Categories: uncategorized
Date: 01 September 2012 09:18:15
This morning I was faced with a moral dilemma whether to approve or mark as spam an anonymous comment which I would describe as genuinely trans-phobic and which has shaken me rather because even where people disagree with me the comments I get are not of this type. The comment was left on a post I did about the radfem controversy and is problematic on several levels.
Firstly, it is an anonymous comment which could be described as "hate based".
Secondly, the reader seems to assume I am a male to female transgender person and bases her attack on this basis. As regular and quite probably irregular readers will be aware this is not the case. If I were transgender, as the writer of the comment assumes, this would be straightforward transphobia. I know that its presence may be something distressing to some of my readers, particularly those who are transgender.
Thirdly, this female is seeking to speak on behalf of females, I am a female (who meets her definition) and find it offensive that someone with these views is seeking to speak on my behalf. I don't give a toss about the use of symbols but I do think it is very important that human beings whatever their gender identity are treated with dignity.
Yet, this is an opinion which has been left as part of the discussion on the issue. Prejudice needs to be engaged with and I feel it is important for us to recognise what type of prejudice the transgender community face and to be able to challenge it as their friends and allies.
At the moment Milton Keynes is planning their first Transgender Day of Remembrance event for 20th November - this day remembers the victims of the violence which stems from transphobia. I am sure the writer of this comment would never condone such violence, yet her comments are the type which are used to try and give and justification to the prejudice of those who use the violence.
As anybody who followed the initial link will see I did decide to publish the comment but felt I must do this post at the same time.