Worrying Increase in Transphobia

[PorcelinaV]

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/09/transphobia-uk-press-media-negative-coverage/

An increase in transphobic sentiment among the British public has been fuelled by hostile coverage of trans people from the right-wing press, argues data journalist Ell Folan....

Unfortunately, newspapers still have a great deal of influence on the public and political agenda in Britain, and nowhere is this more obvious than in how perceptions of trans rights have changed.

As recently as Feburary 2021, an absolute majority of British voters (51 per cent) agreed with the statement “a transgender woman is a woman”, including 6 in 10 women. Just 34 per cent disagreed. But after years of negative coverage from the press, those numbers have changed.

In April this year, only 33 per cent of voters agreed that trans women are women, with 47 per cent disagreeing....

It is clear that the media plays an important role in shaping public perceptions, and unless their negative coverage is corrected and refuted, public opinion will continue to worsen.

Signs one hopes of a safe protected childhood where a child was allowed to have a safe childish life in a safe stable political system....

Now how that childhood happened with a right wing woman who's opinions were formed by media trends
miracle, mystery, who knows🤷

Well here's an anecdote for you. A few years ago I was pretty active on Twitter and I followed and was followed by a lot of pro remain, pro Europe, pro Lib Dem, pro Labour, anti Brexit, anti Tory accounts.

Shortly after I started tweeting about gender issues, one of those people had a massive go at me for not agreeing that trans women are women and asked how it was possible for a left leaning remain voter to be anti trans rights.

Utter surprise that I don't get my political views from a red or blue selection box but actually examine each issue on its own merits.

Whereas a former Brexit Party MEP I ended up following was totally cool with the concept that we were only politically aligned in relation to one issue.

It never fails to amaze me just how fucking disrespectful extreme trans ideology is to mothers. It's so unbelievably ageist and sexist.

And yet, you can bet that the same men and women who say this to their mothers, won't think twice about asking Mum to help babysit when they have their own kids if they live close.

The 'awful views' are somehow overlooked at this point. Cos yeah that's all women are - carers of lower social status who should not be heard.

Please @Talltall , if we call you next time a transitioned male enters onto a thread and starts abusing women, can you support us when we tell them they mustn’t be really trans (even though they love to tell us they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria) because trans people are ‘gentle souls’. I mean the teenaged one over this weekend just asked for all their posts to be deleted but they were abusive by post 3 and were not reported so continued for three days and nights.

A gentle soul. Abusive and called a woman recounting her experience of child sex abuse a liar.

We really could have used any magic you have to detect whether they were trans or not. Complete with gender dysphoria diagnosis because that person did not fit your profile at all. Either your profile of “gentle soul” is wrong or something…

My political journey and views aren't a lot different.

I'm an old fashioned liberal leftie. One who still believes in freedom of speech and human rights.

I do not believe in authoritarianism which is what compelled speech is. Both left and right can be authoritarian. Both left and right can be liberal minded. This is a concept for the hard of thinking ignoramuses who lack a basic level of understanding politics.

In the end, despite being very firmly remain I started to have issues with the authoritarian remainders that emerged because of the nature of how it became 'wrongthink' and 'rightthink'.

And to be this largely sums up a lot of the problem - the flaws of the left in not being able to take ownership of problems or address criticism and then indulge in a blame game and manipulative 'you are either with us or against us' narratives to control the agenda and shut down honest debate is a problem of the left. It is not the rise of the right. The left hand the opportunity to deal with these issues but took an active decision to sweep them away and ignore them. That leaves the right able to come in and take the opportunity to persuade individuals instead. But the power lay with the left not with the right.

The left utterly screwed over women doing this and refusing to engage. It says a lot about respect and how they don't see women as political stakeholders - they are instead there to be told how they should think. It is a total removal of agency from women to have their own voices and opinions by political parties.

A trans person is anyone who says they are trans. Otherwise we are bigoted.

Except if they are a bad person. Then they can be disowned. But only after they've caused the harm.

It's a lack of taking ownership of the potential for harm and acting to try and prevent it that grates. Those harmed are not considered worthy of consideration. They are just collateral damage and must be silenced as so to avoid difficult conversations.

200% agree with your analysis. As someone coming from the Right, I similarly am exasperated that conservatives don't even know how to conserve. From the countryside, to our economy, to women's rights.

The Tories are the most electorally focussed party in history, yet they can't even do the basics to get the 51% to vote for them, starting with protecting women's rights.

For both parties to have abandoned women at the same time takes SOME doing.

Ditto here. I recently posted on Nick Tyrone's substack, gently eliciting that I had issues with TWAW. Multiple posters called me a transphobe, and said they were hugely uncomfortable with me being on board

I stuck up for myself, but there was no fun in continuing.

We're in a very tight spot at this particular junction of history.

I call it silo mentality, everyone loaded up seperately and isolated.

Nick Tyrone is a very vocal Remainer, Tweets about nothing other than Brexit, a substack on our road to return.

Typo, SILO mentality.

With all this I think we can see change but TRA and captured organisations are highly invested but worse still the law has grown round their version blocking us out

The only way women will get back to sex based rights is to change the law

And for that there’s also international law via ECHR with heavy input

That article doesn't seem to define 'transphobia' - so it is difficult to know exactly what they think is on the increase.

People still do get mixed up between the meaning of 'transwoman' and 'transman'. (ie assuming a transwoman is an adult human female who feels that she is a man)

that's a very interesting point. Because of course one of the main bleats of TRAs against people like KJK (who isn't a feminist and, ergo, cannot be a terf - that amuses me no end) are accused of being nazis because the right wing and her intersect on one point (I don't know if she intersects with anyone else on any other points because i don't follow her, and i know very little about her and her views on anything at all except for the TWarenotW)

If you intersect on that one thing, goes there argument, you believe all their stuff. Which is plainly daft but that makes you and i, @MargotBamborough staunch brexiters because i am actually über-remain but i have points of agreement with one or two brexiters, mostly on things that don't actually have anything to do with Brexit or the EU)

You've just illustrated your own point there.

A trans woman is a male person who identifies as a woman.

Indeed one third don’t know the sex of a “transwoman”, meaning that unless it is defined clearly on any survey the results are going to be flawed. Hence the swing in opinion once the penis status of a group is mentioned for sharing single sex spaces and sports.

But it seems we must all be under the influence of right wing media.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4866443-a-third-of-britons-dont-know-that-transgender-women-were-born-male

No Margot. I think that lies is pointing out that many people are confused. Not that they are.

I could be wrong. I am not clear thinking today.

Oh no I think you are right. But clearly there is a lot of potential for confusion.

A great deal of confusion.

But the intention is to destabilise language so, I guess that is being achieved successfully. I mean, tolerant and compassion now includes meanings that are completely opposite now .

A trans person is anyone who says they are trans. Otherwise we are bigoted.

Except if they are a bad person. Then they can be disowned. But only after they've caused the harm.

It's a lack of taking ownership of the potential for harm and acting to try and prevent it that grates. Those harmed are not considered worthy of consideration. They are just collateral damage and must be silenced as so to avoid difficult conversations.

Marvellous, isn't it. And this is being pushed by people who deem themselves to be oh so liberal, oh so tolerant and oh so kind and their message to the collateral damage? A resounding Fuck you, what truly wonderful people they are.

Yes - you are right @Helleofabore :) Clear true thinking here!

I was indeed pointing out that other people do think this (that transwomen are adult human females who feel they are men) to be the definition. I can see why they might think so. As MargotB says - it is confusing!

I have found right wing people tolerant of diversity of opinion even though we don't agree on something. If there is intolerance it is always from someone who professes to be left wing.
This isn't a firm and fast rule, I know lots of tolerant left wingers but where i have experienced intolerance it doesn't seem to cut both ways.
Also I have never met a single person who thought TWAW and was in favour of Brexit.
Curious......

By the way, I'd classify myself as moderate left wing.

Apollo441

This has been shown in a few sfudies lately. The first one was Dr Lunz who claimed that Brits 18-28 year olds are the least tolerant of views that they don’t agree with. I believe it was shown that those with left leaning political alignment were the worst.

Some other organisations have since done studies and found results that are similar including the skew that shows this consistency with ‘left wing’.

It makes me think of the left leaners among my Facebook friends who will occasionally post a general post along the lines of 'if you don't agree with ......, you might as well just go ahead and unfriend me because we're just never going to agree!!!'

I'm a lefty so the vast majority of the time I actually agree with them with the issue they are referring to but I find the whole thing so obnoxious.

If you met her you’d understand. If the right were supporting trans rights, which she used to as she has a lot of gay and a few trans friends, she’d be flying the TRA flag. Anyway, it’s not much of a story as the toilets in question were a single lockable one for men and a single lockable one for women.

You’ve got me very wrong. So there’s no way you’d ever know what I think.