UK CITIZENS! Please read:
The government seems to be planning a big rollback of trans rights. Liz Truss, the Equalities Minister, is reportedly going to be talking to Boris Johnson in the next 48 hours to ask him to introduce legislation to achieve this. Specifically the following things are on the cards:
1. Scrapping reform of the Gender Recognition Act This legislation would seek to make it easier for people to change their legal gender marker. Currently the process can be lengthy, expensive, and demeaning, as a panel of strangers have to determine whether you’re “Trans enough”. Changes to make it simpler and quicker were planned and well-received by those who reviewed them - however the government is ditching the entire thing. Similar changes were made in Ireland with zero negative consequences - TERF fearmongering over people Self-IDing turned out to be exactly that, fearmongering only.
2. Make it more difficult for trans youth to access treatment Currently, trans people, including those under the age of 18, end up waiting 2-4 years on the NHS until they get an appointment. They’re then expected to spend two more years living as their gender before any treatment is even considered. Some people apparently think six years is not long enough to wait. Besides this, if you’re under-age, you cannot receive any permanently life-altering treatments: only therapy and puberty blockers (Which only delay puberty until you stop taking them). Still, the government seems determined to make this more difficult to access. They may also be cracking down on private clinics that offer these services, and possibly those they offer to adults (HRT and surgeries) - considering there are no plans to improve the NHS wait times, this would be a devastating blow to accessibility of treatment in the UK.
3. A US-style “Bathroom Bill” Just like the US south, TERFs are trying to raise hell about “single-sex spaces”, and specifically try to exclude people from using their preferred bathroom where they are comfortable and safe based on their anatomy. I could talk about this for hours, but it’s as daft an idea as ever - - Trans people are far more at risk of being the victim of sexual assault than they are the perpetrator. - It’s incredibly humiliating and demeaning to be forced to use a bathroom not belonging to your gender - How does this even get enforced? Do they check your genitals at the door? Do you carry around your original birth certificate? Who will do this? - So say you do an eyeball test - what about butches? Non-Binary people? Intersex people? AFAB people who have hormone conditions etc? Anyone who’s GNC? And if they expect trans men to use the ladies’, I guarantee they’d get turned away. - The supposed cis men who would impersonate a trans women to access the ladies’ bathrooms don’t need the excuse. They don’t need to wear a dress, live as a woman, take treatments - they would just do it. Why are trans women being punished for the actions of cis men? - Trans women will NOT be safe in the men’s bathrooms. We will be assaulted. I guarantee it. There are so many ways to address sexual assault in bathrooms and changing rooms if that’s really what they’re concerned about (It isn’t, they’re just transphobes) but why not advocate for more single-person bathrooms, for example? Forcing trans people into unsafe and undignified spaces isn’t the way.
So, what can I do?
(UK Citizens)
Tell Boris Johnson that you don’t want trans rights rolled back! Stonewall has an easy tool and template HERE
Write to your MP! Find their details HERE
(Everyone)
Spread the word! Reblog this, tweet about this, tell your friends!
Don’t panic! We can fight this! But let’s start fighting right now!
In Conclusion:
Cis friends and allies, we especially need you now! We are not a threat to anyone. We are not perverts, or mentally unwell, or criminals. We’re just trying to live as ourselves. Please, if you can, write to your MP, sign petitions, boost our voices, and speak up for us. We need you!
