This article was originally published by QNews. You can find the original article here.
Brianna from Queensland transgender advocacy and support group QTrans (formerly ATSAQ) writes for QNews to mark Trans Awareness Week 13 – 19 November.
Every year, the trans community gathers and memorialises our brethren who have been lost to the hatred of a society that lionises cis normativity and punishes individuals whose gender identity exists outside of their simplistic binary heteronormativity.
Daily, we see the mindless tropes that flood out of America and the UK which paint trans and gender diverse persons as freaks, sex offenders and now as groomers (paedophiles).
They take on a status in inverse proportion to their reality with not a shred of evidence to sustain any population-level argument of its truthfulness.
Sure, there are trans people who commit crimes – theft, assault, traffic infringements and even unlawful sexual activity.
They may do it at rates similar to the rest of the community or maybe even marginally less because we hide our identity and presence to stay off the radar.
Where we face economic hardship, we no doubt behave like anyone else behaves. But we have seen over the last two decades, the behaviour of many sectors of white cis and straight males brought into the spotlight which are certainly aberrant.
Supreme Court justices who commit domestic violence, religious, scouting, sporting, community and political leaders who abused their positions of trust to sexually abuse those in their care.
Why is there a backlash?
So why after 40 years since the passage of the first national anti-discrimination laws in this country and then the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in 2017 do we see a massive backlash against the trans community, the concomitant disinformation and its endemic hatred?
Quite simply, it’s a form of ‘respectable bigotry’ because it’s a soft target where a lack of legal protections currently exists and you can legally attack minorities! In the USA, we have seen 661 proposed bills developed this year attacking transgender equality (translegislation.com).
When the big issues are cost of living, housing, education, climate change and social collapse caused by the withdrawal of essential social services, the solution of conservatives is a culture war painting trans identity as the root cause of a government failing to do its job.
It’s a con job to dupe voters into forgetting about what is driving down their living standards. Somebody being trans does not affect anybody else’s standard of living or personal safety. No evidence anywhere demonstrates a cause-and-effect relationship on any datasets.
Emotion plays a role
In sales and politics, the crucial factor in what determines the response of an individual is the level of emotionalism brought to the pitch by the salesperson.
If you build the level of emotional intensity and the buy-in of the voter / consumer in the issue, then it overrides sensible objections and logic.
We see this in the USA today. A former President brings an enormous emotional pitch to the public debate by promoting “cooker” ideas like denying the 2020 election loss, falsely asserting voter fraud and counting (the steal!), and denying his role and support of the Jan 6 insurrection.
We also see it in the constant disinformation from related conservative and Christian groups who assert blatantly false information: there are no legal underage trans medical procedures; misleading and wrongful information about pathways to affirming trans healthcare for youth which are first and foremost about counselling and mental well-being, not pharmaceuticals.
Healthcare guidelines
Internationally, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) sets good guidelines for trans healthcare and here in Australia, we have AusPATH which provides gold-class standards of care.
Again, for youth, it’s about clarity and mental wellness in gender identity, not first and foremost about blockers or affirming hormone therapy even though that may be the goal of many trans youth.
Complex long-term issues are thoroughly explored in counselling impacting on fertility matters and options, health consequences of commencing GAHT, and the social implications of transitioning – no stone is left unturned.
The danger for all Australians and the basis for counting what future trans lives are lost at future Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) events is travelling down the rabbit hole of the trans culture war.
There is clear longitudinal evidence from the USA that social attitudes influence feelings of acceptance and mental wellness in the trans community.
A more empathetic approach and greater societal and institutional acceptance through affirming healthcare for trans identity will topple the rate of suicidality and save lives.
Trans Awareness Week runs from November 13-19. Find out more about QTrans on their Facebook page.
If you are struggling you can access LGBTQIA+ support service QLife at qlife.org.au or 1800 184 527
