The Trump administration has been dismantling protection for trans people for some time, leading to this week, where they directly attacked the ability of transgender people to access shelter and health care.
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about how each of us has to decide what is worth fighting for and against in this world. And for some reason, there are a large number of people out there who feel that fighting against someone else’s sense of identity is worth their time and energy. You even see people from the LGBTQ community insisting that the T should be separate, or people who call themselves feminists insisting that excluding trans women is their right.
I have a few things to say about this.
1) All people should have access to health care. I don’t care what religion you are. If you’re a doctor who wants to deny care to someone due to your faith, go find another job. You suck at this one.
2) If everything you know about trans issues is coming from cis people, you are missing a huge piece of the picture. There are a ton of trans activists, writers, and speakers. If you can acknowledge that you need to hear from people of color about racism, from women about sexism, and from immigrants about xenophobia, you should damn well be hearing about trans issues from trans people.
3) Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary people are nonbinary. It’s really not that difficult. If you’re getting fixated on what’s under people’s clothing, that’s your issue. If you don’t understand it right away, that’s ok. It may take time. But don’t take it out on them.
In short, these kinds of policies are inhumane and will lead to further dehumanization and punishment to people who are just trying to live their own lives in their own way. Which is something we all want to be able to do.
And we can do better. For god’s sake, vote better.