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For years I have been harassed by anti-trans trolls who keep circulating a clip from a vlog I did years ago while at a residential for young trans people. A part of the video, taken out of context, is routinely posted and sent to partners I work with to prove I'm 'homophobic'.
The quote goes: “It doesn’t help to have trans, the T, latched onto LGB, because when it comes to kids I do believe, obviously, for anyone, we’re talking about gender, we’re not talking about sexuality" [...]
"and that kind of muddies the waters a little bit, because people start to think it is a deviant kind of thing.”
Let me be clear. I was parahrasing something a parent of a trans child said, when talking about the difference between gender identity & sexual attraction.
Let me be clear. I was parahrasing something a parent of a trans child said, when talking about the difference between gender identity & sexual attraction.
In context, the person was talking about how trans children and their gender identity is different to sexual attraction. They were saying it might cause confusion for people who don't know the difference, who think we are discussing sexual attraction in relation to young kids.
The 'deviancy' I am paraphrasing is about pedophilia, & how discussions around young LGBT people is sometimes equated to sexual attraction only. The person was making a point that if we were able to explain that being trans is about gender, we might avoid that misconception.
I would never say that being LGB is deviant. What the person meant was that if people think being trans is about sexual attraction, they might think that we are talking about very young kids in relation to sexual attraction and that could used to say that we are grooming kids.
As a pansexual person, who identified as a lesbian up until my late twenties, fought against the abolishment of Section 28, fought for equal marriage, and continues challenge queerphobia in my activism & every day life, it's outrageous to say I'd think being LGB is deviant.
For years they've harassed me, posting it everywhere they can, in various threads, sent it to partners and people I work with. Their only intention of ruining my reputation and making me look bad. They don't care for the context and just want to do as much damage as possible.
I would therefore like to ask people to stop taking these troll accounts and horrendous people at face value, and recognise that they are simply doing this out of malice and spite. If you see the video clip being shared, please report it.
As any public trans person knows, this is a classic tactic used by anti-trans groups and people to delegitimise trans people's voices. It's toxic, abusive and clearly has no foundation. They will try to twist anything, and probably will try to twist my words here too.
This is how bigots and trolls operate, and I want people to be aware of how toxic and disgusting this perceived 'debate' has become. It's never been about having a constructive and nuanced conversation. It's about demonising people like me via any means necessary.
I really appreciate it and I'm happy that the people I work with are able to recognise malicious intent when they see it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and been understanding. The truth will out. <3
P.s. Above I meant I fought FOR the abolishment of Section 28, not against it.
