with his or her sex" (basically forcing teachers to out their students under threat of criminal penalty, even if the student expresses that they might face danger from their parents); etc. being introduced in over two dozen states in the last few months.

Basically, it's the current target of right-wing American culture wars, following directly in the footsteps of the anti-abortion movement (and in some cases being funded/encouraged by the same groups). It's how up-and-coming Republicans are trying to prove their conservative bona fides. It's all over Fox, Newsmax, and right-wing podcasts.

And in terms of the numbers, I did a quick google and found this: www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/anti-transgender-hate-crimes-soared-20-percent-2019-n1248011 It's probably a small fraction of what's out there, as not every city or state requires the reporting of such crimes (indeed, until last June sexuality and/or gender identity weren't even protected characteristics on a national level, meaning that in some places one could legally discriminate on the basis of sexuality or gender identity--so, e.g., the case was brought by Gerald Bostock, who was fired from his job in social services for joining a gay softball league).

Maybe I'm wrong and the OP is British in Britain! In which case, a very different context. But right now, stories about anti-trans legislation are very much in the news, so I'm guessing that the trans day of visibility took on particular meaning because of this. As a British person now living in America, it took me a long time to recognize how different the contexts can be.

[Clymene]

I'm guessing the OP is in the U.K. actually- Americans don't talk about having to go private nor do they say pogchamp. In my experience, no one much over the age of 14 says pogchamp.

I am exhausted by these walls of text which peddle misinformation, muddled stats and half truths.

Children need to get off the internet

[Clymene]

And @Nancydrawn - no one is preventing trans participation in sport, they're preventing trans people from participating in sports with people of the other sex. Not the same thing.

This is what I mean about misinformation and half truths. If you're going to start with hyperbole, I'm not going to bother with the rest

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Nancy
If that’s the case, why post on a British forum? So much hyperbole about trans people’s right to life being more important than women’s rights to safety. It’s just right fighting and telling women we are at the back of the queue as always. Move over. We are not responsible for any true or skewed statistics in the US. We have our own issues to address.

All around us we see hard won places for women being given away to transwomen (and never transman), to give them visibility as though women are now in no need of that voice when in reality, the rampant misogyny and toxic masculinity in our schools and universities, is a breeding ground for militant women hating and making society unsafe for women. We need more of a voice, not less. Trans people need visibility but not at my expense. It needs to be at the expense of men, who unfortunately rule the bloody world. Right down to transwomen muscling in on women’s spaces. What op has said is relatively mild, presumably due to their biology being female and when it comes to the safety of women, TRA’s and MRA”s are one side of the same coin. Op doesn’t sound like a TRA, rather very confused as to why they and I cannot live in harmony alongside one another.

[OneEpisode]

Pogchamp was trending on Twitter on 31st March. That was Trans Day of Visibility. There seems to be a time lag.
On the 31st I watched Glinner’s show on YouTube, some great trans voices this week for TDOV.

[Sittinonthesand]

In the UK, which is what I know about, we have a good level of human rights and, crucially, we all have the same rights. No group has extra rights, and no group should have extra rights that take away from another group. We all have the right to live our lives free from discrimination, with equal access to healthcare, education etc, there are no laws on how we dress (other than not being naked!), we can change our names, marry who we want. We can all do all of these things.
We also have the right to have certain single sex spaces and I personally do not want to sacrifice my right to single sex loos, changing rooms, sports. They help keep me safe. I’m sorry if that makes some people uncomfortable but the rules are the same for everyone. I’d welcome unisex facilities- but as an addition not a replacement, it’s not up to me to fight for that though. The fact the us trans people involved in prostitution are killed is horrific but it is a separate issue to self ID and doesn’t mean that women have to give up our single sex rights or can’t talk about why they matter to us.
Also no trans people have been murdered in the uk recently.

[SecretEaterer]

Wtf is pogchamp?

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Unfortunately changes have been made in Scotland to make trans people more equal than others with the obvious knock on effect of increasing the disparity for natal women.

I have no idea what pogchamp is. I’ve looked it up but the info is gobbledygook.

[Enb76]

I agree, transpeople do deserve better. They deserve better than people being kind in the face of reality, they deserve better than being told that they are something they are not. They deserve equal rights with all others, not less than others and not at the expense of other people's rights. They deserve better people talking for them, they deserve a community that upholds them without denigrating others. They deserve help to come out of sex work if that is where their lives have taken them, they deserve to be free of male violence. They deserve to play in sports that acknowledge their biology so they do not inadvertently harm themselves or others. They deserve to be referred to by their preferred pronouns where that is reasonable. They deserve to have compassion and love. They deserve to be held accountable for their actions and if criminal should come under the statistics that apply to their biology in order that they can be better served by the justice systems. They deserve to be protected from violence in prisons as should all inmates regardless of which estate they are in. The deserve equality as human beings that neither places them above nor below any other.

[AlfonsoTheMango]

I do love a plop-and-run because scrolling past it means no time wasted reading it.