TransActual
Make no mistake, as far as the public conversation is concerned, there is no debate. There are no new ideas being suggested and tested, no scrutiny of evidence, nothing edifying or educational being added to public knowledge and attitudes. The flurries of angry tweets, dogwhistles and media clickbait are at best a waste of time and attention, and at worst a downwards spiral reinforcing negative stereotypes and peddling misinformation.
This is a particularly important anniversary because it reveals one of the most pernicious lies about trans people, a lie spread widely by both the anti-trans hate groups as well as by the media. That lie is that cis women will be less safe in women’s spaces if trans women are allowed to use them.
This is not a personal sob story. These are experiences shared by many people out there in the world, maybe less, maybe more, but all experiences as valid as each other. Many LGBT (and trans people in particular) face much of this, and over recent times this has increased. Despite living in a country where the laws that view being trans as a protected characteristic, there has been a dark element set out to demonise trans people, painting us as something we simply are not.