paralytic
trans rights are human rights
It’s that fucking simple, but for some reason it needs to be said. And it doesn’t just need to be said, it needs to be understood.
People don’t understand it, or they don’t understand why it should matter to them. But it should. It should matter to everyone.
trans rights are your fucking rights too
Take away any personal thoughts of transgender people. Let’s suppose we’re talking about any group of people and their rights. The discussion is the same, and somehow this discussion needs to reoccur throughout history. It’s always the same fucking conversation.
Whenever human rights are attacked, it impacts everyone. If a groups’ human rights are diminished, then we as a society have taken a step backwards, and the rights of others now become at risk. As soon as you can accept that someone deserves less human rights for who they were born as then everyone is at risk of becoming the next ‘other’.
Trans rights are essential because it should have never been questioned in the first place. Equal protections in the law are supposed to be fucking equal, with no qualifiers. We as a society should be able to expect that laws apply equally to everyone.
Today it’s the war on trans rights. In the past it was jewish rights, black rights, women’s rights, and the list goes on. All because someone, somewhere decided to “other” someone else and then push it as an agenda.
It doesn’t even matter what my opinions are on trans people, defending their rights is the right thing to do. And if I were a selfish asshole then it’s still in my best interest to support trans rights because if trans rights can be stripped then it can happen to me or literally anyone else.
being trans is not a choice
Of course one point in contention is an uninformed or misunderstanding that being transgender is a choice. No, it’s not. Being gay also isn’t a choice. These are intrinsic parts of someone.
And no, people transitioning later in their life doesn’t mean it’s a choice. It means they either changed over time, or they spent years fighting gender dysphoria, or maybe just didn’t want to be attacked for how they identify as a fucking human because the rest of humanity hasn’t caught up. The reasons could go on but it doesn’t matter what their reasons are, or when they choose to be true to themselves. At the end of the day it’s just not a choice.
Just like it’s not a choice for whether or not someone is born with hair that forms a unibrow. Now for some reason this is socially acceptable for people to modify about themselves– plucking out the hair or even having the hair surgically removed.
Now let’s suppose it was a taboo to pluck unibrows or otherwise remove or cut them via surgery, shaving, or some other means. If this were the case, surely some people would be unhappy with their appearance. Some may even struggle to look at themselves in the mirror. And this doesn’t even capture the full range of emotions and experiences someone suffering from gender dysphoria faces.
Now imagine instead of talking about unibrows, we’re talking about someone’s gender. Someone can be born as one sex but not identify with it. It’s not always immediately apparent to them, but it’s there. Again, it could be any number of reasons but the reasons themselves don’t matter. What matters is that to some people it is not socially acceptable to identify as a gender other than the sex you were assigned at birth. But that doesn’t make any sense. Why are some things acceptable to change and no one questions it but other things people lose their minds?
Which takes me to my next point:
why are gender affirming surgeries okay in some cases but not others?
For no good fucking reason, thats why. Transgender people are only a very tiny fraction of people receiving gender affirming surgeries but they are the ones being targeted.
It’s also appalling to see the intersex surgeries being done on infants without consent. If someone doesn’t perfectly fit into one of the two bubbles then some people will once again lose their minds and need gender affirming surgery to make sure a baby fits into one box.
There’s also cosmetic surgeries done in adults and minors alike that no one would question. No one would think twice about me having breast reduction surgery, but if a transman wants breast reduction surgery then its suddenly a cosmic sin?
Just look at the fucking data. I know, science is scary, so let me just point out that the number of cisgender male adults had 80% of breast reduction surgeries compared to 20% transgender and gender diverse related individuals. And this gap is even worse in minors, where cisgender male children had 97% of the breast reduction surgeries compared to 3% transgender and gender diverse related individuals.
So let me ask again, WHY THE FUCK IS THIS OKAY IN SOME CASES BUT NOT OTHERS?
It’s so fucking hypocritical. Instead of targeting gender affirming surgery for transgender people, why not target something like those intersex surgeries on non-consenting infants because that’s what is actually deplorable.
stop fucking politicizing trans rights
If someone is politicizing attacks on trans rights then that is all you need to know about them and they can be thrown in the trash. Let me speak plainly for any dumbasses who need it:
As mentioned, trans rights are human rights. and if you support attacking trans rights you are also supporting your rights being attacked in the future if and when you become the next ‘other’.
It’s a distraction. Politicizing trans rights is just a distraction. That is not to say that trans rights aren’t important, but it scapegoats issues more reflective of the public’s interests. In other words, instead of platforming AGAINST trans rights, why not platform against the decline of good jobs, the increase in unaffordable healthcare, or any other issue that widely impacts a politician’s supporter base? Instead of waging a war on trans rights, we could be talking about wage stagnation, affordable housing, and other things impacting their voters’ daily lives. Can’t you see how that would be so much more beneficial and more productive than obsessing over trans people?
If this was about the children then you’d look at the religious priests. I can speak firsthand to being groomed and sexually abused by a ’trusted’ religious figure. There are virtually no cases of a trans person, or drag performer, predating on children yet there are countless cases of cisgender men (or women) who have sexually abused or assaulted children. Some of these people were religious leaders, like the predator who attacked me.
So who is being protected by attacking trans rights? Thinking that sheltering children from the truth will somehow protect them? I can also speak to that. Having been in a cult I was extremely sheltered growing up. I also saw friends of mine who were more or less sheltered. From my purely anecdotal experiences, the more sheltered I or my friends were, the more curious we got. You can’t erase part of humanity and keep it from ever being learned about. The truth comes out.
‘freedom for me not for thee’
Isn’t it ironic that the people who allegedly value freedom are the ones that fight to restrict it the most? I’m sure I could write a whole rant on this one but appealing to patriotism and commandeering it has been a tried and true tactic for fascism.
Why does it matter how someone identifies anyway? Who is it actually hurting? I’ll wait.
The attack on trans rights threatens trans people’s very freedom to exist. Because this attack won’t stop at just what sports they can play or which bathrooms to use. No, it is attacking access to treatments and we’re just steps away from labelling them as sexual predators and then locking them up on no basis other than how they identify. It’s fucking insane to claim to value freedom and not see the giant chasm between actual freedom and only freedom in some cases.
And to think the same group of people that once espoused “Don’t tread on me” now attack the individualism that it stands for. Like I said, so fucking hypocritical.
it’s fucking weird to obsess over how someone identifies
When I was in the cult one of my issues with it was that we were taught homosexuality is a sin. They also claimed that we could love the person, but not the sin. I couldn’t reconcile this when talking to my gay friends. Being gay was part of them. How could I tell them that I love them but that I fundamentally hate and disapprove of part of them?
I eventually resolved that there’s something deeply ironic about allegedly straight men spending so much time thinking about what other men do with their dicks. I mean really, in what world does it matter what someone else does with another consenting human? If you think about it, the sheer amount of mental energy religions spend obsessing over this shit is fucking weird.
The attack on homosexuality has switched to transgender people now and my mindset hasn’t changed. It is absolutely none of my business if someone is transgender and to obsess over how someone identifies is still fucking weird.
pronouns aren’t preferred, they just are
For a while they were called preferred pronouns but that’s actually wrong. They are now just pronouns to emphasize that this isn’t a preference–they just are.
If you don’t accept another person’s pronouns then don’t be surprised if I intentionally use the wrong pronouns for you. Also, if you don’t think pronouns should be used at all then you’ll probably want to go back to grammar school on account of being an idiot.
allies, this is on you too
Be loud. Our trans friends may not be in a safe position to fight for themselves. If you’re not willing to stand up for your friends when they need it most, then you were never a friend to begin with.
If you wait for the ball to drop, it will already be over.
to my trans homies
You are perfect and make the world brighter