Been listening & thinking a lot about the responses to the GRA and JKR news (lol when did everything become a 3 letter acronym).. this a thread with some thoughts directed, with love, specifically to other white trans people and allies about not centring ourselves in this moment.

We knew this was coming.
But as well as displaying outrage about these headlines we should be questioning why ALL the headlines this weekend were not focused on the whitesupremacist violence displayed alongside support and demand for an end to police violence against Black people

Rather than being outraged at accusations about trans women as dangerous we should be outraged that Black people have ALWAYS been accused of being dangerous and that this is white supremacy in action. JK Rowling was racist years before she revealed her views about trans people.

Make no mistake if these ‘reforms’ happen they will harm many trans people as well as GNC cis people and I’m devastated. As a trans woman who is a parent I worry that this fear mongering campaign will resonate with people in my local community and at my child’s school.

This makes me less safe. This makes it harder to persuade the school to include trans awareness. But it’s also a ploy aimed at frightening those of us with white privilege, into seeking compromise and assimilation. Which we must resist.

We white trans people should never aim to become the “acceptable” face of transsexuality. Because as ever, if we are honest, the dangers these changes create will disproportionately affect Black and POC trans women and gender non conforming people.

And if our goals for reform do not strike at the fundamental inequality of our society then we will end up with a system where white trans people feel safe and trans POC do not.
Not because of bathroom bills, but because of white supremacy.

So what can we white trans people do, in this moment of incredible potential for change, to resist but not draw the narrative away from Black Lives onto ourselves?
How are you/am I supporting Black trans and GNC people in this moment?

As undoubtedly some of us will receive media and other invitations to comment on the situation as it unfolds, make sure you check if you will be part of an all white or majority white panel or article...

Your (my) diversity is not enough.

If the panel is all white / majority white - ask the organisers to change this and refuse to participate unless they do.

I did this last week and immediately the organiser found more cash to also include Black voices.

They always have more cash.

If you have been asked to speak or comment on these issues, are you able to articulate how transphobia is rooted in white supremacy?

If you are not able to do so, do your research so you can. It’s hugely important.

Celebrate and support black trans people and let’s not wait for tragedy to be our reason for doing so.

When we saytheirnames did we say those names at any point other than their death?

If you engaged with a Trans Day of Remembrance event in a community that was fortunate enough to not contribute to the statistics, what did you contribute the rest of the year to support people in the areas that are affected by violence and murder?
If not,who was that grief for?

When you reflect on these headlines ask yourself what exactly are you fearing in this moment? What these changes threaten to white trans people is a potential loss of privilege -
To feel safe,
To feel respected,
To have access to power.
Why is this scary? Why does this feel new?

For many visible trans women and for many Black and POC trans and GNC folk there is ALREADY tension and danger in single sex spaces.

Question what are the things we are trying to hold onto in this moment and whether those things were actually any good in the first place?

Remember you are beautiful and I love you but also this moment is not just about us...

It is irresponsible to talk about trans violence and persecution without acknowledging our intersections as this looks different depending where in the world or who you are.

It is important we learn our history, but then we must also ask - is this “my” history or is this the history of my Black trans siblings?
It is important that we also research OUR history. Because for those of us who are white, our history is not simply in Stonewall and Marsha P.

Our history is also the cops policing the Stonewall tavern that night, the legislators making dangerous and biased laws, the clerics proselytising binary Christian narratives and the colonisers commiting atrocities in the name of white supremacy.

Ours is a complicated and conflicted inheritance and we must own all of it.
#blacktranslivesmatter #nomorewhiteignorance

Now write to your mp x

(illustration by Amy Pennington)