Experiences of a Trans Person

[invalide]

I think it might be healthy to document here the experiences of someone from the other side, and for you to pay it some mind.

I'm an early-twenties STEM student working in renewable energies, and outside of my course I'm a photographer and musician. I've travelled a fair amount and adore my home country of Scotland. Living in Glasgow, I have found a queer community of beautiful people who create a joy to everyday life I treasure.

At the beginning of this month there was a 'Let Women Speak' rally held here that some of you here attended; I have seldom felt more unwelcome and stripped of dignity than while in your crowd, carrying out my photojournalistic duties (images 1&2). While capturing Kellie-Jay Keen pathologising my friends as subhuman perverts and members of the crowd flaunting their homophobia and their use of dogwhistles (subliminal far-right messaging) I was being brazenly looked up and down, receiving steely gazes and pursed lips and hushed whispers behind my back. While photographing the first speaker after Keen, who began her piece portraying autistic people as children devoid of agency, I was approached by one of you who made it clear I looked too queer for their liking and was squaring up for assault. I made my way out at this point (captured at 8:42 here and 9:09 here).
The atmosphere your movement brought to George Square was one I've only before experienced while documenting far-right rallies in Eastern Europe, where I have been hounded through the streets and beaten up for the same reason. I assure you, your ideology would feel very much at home there.

At the other side of the square things couldn't have been more different, you were bathed in colour and music and hugs and laughter, the place is full of friends dancing and dressed resplendent in whatever camp pretty things they felt like (images 2&3).

Ours was a crowd of locals; I strained to hear a Glasgow accent in yours.

Ours is a city that at short notice manages to fill the top of Buchanan Street (image 5) in solidarity with the queer community - the last time I saw it like this was during COP26. It's one that fills George Square in a candlelit vigil for Brianna Ghey.

Your movement has meant I'm called a pervert and a groomer while going about my average daily life. Our morally vacuous, increasingly fascist political class (thinking also of Magnus Hirschfeld and of Martin Niemöller's famous poem) is picking up what you've started and they're running with it. You may not call yourself a homophobe, a white nationalist or an antisemite, but you're sitting awfully comfortably considering that those that do find your movement incredibly attractive.

Yes, it’s all one way hatred and inducements to violence.
You probably should have cropped out these banners before posting on here.

I got a warning that the links in OP's post lead to a site with trackers. If you value your privacy don't click them.

To OP seethe and cope. No one takes you seriously or believes that the many lesbians attending these events are homophobic for stating they don't do dick.

The gaystapo sign was challenged and moved. How about challenging some of the "kill TERFs" stuff.
I'm sure you're very nice but safeguarding should treat nice people and not nice people the same.
It's not our fault that you have been spun into a frenzy of distress about people who want safeguarding restored. You have been ill served if that has happened to you.

While capturing Kellie-Jay Keen pathologising my friends as subhuman perverts.

I'm not a KJK fan but I've never heard her say anything remotely like that. Please could you post the video of that quote @invalide?

I'm sure if she did call trans people 'subhuman perverts' everyone will immediately condemn her.

‘This time it’s placards. Next time it’s not.’
That’s meant to sound like a threat, isn’t it? It’s in one of your photos, held by your side.

So go back to those thousands of other threads calling me and the people I love perverted degenerates

What threads are those? If you see any threads saying that all trans people are, report them and MN will delete. We're not going to stop talking about the effects of gender identity ideology on women's rights, though, so you might want to "pay that some mind".

I was at that “let women speak” event. It was amazing- women of all ages and backgrounds talking about their experiences of being denied single sex spaces. I was scared to go because of the death threats from MRAs but the police did a good job of keeping us safe. The crowd was good natured and friendly.

what was really awful was the hateful men screaming, shouting and trying to drown us out. It really emphasized how important kjk work is when you heard aggressive screaming trying to drown out women talking about rape or disabled women worried about being sexually assaulted.

women need make no apologies for speaking up. If you don’t agree, you are the one who should take a good look at yourself.

So someone looked at you in a way you didn't like?
And?
Poor diddums.

Try being female and getting sexual abuse shouted at you when walking to school. Ah yes but you aren't female, forced into a stupid outdated uniform, decided upon by male teachers. Those are the things girls experience, that Feminism is trying to improve for those now and those that come after us.
Not men, however they identify.

This is our space. Just piss off.

Take your threats with you. Male pattern violence all over it. Just go away.

Oh good lord, the ANGST. The imagined slights. The self-proclaimed victimhood.

It must be exhausting. Have you considered getting a grip and going out into the real world?

I suspect if you unpick the drama, there was reference being made to males in women's spaces who have committed sexual assaults on women there, while identifying as women. There's quite a lot of it about at the moment, Bryson et al.

It's a common piece of hyperbole to announce dramatically that this means all women saying no think males identifying as females are sex offenders.

The dramatics evade and prevent women being allowed to be heard, that's all.

Because some of them are. And women have rights too. And expecting women to be okay with the occasional rape rather than distress male people by saying no access to women's spaces? Is mad.

I got a warning that the links in OP's post lead to a site with trackers. If you value your privacy don't click them.

I saw they started another thread earlier, also with links where the address was hidden. Suggest caution.

Could you link to one of these threads please? I am happy to report anyone using those terms.

These are not questions asked in good faith, but I'll bite.

1. The current state of gender-based rights is layed out in the Equality Act 2010. Trans people gaining rights will not results in a less-just society for all women, in fact the right-wing atmosphere that results in the stripping of rights from trans people goes hand-in-hand with stripping those of women, as we're seeing in the US right now w anti-abortion bills.
2. That would be 'trans people'? your tendency to politicise every member of our community is sickening and tiring. Retaliating against a political movement, not women on the basis of being women (in fact the TERF demos I've been to have been a clear 50/50 men/women), in an already hostile and quickly worsening political climate is only right. Members of our community are dying in less-visible ways than Brianna Ghey and doing nothing in retaliation is unforgivable.

I am not sure that Eastern Europe is like you think it is

and I could go on.

Your first link is an article, not data. Your second is from the US prison system, nothing to do with the UK. Your third is a self selecting online survey which is never going to give good data.

The UK collects very good crime stats. The number of crimes targeting trans people because they are trans has increased but is very low compared to (for example) the prevalence of violence against women.

It's not a competition. Women are entitled to lobby for the protections they need, as are trans people.

Here are some more your colourful shiny happy huggy loving people , mostly clad in black and wearing masks, menacing a group of women in Hyde Park yesterday.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=TeWib2_foO8

One of the colourful, shiny happy huggy people (the one in the red beret) is out on licence following serving 30 years for kidnap, torture and subsequently, when imprisoned, attempted murder of his cellmate.

brazenly looked up and down, receiving steely gazes and pursed lips and hushed whispers behind my back

Gosh, that must have been difficult for you. Still, at least no one was holding signs about actually killing you.

These are not questions asked in good faith,

You're not here in good faith.

It's infuriating when one's physical presence can't intimidate online. Gotta find other ways of threatening women and dominating.

I'm with you OP but you'll find very little support on here I'm afraid. Wishing you well.

"And?"
And... then... in the next couple sentences I came close to assault. Do you not see that misogyny and anti-queer violence are two cheeks of the same arse?

It's a bit incoherent but as far as I can figure out -

you identify as no women being harmed by males colonising women's spaces and driving women out of them/excluding many, particularly vulnerable women

and it's fine to harm women (which you identify as being balanced enough with men to feel ok about it) in retaliation for them standing up for their rights in an inconvenient way.

Mhm.

Women have every right to meet and campaign. They have every right to protect sex segregated spaces for the safeguarding of women and girls. I have never seen any women behave violently or aggressively towards males at these meetings. I have seen a lot of evidence of males, particularly those who identify as female, being extremely aggressive and occasionally physically violent, towards women.

I think it might be healthy to document here the experiences of someone from the other side, and for you to pay it some mind.

Listen up, women. There's a man lecturing you. You must hear and obey.