Ever been kicked in the face? I have. Violence is common
towards children who display gender difference. Poofter, they used to call me.
AIDS victim, they’d whisper. Walk like a man, boy, or get a clip ’round the
earhole. That last one came from my father. Still, as one matures, so does the
nature of the bullying. Instead of gossip and ciggies behind bike-sheds,
badmouthing is done by respectable journalists in national newspapers. Take the
Telegraph’s Ed West, for example, who seems perfectly comfortable belittling
the existence of “transphobia” (hatred towards transgender people). His
quotation marks, not mine. Guess he’s never had a kick in the head. In fact, I
doubt he has any subjective experience of being trans, and nor will many of his
readers. That’s the trouble.
I question everything, now. I recall articles from years
back, on various subjects; “facts” stuck in my head; fears I was given; health
advice. Were all those items poorly researched too? I see so much rot written
about trans people that I just don’t know anymore. Does anyone – from legal
correspondents to sports editors – really know what they’re writing about? And,
if not, why read their work? News is produced on increasingly small budgets and
research is becoming a luxury. Press standards are under scrutiny. Would cynics
be better off reading blogs by real experts?
Check out this opinion piece by Ross Clarke, published by
the Daily Mail last week: “Beware of the sex-change zealots: Why IS the state
so obsessed with whether we’re transgender?” Poor Clarke is outraged because a
form asked him if he is transgender. I sympathise. I broke an eyelash once, so
I know how upsetting traumas like this can be. Meanwhile, research commissioned
by the Equalities Review shows that 73 per cent of trans people have
experienced harassment and 47 per cent avoid public facilities for fear of
discrimination. But sure, begrudge us a box that acknowledges we exist.
So, how can you tell if what you’re reading is rubbish? I
have no idea how much of my daily news is true, but a visit to
Islamophobia-Watch.com suggests that trans people are not the only minority
group newspapers lie about. Still, there are 6 giveaways for poorly written
trans features:
1. Sex Change. This
is seldom used by trans people and has zero medical currency. Authors who use
this have nothing valuable to share on trans issues.
2. Children having
“sex changes”. Always false. In the UK, trans surgery is only performed on
those aged 18 and above. Children prescribed reversible puberty blockers will
have been monitored for years following careful guidelines.
3. Hermaphrodite.
Widely offensive and biologically inaccurate. Humans with biological sex
differences are described as intersex. Or people.
4. Taxpayers/NHS
waste of money/cosmetic surgery. Don’t trust anyone who mentions tax during a
polemic against trans people. Trans people also pay taxes, and we are more
likely to do so when provided with proper healthcare and freedom from
discrimination. Nevertheless, “wasteful” trans treatment costs are frequently
exaggerated.
5. “Gender” – in
quotation marks. Everyone has a gender identity. Clothing, language, toilets
and many other arbitrary social cogs are gendered. Pretending that trans people
have imagined their gender is, well, delusional.
6. Regret. Studies
show that an astonishing 98 per cent of people who undergo genital surgery
express no regret. Regret usually focuses on surgical results. Any journalist
who mentions transition regret, without acknowledging this, has made a terrible
mistake.
As Julia Serano notes in the eminently sensible Whipping
Girl, traditional media have set stories to tell. It’s true. I was due to
appear on morning TV last month but was dropped after I declined to share
“before” photos. Must I be reduced to shock, surgery and before-and-after
shots? Trans people won various legal rights in 2004, including the right to
marry, but, unlike the gay marriage debate, this received scant press. That
same year the tabloids were saturated with “jokes” about Big Brother contestant
Nadia Almada. There is public appetite for stories about trans people after
all: point-and-stare ones.
That said, trans man Luke Anderson received largely positive
coverage following his recent Big Brother victory. Are things improving? Or could
this be explained by traditional sexism, and the fact that male identities are
less open to attack? Or perhaps editors have finally noticed that trans
contestants are incredibly popular? The public certainly seem to adore trans
people, given the chance to get to know one.
It’s a shame, then, that we are missing out on so many
stellar stories; compelling, moving, shocking and funny stories; stories that
everyone could identify with, or learn something from, given the opportunity.
These narratives are drowned out by the bullies, bigots and dullards; those who
spread misinformation on subjects about which they know nothing. For those of
us in the know, it’s a real kick in the teeth.