I was quoted by the Guardian
I talked with a Guardian journalist about the feeling on the ground in the UK trans community.
“Members of the trans community are reeling from the decision, with some considering leaving the UK.
“Every single trans person I speak to, without exception, is incredibly demoralised,” said Katy Montgomerie, an activist and YouTuber, who said she had recently applied for a gender recognition certificate “just in case I have to leave the country”.
She said: “People message me every day saying ‘I can’t stop crying, can you give me some hope?’ Do I have to call ahead to pubs now to see if I can use the toilet? It’s disgusting and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. It’s horrific to be told you are a second-class citizen.””
I had a bit of a mixed response from working with the Guardian. While the US Guardian has been fairly decent on its coverage of trans issues, the UK Guardian has been pretty consistently transphobic. The UK Guardian regularly platforms members of the anti-trans hate movement with no criticism or push back at all, it was so bad that the US Guardian even wrote a public article calling the UK Guardian out, which is quite a big deal!
I considered two things when deciding to do this: first who is the journalist, and second will this be net positive for trans people. The journalist I talked to was Libby Brooks, she was great and understanding, and importantly didn’t give me the impression she was secretly “Gender Critical” looking for a soundbite to legitimise a hate article. I decided that on this occasion a supportive article by a good journalist was probably net positive for trans people, even if it did contribute to legitimizing the UK Guardian.
You can read the full article here.
