Hello there. Hope you and yours are doing well. With spiralling Covid cases, I hope you’re all managing to stay safe. With spiralling energy prices, I hope you’re all managing to stay warm. With spiralling food prices, I… well, you get the idea. Things are certainly feeling quite bleak in the UK at the moment. Unfortunately, the subject I’m writing about today isn’t particularly cheerful: the bigotry and discrimination towards trans people. Or, in a word: transphobia.
Trans rights are important to me. I’m not trans. I’m not close with anyone who is trans. I casually know one trans man. I worked with him around a decade ago, pre-transition. The point I’m trying to make here is that I have no skin in the game; trans rights don’t affect me personally. But they are important to me.
A while ago, I wrote about Homophobia and some of the parallels between that and racism. I think there is something similar at play here. Far be it for me to equate being a person of colour to being trans; they’re completely separate identities with their own unique issues. But I think this is where a large part of my empathy comes from.
It genuinely breaks my heart to see trans people demonised. To see them questioned and scrutinised for their every action. That many cis people will try to tell trans people that they aren’t who they identify as. Let me get this on the record right now: trans men are men, trans women are women.
But more importantly, trans people are people. Just like you and me. They deserve the same level of respect the rest of us get, regardless of whether you understand their position or not.
Time and again though, the trans community is treated with utter disdain. Even in the last week or so, Boris Johnson broke a promise to ban conversion therapy. After public outcry, he U-turned (I know, BJ backtracking after making a cruel decision and then seeing how unpopular it is, unthinkable!) and announced that conversion therapy would indeed be banned. But not for trans kids. Johnson knew he had to backtrack for gay kids, the public anger would have been damaging in the polls. But for trans kids? Nah, hardly anyone cares, so let’s leave the draconian measures in place for them.
If it wasn’t bad enough for trans people, along comes JK Rowling to really stick the boot in. Rowling talks about trans people a lot. She talks about how trans women might be a danger if allowed to use public females toilets. She talks about how it is unfair for trans women to compete in women’s sports. She says that young trans people might just be confused and that they will regret their transition later in life.
JK Rowling – and those who seek to defend her – say that she doesn’t have anything against trans people; her only concern is around women’s safety and protecting young people.
Here’s what I think: JK Rowling is a transphobe. And do you know how I know? It’s not actually what she says, but what she doesn’t say.
Last year, a woman by the name of Sarah Everard was murdered by a Met police officer. He abducted her off the street before raping and murdering her. The killing of Sarah Everard was an absolute tragedy. If any silver linings can be taken from such a horrific incident, it did at least open up the conversation around how misogyny is still rife in modern society. Many prominent people spoke out about it and called for change. Do you know how many times JK Rowling spoke about it publicly? Zero times.
Later in the year, there was a candlelight vigil in honour of Sarah Everard. The Met (yes, the same organisation that employed Sarah Everard’s killer) turned up and threw women holding candles and flowers to the ground, slapping them in handcuffs. Incidentally, they used much more force than they did when dealing with anti-lockdown protests or the football hooligans at the Euro 2020 final. An independent report later found that the police had used excessive force when dealing with the vigil. I guess because the people doing the independent report had eyes. Do you know how many times JK Rowling spoke out about (mostly) male police officers using excessive force on a bunch of women? Zero times.
It’s almost as if JK Rowling is more concerned about hypothetical dangers that women could face in the future than she is about actual dangers women face in the here and now. Funny that. It’s almost as if she isn’t really concerned about women’s safety at all, and that she has some sort of agenda…
Update: I’ll give you a little peak behind the curtain to see how the magic happens… I don’t write my blogs in one sitting; they’re written over days and sometimes weeks. So if you’re ever reading my blog and you think the writing is a bit disjointed, this is why. Absolutely no other reason… Anyway, in the week or so since I started writing this one, JK Rowling has since gone to a ‘lady’s lunch’ with a known anti-trans group. Oh, and the lunch just so happened to be on the same day that trans people and allies had organised a protest outside Downing Street over trans people being excluded from the conversion therapy ban. So she’s not even trying to hide her transphobia now.
In terms of protecting young people from transitioning and later regretting it, this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. A recent survey (Here) suggests that only around 0.47% of people who have transitioned in the UK regretted it and detransitioned. For context, a recent study (Here) suggests that around 5% of women regret getting an abortion. If the 5% abortion regret isn’t enough to ban abortions*, then why should a less than 1% chance of regret stop young people from transitioning?
*To be absolutely clear, I’m not suggesting that abortions should be banned. I think it is vital that women have access to safe abortions; I’m very much pro-choice.
Trans people in sport is an interesting talking point, particularly for trans women competing in women’s sports. The most interesting thing is how so many of the people who complain about it never seem to talk about women’s sports other than to moan about trans people. It’s almost as if they don’t really care about women’s sports…
Do you know that trans women have been able to compete at the Olympics since 2004? Do you know how many medals trans women have won in nearly two decade’s worth of Olympics? Zero. Not even a solitary bronze medal in all this time. It’s hard to argue that trans women have an unfair advantage, when all the evidence would suggest otherwise.
I could sit here and type out more facts and figures, or other rebuttals to the arguments that JK Rowling and her ilk make. But really, I think things are much simpler than that. It’s so easy to be nice. To be courteous. To show respect. You have to go out of your way to spread hatred for an already marginalised group. So just…don’t do that. Trans people existing doesn’t affect you in any way. Trans people having rights doesn’t mean you have less rights. It just makes their lives slightly easier. And if you want a certain group of people to have a harder-than-necessary life, take a good look at yourself and ask why that is.
Trans men are men. Trans women are women. Trans people are people.
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Thanks again for joining me today. Apologies if the subject matter was a bit heavy, but I do think it’s critical that people speak up about important issues. I hope at the very least, you’re able to take in some of what I’ve said with an open mind. Not unlike Boris Johnson, y’all have a fine day now. Until next time.
Rob Recommends
Bel Air – TV – Peacock – 8/10
A reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air has been spoken about for what feels like 10 years or so. There were talks of Michael B Jordan in the leading role. Though that iteration never got off the ground, we finally have a reboot. And I have to say, I really like it.
The first very sensible decision they made was to make it a drama, rather than a sitcom. If you were trying to remake The Fresh Prince as a sitcom, you’d just end up with the actors doing their best impressions of the original cast. And you’re never going to find a lead as funny and charismatic as Will Smith. But by making it a drama, each actor is able to put their own stamp on the characters, with subtle hints to the ones that came before.
I don’t think this show will be for everyone. There will be some who dislike that a reboot has even happened. There will be some that dislike the more adult nature and bad language. There will be some who dislike some of the more modern themes that are explored (mental health, sexual identity etc.).
But for me, this is a fresh adaption with good performances all round. It almost feels like watching something brand new, rather than a remake.
WandaVision – TV – Disney+ – 9/10
I have a bit of a strange relationship with Marvel TV shows. I haven’t watched the Netflix bunch (Jessica Jones/Daredevil/Luke Cage etc.). I haven’t watched any of the shows that tie in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
What makes that strange is that I’ve seen every MCU movie – bar the most recent two – and have enjoyed most of them. I’ve also watched and enjoyed the recent DC superhero shows (Arrow/The Flash/Supergirl etc.). So I’m surely the perfect audience, but I’ve steered clear to this point.
This may have to change now, because WandaVision is an absolute delight. An ingenious story with some real top performances. Kathryn Hahn is great as the nosy neighbour. But the real powerhouse performance comes from Elizabeth Olsen. She has to deliver so many different styles and emotions and boy does she deliver! It’s one of the best individual performances I’ve seen in recent years. A must-watch if you haven’t already.
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