OP ED : Transgender Day of Visibility - Toronto Pflag
To appear in Toronto Star April 2, 2023
Transgender people have been in the headlines frequently in the past few years. You’ve probably been hearing disinformation about their medical care and watched as school board meetings have been protested and disrupted. You may think that this doesn’t affect you or anyone you know, so today, on this Transgender Day of Visibility, as a family member, ally, and fierce mama bear, allow me to introduce you to some real, live transgender people.
Transgender people are our friends, siblings, aunts, uncles, parents, children, grandchildren, neighbours, and colleagues. We love them passionately and unconditionally. They are artists, healthcare providers, writers, accountants, IT professionals, movie producers, chefs, and scientists. They enrich every walk of life you can imagine. However, by simply living their lives as their true selves, they’ve become targets of discrimination and hate, and they are scared.
They fear for their safety, their jobs, their access to healthcare, and their futures. Instead of being admired for their strength and celebrated for the diversity and joy they bring, they’re being demonized and condemned because their gender identity doesn’t fit arbitrary – and outdated - social constructs.
Our transgender loved ones are disparaged by rhetoric and misinformation in the media. In the US, they’re under a well-funded, coordinated, sustained attack by politicians who are enacting hateful laws based on misinformation and willful ignorance, and which are deliberately designed to cause them harm. Earlier this month, on March 6, at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), speaker Michael Knowles called for the “eradication of transgenderism”. While he claims he’s not calling for violence, our trans friends have good reason to be afraid of how other will respond to his rhetoric.
Making matters worse, misinformed, misguided, and some complicit media are reporting false and inaccurate stories regarding transitioning. It’s particularly inflammatory when it involves children who, to be clear, do not physically or medically transition.
Canada is not immune to the trend and we’re seeing the impact here at home. There have been recent incidents in Durham region and Ottawa, where our trans family members have been subjected to hateful and false rhetoric from groups copying tactics from south of the border. In the last election we saw a rise in the number of “anti-woke” school board candidates whose agendas include erasing LGBTQ2S+ people from the curriculum and libraries.
Trans people are people. No more, no less. They aren’t causing harm to anyone in leading their authentic lives. As long as there’s been a human race, trans folks have been with us. Now they’re finding their voices and facing the world head-on. They need us to stand with them against adversaries who try to diminish or extinguish their mere existence.
We need to show our support for our trans friends and family members, and we want you to join us. We need to be strong allies. If you wish to support your trans loved ones and need more information to understand their experiences, there are great resources like Toronto Pflag.
Now more than ever, our trans family needs not just solidarity, but intense love and protection. Use your voice to speak up. Don’t let hatred win.
Lisa, Pflag volunteer
(with thanks to Marla, Anne and Steph)