Yeah I agree this is the sort of thing that builds acceptance in the medium term. However obviously we've seen a big swing against in public opinion driven by what's a nakedly one-sided elite / media narrative. Feels like people are afraid to say anything for fear of being jumped on by TERFs! - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

bigkoala71.bsky.social • 22 days ago

Yeah I agree this is the sort of thing that builds acceptance in the medium term. However obviously we've seen a big swing against in public opinion driven by what's a nakedly one-sided elite / media narrative. Feels like people are afraid to say anything for fear of being jumped on by TERFs!

Comments

hughster.bsky.social•22 days ago

So far it's only really been individual people or orgs/companies who've put their heads above the parapet & said anything supportive, so it's been easy for hostile press to pick them off & make them sorry they spoke. Coordinated statements, lots of people/orgs at once, would make this harder.

bigkoala71.bsky.social•22 days ago

Also important to note that anti-trans "GC"s bring their financial and legal firepower to bear against those who speak up. It's a scandalous abuse of process, especially in terms of how court rulings have progressively perverted the EA 2010 - but it's one nobody talks about.

bigkoala71.bsky.social•22 days ago

Especially abhorrent given how these same people whine about being "silenced" or "cancelled" by a bunch of materially powerless activists.

hughster.bsky.social•22 days ago

Yep, there's now a highly-organised anti-trans legal establishment with some pretty senior and respected legal figures (e.g. Cunningham) involved that does nothing but fight these cases. Trans rights defenders just don't have that much focused and high-profile firepower at the moment.

bigkoala71.bsky.social•22 days ago

This is a very direct manifestation of systemic oppression, right? Yeah I feel like alternative approaches are needed given the imbalance in financial, legal, social capital.

hughster.bsky.social•22 days ago

Yeah. And that's why I still feel that people in the cultural sector have the best weapons at the moment: simply showing people at home more trans people in roles in TV shows, films, adverts, etc., just being normal people, until the fear starts to dissipate and the antis start being seen as cranks.

bigkoala71.bsky.social•22 days ago

One thing that's become really obvious is that you hardly ever hear trans people's perspectives in the media, including in left-wing media - and of course trans people face horrifying harassment on social media. This means that well-meaning cis people often miss what trans people want.