Why so much fuss?

 One of the things I don’t understand about the trans debate in this country is why it generates such heat. Why do we have people shouting and screaming “the only good terf is a dead terf” or “women are born not made” depending on which side of the debate they’re on? 


Internationally this isn’t the norm. Argentina, Malta, Ireland, Portugal and Denmark have adopted very relaxed and trans friendly laws with little or no fuss or push back. I’m sure there must have been opponents, but by and large there seems to have been a collective shrug, and trans people were welcomed into their adopted gender communities without fuss or incident. 


The exceptions include the USA which has a similar confrontational attitude to the UK, driven by the culture wars, with some States being trans friendly while others adopt anti trans legislation. Poland has a lot of suspicion and hostility, but that looks to me to be bound up with religious conservatism, as is their national politics. 


Russia and Hungary have banned gender transitioning completely. Perhaps no surprises there, but it isn’t clear how much public support or opposition there was in either country. Neither is famed for allowing criticism of public policy. 


Hostility here is often pinned on fear or having “men” in women only facilities. But cases of violence by trans women against cis women are vanishingly rare both here and in those countries which make it much easier to transition legally. The countries I’ve listed above have some form of self certification for legal purposes, and none of them has an identifiable problem. And why is all the noise about trans women? I don’t recall anyone making a fuss about trans men using male toilets. 


I’m guessing the problem here in the UK is a combination of factors. There seems to be a lingering fear that trans women might actually be sexual predators, and sections of the media feel they have an interest in encouraging that fear. That being the case they ignore the lack of evidence that such fear has a basis in fact. Added to that, culture wars have become entwined with politics as in the US. 


I wish media executives and politicians would realise that they’re affecting peoples’ lives. It’s hard enough to transition without all this confrontation making it worse. Can’t they just back off and let trans (or non binary) people be themselves?

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