Transrights

Tomorrow there is a huge protest called million man march to protect children. It may sound innocuous but it is largely a transphobic one and important that those pushing this be called out. Since being transgender is not something most people understand (even I myself find it hard to wrap my head around), it is very easy for bigots to use something as simple as parental rights and protecting children to push their intolerant views.

Only 0.3% of population is transgender and many of us have a tough time wrapping our head around idea someone thinks they are a different sex than what assigned at birth. However, proper thing is to research it and find out more. And do so from trustworthy sources, not right wing rags who have goal of pushing hate. Fact is being transgendered is very tough emotionally. Suicide rates amongst transgendered youth are exponentially higher than general population. So as a compassionate country, we ought to be respectful of them not push bigotry. Many bigots rely on a lot of legitimate concerns which I will address below and my views on them.

Many claim children are being groomed to become transgendered. That is an absolute lie and in fact stats show sexual abuse is not committed in any greater number by transgendered people than what share of population they represent. This is the old age tactic of comparing LGBT people to pedophiles which activists like Anita Bryant did in 1977 in US and you are now seeing today in places like Uganda. It is completely false and has no basis in reality. No one likes groomers and we all want to protect children from sexual abuse. But we need to realize trans people are not groomers or pedophiles. Sexual abuse of children is a real problem and we should take action on that, not use this crime to push bigotry where it is not happening.

Another claim is protecting parental rights therefore if a child tells a teacher they are transgender, parents must be notified. Children are not property of parents, they are individual human beings with rights too. Yes not as many rights as an adult has, but still have rights. In most cases it makes sense to tell parents but not all as some parents are transphobic and may abuse or disown them. So for children that come from such homes, they should have a safe space in schools. I get the appeal of this since most parents are loving and would like to know. This is not targeted at such parents, it is targeted at the minority who are transphobic. Rather than a government wide rule, it is best for the person on the ground to make an assessment what is best for child. I would even in such cases refer them to school councillor who is probably best able to decide best route. This is not about parents being kept in dark, it is about doing what is best for children and those on ground, not politicians likely to make better decisions here. Fact is if a loving parent, your child should have no trouble telling you. If afraid, maybe you need to do some self reflection as to why that might be.

Other is gender surgery of minors. This is a red herring as almost never happens. In fact in most provinces it is illegal. This is done just to whip up hysteria and not based on what is actually happening. I agree life altering surgeries in vast majority of cases should only be done for adults, but like anything this is a complex issue and I think those in medical profession are best people to turn to for advice on what the guidelines/rules should be.

Other is about washrooms and women’s spaces. For washrooms, private stalls I think is way to go in future and already many doing that. Like many men, I wouldn’t feel comfortable showering with someone from opposite sex and I suspect many feel the same. So private stalls kill two birds with one stone.

Some mention about trans in women’s sports and that is a fair one as even after transitioning, one’s hormones still may give them an unfair advantage. But like with washrooms there is a reasonable solution here that both ensures female athletes still have same opportunities without excluding transgendered athletes. In this case, I think solution is all transgendered must compete in men’s event so avoids any unfair advantage while still allowing them to compete.

There are mentions about teachings in schools. I believe everything taught and books should be age appropriate regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation. Obviously it is not appropriate for Grade 1, but totally appropriate for Grade 12 as transgendered people are part of society so children should when age appropriate learn about it. Not to promote it, but rather to understand who they are so we can build a more tolerant and more inclusive society. While not sure exact grade at which should be taught, I will leave that to education experts, I do think should be taught when age appropriate and by and large I believe that is the case.

Final argument is laws being proposed are popular. Recent Angus-Reid poll https://angusreid.org/canada-culture-wars-gender-and-trans-issues/ shows it is more nuanced and it is mixed bag with only a minority fully on board with all trans rights, but only a minority openly hostile. But even if most of the public were against trans rights, rights are never subject to a popularity contest. Minority rights throughout history have often been unpopular and its reason why we have charter to protect them. Segregation in South in 50s had majority support but that doesn’t mean it was morally right. Being popular doesn’t make something morally right. I believe that minority rights deserve protection irrespective of public opinion. Its not an issue like say taxes, social programs, government spending, environmental policy where you debate and decide based on what public wants.

Minority rights have always been a struggle and never come easily. Many will find reasons to pushback, but at end of day, side of tolerance always comes out as being on right side of history. I get why transgendered thing is uncomfortable for many but human rights are not about what makes one comfortable. Every human being, not just those who are like us have rights and when different from norm, it is often a struggle to get those as history shows tendency to repress minorities. I cannot make any rallies tomorrow and generally tend to avoid them anyways, but offer my full moral support to counter protests. I have studied enough history to know standing on side of intolerance is wrong and while proudly stand for tolerance and compassion whether it is popular or not.