Trans Awareness 2022
Transgender Awareness Week is a time for trans people to celebrate and be proud, and for cis people to learn and be supportive.
Since coming out, I have used Trans Awareness Week to give a speech to my work colleagues and inform them about the positives and negatives of being a transgender woman. I don’t talk about the importance of pronouns or the difference between sex and gender. That information can be found easily online for people who need it and I respect my colleagues enough to not treat them like kindergarten kids. Instead, I open their eyes to statistics, news, and how I have dealt with everything over the past twelve months.
We all know how slow positive change can be so this year I have decided to open up my speech to the world to get more readers, more listeners, and more awareness.
If I could ask one request from you during Trans Awareness Week, dear reader, it would be to share this article please. Sharing is caring, as we all know.
Statistics
Let’s start off with some numbers.
According to TGEU Trans Murder Monitoring, 327 trans and gender diverse people have been murdered between October 2021 and September 2022. The key word here is “reported” as we have no way of knowing exactly how many unreported murders have occurred in the last 12 months.
Of the 327 victims, 95% were trans women, 65% were people of colour, and 48% were sex workers.
The majority of the victims were aged between 31 and 40 years of age. Latin America and the Caribbean were the highest regional statistics with 68% reported murders in those two regions, however both regions have established monitoring systems which provide better reporting.
These people, who had every right to live their lives to the fullest, will now live on in our hearts and memories. We will honour them this Sunday during Transgender Day of Remembrance and every day thereafter.
Australian Events
Australia is not immune to transphobia. Last year, I shared my concerns with my colleagues that it would only be a matter of time before the transphobia that exists in the UK and USA would be imported into Australia. What surprised me was how quick it came over. Like COVID-19 disembarking from the Ruby Princess and spreading across the country, TERFism arrived in Australia in full force via a conservative government looking to politicise trans people in a bid for re-election. The media ate it up for the ratings (as usual) and the Australian public, it seems, ignored it all completely.
Religious Discrimination Bill — Between December 2021 and February 2022, there was a lot of discussion about the RDB and the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA). The Government was looking to remove protections in the SDA based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Morrison Government was under fire after the Citipointe Christian College story about enrolment contracts allowing the school to expel gender-diverse students. The Citipointe backlash led Morrison to declare an amendment will be made protecting gay students. Trans students were not covered. An all-night debate was held in the House of Representatives on February 10 where trans kids were a major focus during the night. Due to the lack of sitting days and the upcoming election, the Government were unable to pass the Bill as Morrison had intended. Labor have claimed they will introduce a different RDB.
Australian Federal Election — Campaigning for the Federal Election began in April. Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced his “Captain’s Pick” to the seat of Warringah, Katherine Deves. Deves spent most of her campaign attacking the transgender community and was given front page treatment by the Sydney Morning Herald, regular airtime by Sky News, and a crybully piece from SBS News. Meanwhile, both major party leaders were fielded questions by the media trying to stir controversy by asking “What is a woman?” and “Can men have babies?” On May 21, Australia voted and the result was in favour of the Labor Party. Deves and her Captain lost heavily. The trans community breathed a collective sigh of relief at the result. Finally, the six weeks of “debating” our lives and spreading misinformation about us in this campaign had come to an end.
World Events
The Australian trans community doesn’t live in a bubble. We are hyper-vigilant to the events going on around the world so that we can be prepared to fight hatred and discrimination.
FINA Swimming ban — On June 20, swimming’s world governing body, FINA, voted to restrict the participation of trans women from women’s competition. Trans women would only be eligible to compete if they have not experienced male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2. Given the furore surrounding the prescription of puberty blockers for trans youth at the moment, this decision effectively eliminates trans women from competition completely. Cate Campbell, an accomplished Australian swimmer who has won four Olympic gold medals and has the current Olympic records for the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays, voted in favour the ban despite having never competed against a trans athlete.
Rugby League ban — The day after the FINA ban, the International Rugby League, introduced their own ban on transgender athletes from international competition. The ban ruled out transgender athletes from competing in the World Cup. The IRL stated that “rugby league is a game for all” and “anyone and everyone can play.” I guess that’s true as long as your aren’t transgender. The IRL claim to be working on a “transwomen” [sic] inclusion policy for 2023.
Other sports news —
The UCI changed the entry criteria for trans women cyclists in June, requiring blood testosterone within permitted ranges extended to 24 months (previously 12), maximum plasma testosterone reduced to 2.5nmol/L (previously 5nmol/L), and be assessed for eligibility to participate by and independent panel of experts.
In New Zealand, a trans woman was told in June that she could not compete in a regional darts tournament despite meeting the World Darts Federation’s transgender requirements because Clubs New Zealand Darts Association did not have a transgender inclusion policy. CNZDA eventually changed their mind and allowed her to compete.
US Anti-trans legislation — Perhaps most alarming of all news in the last year has been the volume of anti-trans legislation being drafted to put to a vote in the United States.
In 2018, there were only 19 bills introduced in state houses.
In 2020, the number of bills increased to 60.
As of October this year, a total of 155 new anti-trans bills have been introduced.
Some of the notable bills include:
Texas — Allowing child welfare to remove trans children from their families under the guise of child abuse.
Arizona — Criminalising doctors for providing gender affirming health care.
Idaho — Life in prison for parents seeking gender affirming health care at their child’s request. (This bill was blocked.)
Ohio — Genital inspections on girls and women athletes, accused of being transgender, to confirm their physical sex.
These bills, whether they pass into law or not, are beyond horrifying. They are a glimpse at a future where all marginalised groups are legislated out of existence by people who lack humanity. A future that shouldn’t exist.
How was my year?
With everything that has happened around the world in the last 12 months, it is quite easy to feel the cruelty of the world we all live in. There have been times this year when concentrated streams of anti-trans news would leave me feeling overwhelmed and helpless. But it’s in those times that I remember we each have a voice and the power to make change. We just need to take the first step.
On February 8th, after the Federal Government attempted to use the Religious Bill to divide trans people from the rest of the queer community, I put out a call on Twitter asking any transgender non-profits in need of graphic design to reach out. The response was positive and led me to designing some merchandise for Transcend, a charity dedicated to helping trans youth and their families. It felt good to be able to use my skills to give to my community and it is something that I will continue to offer (depending on the situation or organisation).
In addition to graphic design, I have also taken up writing this year. While I make no claim of being a talented writer, I have so far written three articles on trans issues (four if you include this one), including: a hype piece for Trans Day of Visibility, a guide for better workplace trans inclusion, and a response to Media Watch’s recent transphobic episodes. I have enjoyed the process of writing each of these articles as I have been able to combine my activism with my creativity while learning new skills along the way. Of course, it’s also nice to share my own unique perspective to anyone interested.
Conclusion
Now, I’m not going to finish this article without providing some advice for the allies out there. However I don’t want to post the same thing that you would be likely to see everywhere else (e.g: pronouns, trans ribbons, watch Disclosure, etc). If I was to give one tip this Trans Awareness Week, it would be this: Care
How you do that is up to you but just care.
Care about the transgender people in your life, at your workplace, in your neighbourhood.
Care about what transgender people are going through right now with some countries taking away rights and making it unsafe to live.
Care about what you see, or don’t see, in the media. What stories are being told, and are they being told by us or about us?
Care about the transgender people who seem unsure about their presentation, and who could use some positive affirmations or a hug.
Care about learning our names and pronouns well enough that you’ll never worry about slipping up.
Care about the connection between TERFs and neo-fascists and how they are working together to eliminate us.
Care about the transgender person who wants to feel included in any activity but anticipates confrontation from transphobes and fears for their own safety.
Care about events such as Trans Awareness Week, Trans Day of Remembrance, and Trans Day of Visibility because we matter.
Just care.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go celebrate with my community. Would you care to join me!
