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Increasing Intolerance?
I have watched with a degree of disquiet, the recent events in the USA, such as the winding back of legal protections for transgender people and the efforts to ‘erase’ transgender as a reality. I also see disturbing parallels here in Australia, such as the failed anti-same-sex marriage campaigners rebranding themselves as an anti-trans organisation called ‘Binary’.
Is there an increasing intolerance for transgender people in the general community or is it just a case of the most vocal opponents being the loudest and seeking a higher profile?
I’ve not yet encountered a problem when out en femme, but I am coming to believe that it’s only a matter of time. I don’t fear for myself (what’s that expression – big enough and ugly enough?) but I do hold concerns for the impact that any trouble might have on those with me, especially my wife and close friends.
The idea that those who’ve only recently ventured out into the real world might be driven back into their closest saddens me.
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20 Replies
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I agree. We have to be on our guard. I guess the classic political label for these people is ‘reactionary ‘. I could see it coming a mile off with the election of Donald Trump in the USA. What amazes me is the number of trans people on Facebook who applaud him and openly post about the benefits he is bringing, citing, for instance, the improvement in their ‘net worth’ whilst not seeing beyond the end of their noses as to what he (or maybe more his fundamentalist right wing cronies) would like to do to minorities including trans people. But in answer to the question I think and hope it’s just an eddy in the main current of change. Certainly younger people, who are our future, generally seem to be more enlightened, especially here in Australia.
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I agree. As a person who is about to step out into the public, I’m very concerned.
I’ve recently seen a noticeable increase in occasions where the trans topic has come up in conversations. Particularly in scenarios where friends are hanging out and having drinks and discussions can go anywhere.
But what I’m noticing is also an increase in intolerant views being shared.. not just against trans people, but the whole LGBTI family. It seems the SSM debate has apparently given those against it the right and freedom to express their intolerance more than before it.xx
Angela. -
Hi all,
Not only has there been a noticeable increase, it is part of a coordinated right-wing assault on sexual liberation. This quote from an article in the NYT by the mother of a transgender girl: “Unfortunately, what many other parents are receiving right now is not encouragement to find wisdom and understanding. What they are getting instead is a bogus new diagnosis — Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria. The inventors of this spurious term claim that R.O.G.D. is not a real trans identity but the product of social pressure. Abigail Shrier, writing in The Wall Street Journal, describes it as “social contagion.” She says that young people — many of them college-aged, and most of them born female-bodied — are embarking upon transition, with its surgeries and hormones and other accompanying challenges, in the same way a person might take up the ukulele.
Even the headline on that essay is an insult: “When Your Daughter Defies Biology.” An abundance of scientific research makes clear that gender variance is a fundamental truth of human biology, not some wacky dance craze. Transgender people have not come up with the entirety of our existence solely to hurt Tucker Carlson’s feelings. We do not embark upon transition because it’s groovy. We are here because our hearts demand it.
R.O.G.D. is not a clinical term. It’s a political one, designed to undermine the validity of these young people’s transitions.”
Given the reach of social media and the dependence of the Australian Right on its US colleagues it won’t be long before “R.O.G.D.” rears its ugly head here. The full article is attached.
Veronica -
As someone who is out and about all the time in Sydney and travels regularly to less cosmopolitan parts of Australia I see absolutely no evidence that attitudes are hardening against Transgender people. In fact the opposite is true whether you step out in Annadale, Albury, or Adelaide.
AngelaJade wrote:I’ve recently seen a noticeable increase in occasions where the trans topic has come up in conversations. Particularly in scenarios where friends are hanging out and having drinks and discussions can go anywhere.This is great thing – and accounts for a phenomenal rise in awareness about people being Transgender. I no longer have to explain to people what I mean when I say I’m trans. And when I do mention the obvious (I’m natal male) I just get smiles not puzzled looks. These days it seems that everyone you talk to knows someone who has come out as Transgender.
Just because a few bigots are being marginalised and feel they need to assert themselves in no way reflects the attitudes of the general population which is becoming increasingly aware and supportive of us.
Get on out there and see the real world!
(And in response to those quoting from the USA – America is a different continent, in a different hemisphere, with vastly different social values, and absolutely no relevance to our life in Australia)
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Whist I think you have a point, Adrian, I can’t possibly agree that America has no relevance to Australia. We have copycat right wing politicians and a vast proportion of our news and entertainment comes from there, and their politics is a constant source of debate.
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Adrian, I agree that there is greater awareness in the general community, especially among the younger generations. Sometimes though, awareness isn’t the same as education. I’ve had to explain to people that gender identity/expression is not the same as sexuality. ‘Transgender=Gay’ was a message so maliciously pushed, especially by the religious right, during the same-sex marriage debate.
Whilst many in the younger generations tend not to be fussed either way, some older members of our society still believe that being transgender is a lifestyle choice, much as they believe that being gay is also purely a choice. That said, we will never properly educate people if we do slink back into those dark spaces some of us once inhabited.
I also believe that the USA does have a significant impact on life in Australia, especially when we see so-called conservatives in our political system lauding decisions made by POTUS and organisations like BiNary championing the anti-trans movement in the US as how it should be in Australia.
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JaneS wrote:I also believe that the USA does have a significant impact on life in Australia, especially when we see so-called conservatives in our political system lauding decisions made by POTUS and organisations like BiNary championing the anti-trans movement in the US as how it should be in Australia.
A pillar of Australian society is freedom of speech. You might not like what everyone wants to say – but just because you can hear them doesn’t mean they represent any significant body of opinion. People who copy the opinions or actions of others in a different culture will rarely generate any traction – but we have to let them have their say. Better that than find the crackpots walking round with a gun like they do in the USA.
I observe a lot of awareness and plenty of acceptance in our society. Personally if I’m accepted I don’t care what knowledge that is based on. If people accept me who think I’ve made a life choice or imagine who I jump into bed with, so be it. We are asking people to make a big step in their understanding of us – if they don’t get all the way there what is the problem?
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With reference to the above debate there is evidence of a world wide move to the extreme right in politics almost amounting to neo fascism. Note the welcome by Trump and the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nicky Haley to the new extremist president in Brazil and of course the riots in Melbourne.
You will not find tolerance on their agenda.Berthold Brecht the German playwright after the 2nd world wrote. “The womb from that which crawled (fascism) remains fertile.”
Jenny
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Intolerance, it’s not noticeable to me here in the Hunter Valley in the Maitland area, I do get the odd stare from mainly older men, but everyone else I meet is accepting and there are a lots of people who are genuinely helpful and pleasant to encounter. This surprised me at first for where I live there is a very high proportion of miners and tradies and I was lead to believe they were very conservative in their outlook on life.
The reality with my neighbours is, surprise at first but acceptance and tolerance once they get over the initial shock of meeting a TG for their first time and getting to know me better. I’m on friendly talking terms with all of them; one of the women likes me as Rosemary and finds it difficult to talk me as Not Rosemary, as I have become to think to myself.
To put my personal situation on this about 6 months ago I decided to come out as what I call part-time/full time. The only place I am Not Rosemary is the work place, but that’s another story. One thing I have noticed is when shopping the number of women you encounter who just accept you as one of them. I’ve had some great chats with several women whilst queuing at the checkout in the local supermarket. One chat I recall with mirth and some fondness was a woman doing the big shop for Christmas lunch for the family feast for 14 or 15, she told me as she was leaving, next year were going on a cruise for Christmas.
I suspect the only way to build more tolerance in our community, is to be out and about as the woman within you, and I enjoy all my trips within the Newcastle area. I do not say this as just go for it, for you are not heading off to the LGBTIQ pub/club/cafe scene, suburban shopping centers are your local community during the daytime. Consider your personal situation and where you would like to go and build your confidence up in stages as you allow yourself to blossom as a woman within your world.
Enjoy yourself
Rosemary -
Interesting reading. For myself I have only experienced a month by month increase in acceptance since I came out full time a few years ago. Not one negative moment yet. In fact people are actually nicer to me and more welcoming than in my previous incarnation.
I live on the Mornington Peninsular in Victoria, I surf, I definitely don’t “pass” (I hate saying that) but some times I blend in and the day I stopped letting fear dictate my life too much was a game changer for me. A little fear is healthy I think and safe, but not too much. So I say to anyone that’s anxious about getting out and about… I reckon get out there and test the water, you’ll probably find it’s rather lovely and rather tolerant and wished like I did that you should have done it sooner.
In relation to far right crew, I don’t like them, they scare me a bit, but I read a tweet the other day from a First Nations man that said
that he’s not worried about some alt right man with an Ozzie flag, but more the police that beat his people or the nurse/doctor that refuses to see his mother. That put it into perspective for me. -
Rosemary wrote:I suspect the only way to build more tolerance in our community, is to be out and about as the woman within you
I’m convinced that is what we all should do, as best as our circumstances permit. It is ignorance about us in the community that is our biggest weakness – and every time one has a pleasant chat with someone in public the barriers to acceptance crumble a bit more. Of course you can elect to stay at home, imagine how every social and political trend in the world might negatively affect you, and live in fear. But if you are looking for an excuse to justify staying closeted you won;’t hear it from me.
We are all little butterflies flapping our wings – it doesn’t make much wind, but it can fan the flames of a bigger change without us being aware.
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I think it is easy to be alarmed with some of the events we see both here and abroad and then fear that our own group are now more at risk. But Adrian your response is the only option: to refuse to be spooked and to remain level headed and optimistic.
I do believe that most people are becoming more inclusive of those different to themselves rather than more exclusive of others.
And it doesn’t surprise me in the least that wirh your outlook, you generally find people accepting. Our perceptions very much colour our world. Your comments have made the start of 2019 brighter.
Geraldine -
Thank you for this great post. I believe that all intolerance behaviour is learnt from an early age in childhood. It will take at least a generation past changes in our legal and anti discrimination laws for those who oppose basic human rights to no longer have a voice that is heard. The rumblings from other Western “Democratic” countries are being fanned by their political leaders albeit the term leadership is loosely applied. Fortunately we live in a more caring and sympathetic country that has a better appreciation of individuality and personal expression. If by chance you do have the misfortune of being subject to random slurs or derogatory remarks by someone with a low intelligence, take comfort in the Notion: “You are better then those who ridicule what they would protect if it was their children who were just like us” (And my dear we are definitely more articulate, have a greater sense of caring, and most importantly, a greater sense of respecting others).
I enjoyed expressing my views and supporting you through solidarity. -
Over the last few months I too have been concerned that some people might not be as tolerant as they used to be, but I have yet to see any evidence of this. People I come in to contact with are still nice and polite, I feel perfectly safe around my local shopping centres (Cranbourne and Fountain Gate) and when I go to the pub. I might just be a fraction more alert than I used to be but not by much.
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I cant see any reason why we should be concerned about events/attitudes in the USA affecting the situation of Trans people in Australia. There is clear evidence from the TGR Survey that Acceptance has grown over the last few years and no reason to think that events in the USA will have any impact on that.
There is more Culture in a Penicillin factory than exists in the USA at present at Presidential level.One of the Challenges highlighted in the Survey was that around 50% of those surveyed did not go out in public frequently that in itself does not help in our ambition for community acceptance.
We do have to flap our wings like butterflies as Adrian alluded to and only then can we expect to gain a wider understanding and acceptance form the general community,
I can tell you I have been flapping my wings for a LONG time now and have had nothing but positive responses from people that I have mixed with and that includes what may be considered as conservative groups of people.
Get out there and Fly
