In 2023, there is an increasing rise in hatred towards members of the LGBTQIA+ community and more specifically towards transgender people, such as more recently the murder in broad daylight of teenager Brianna Ghey2 UK. There’s also Elon Musk, the incendiary leader of Twitter, who recently declared that the word “cisgender” would now be considered derogatory on his platform.3
This raises urgent questions about the presence of freedom of expression on this platform recognized for its vast diversity of opinions which has allowed, for a long time, several marginalized communities to learn to exist without the pernicious judgment of the conformity of the majority. These are just a few examples of a much larger phenomenon seeking to reduce any rights that have been acquired in recent years for this community.
It’s hard to see a member of an influential feminist organization attacking the transgender community and believing that it could harm women’s rights. It is not by using the word “person” that the reality of women will disappear overnight. The court case she mentions dates from a time when the word “person” did not include the word woman, whereas today it includes all individuals: men, women, non-binary people, transgender people and the like.
To constantly target this community and make it appear that it preys on young girls reinforces a stereotype of the predator that is very fashionable in conservative circles.
It is also very important to emphasize that the many sources given by the author only mention anecdotes that are separated from reality. Indeed, one could believe in a rise in gender transitions over the past fifteen years, while the people concerned have existed since long before the general public was able to be aware of them. Not to mention that there are only 0.33% of people who identify as transgender and non-binary in all of Canada in 2021.4 This remains a small minority that it is important to take into account and use critical thinking to distinguish between fact and mere anecdote.
This is why education is necessary on these subjects, even from an early age. Not to indoctrinate them into thinking they were born in the wrong body, but rather to make them feel comfortable being whoever they want. A girl who dresses in blue who wants to be an electrician, a man dressed in pink who wants to be a nurse, a non-binary person who wants to study economics. This is why these courses are offered in the Quebec education program and must remain so. So that each individual can be what he wishes to be while feeling accepted in his environment. It’s fundamental, it’s what makes each of our lives sweeter, better, worthy of what we deserve.
I sincerely hope that more people will educate themselves before shouting from the rooftops that transgender people are the problem to be feared. I was incredibly lucky to have queer and transgender people in my path, that they brought colors to it that I could never have seen on my own. Each could tell you that they just want to be listened to, respected. Today we are fortunate to have organizations that serve to educate and question our own blind spots to these important issues that will continue to be present in the years to come. It is up to each of us to be an example of openness to what is unknown to us.