I am becoming increasingly disheartened at the lack of compassion, empathy and respect when it comes to debating some really sensitive issues online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps social media simply mirrors real life, or maybe it does bring out the worst in some. Either way, it almost certainly leads to an over-simplification of issues and debates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may be why we are seeing so many \u2018All Lives Matter\u2019 posts in response to the Black Lives Matter campaign \u2013 one simple message being countered by another, because people haven\u2019t taken the time to look at the many complex and nuanced messages behind the Black Lives Matter campaign. Of course people aren\u2019t suggesting ONLY black lives matter or that they matter MORE \u2013 the campaign is making the entirely correct point that black lives matter just as much as any other, and that sadly, the reality of our world doesn\u2019t reflect that at the moment. We live in a racist society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another human rights issue that is being debated fervently online is that of self-ID for trans women and men. For those not aware, it stems from Scottish Government proposals to make the process of self-ID a lot more straightforward, and save trans women and men from what can be quite a degrading and traumatising process. Not something you think people would object to, as it\u2019s something that\u2019s supposed to make life a bit nicer for people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, there are some who are concerned that the proposed simplification could lead to the exploitation of the system \u2013 by men, presenting themselves as trans women in order to inflict harm on all women, through access to safe spaces. That\u2019s a perfectly legitimate concern to raise, and one that in no way undermines regard for trans women, their rights or attempts to make progress. This is where a perfectly respectful discussion could have centred around safeguards for all women, including of course trans women. For the record, given the levels of violence against women perpetrated by men, I don\u2019t see why they would need to go to all the hassle of going through the process of self-ID to present as a trans woman, when frankly, there seems little barrier to them hurting women as it is. But if this of concern, then let\u2019s talk about it and talk about how to keep ALL women, including trans women, safe from violent men. The premise should be that we will improve the rights of trans women and men, and the discussion is just around ensuring we have covered any potential unintended consequences. People should not be shouted down, or labelled transphobic because they raise concerns about men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s now where we are \u2013 in a place where people don\u2019t feel they can contribute to this discussion without being shouted down or \u2018cancelled\u2019. But how did we get to the point where lovely people, who want to progress the rights or trans women and men, don\u2019t feel brave enough to make their voice heard?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because this issue has been hijacked. It\u2019s been hijacked for political ends (that\u2019s a whole other story) and it\u2019s been hijacked by those who do hold prejudiced views. Of course, these prejudices need not be set in stone. Behind a lot of prejudice is misunderstanding and fear \u2013 so call out the prejudice, but help the people who hold these views to reflect and understand. Put yourself in their shoes, to help them do likewise with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know that\u2019s not always possible, but we should always give people a chance. I\u2019ve seen folk change their minds on this issue, simply because someone has engaged respectfully with them and given them some information to allay their fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly, there will always be a core group that may be impossible to reach \u2013 those who use the language of \u2018predator\u2019 in anything they write about trans women, who scour the internet for examples of crimes committed by trans women so they can imply that ALL trans women are violent, who quote individuals using really horrible explicit language and threats and say \u2018look \u2013 this is what trans women are really like\u2019. These are the tactics of the far right, and they have been used time and time again to fuel hatred and prejudice against a number of different groups of people \u2013 including asylum seekers, immigrants, gay men and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve seen some people, who would not consider themselves transphobic, share comments from people who are and I\u2019ve seen others with a huge platform and position of responsibility amplify those with transphobic views. In an era of fake news, we can\u2019t simply take statements at face value. We need to consider who is making the statement and what their agenda might be \u2013 see the bigger picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current discussion around self-ID has now been used as a platform to argue against rights that trans women and trans men already have! So many issues have now been conflated, it can be hard to remember the actual proposal, and that there isn\u2019t some concerted campaign to \u2018erase women\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of conflating issues, don\u2019t get me started on toilets! When was the last time you were asked for ID to use the loo!?! Nothing about the proposed changes will impact on who uses women\u2019s toilets. Trans women have been using women\u2019s toilets for years. Trans men have been using men\u2019s toilets for years. And frankly, the whole discussion around gender-neutral toilets is driving me up the wall. I don\u2019t really want to share toilets with anyone to be honest \u2013 regardless of gender. Do any of us? Let\u2019s focus on the entirely inadequate public toilet network that doesn\u2019t suit anyone \u2013 we need individual toilet facilities to ensure everyone can access this essential service with dignity. We need more changing places, disabled toilets, family toilets and private facilities. The horrendous set up of toilet facilities should not be a reason to deny anyone their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just see people as people, try to walk a mile in their shoes, and everything falls in to place from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am becoming increasingly disheartened at the lack of compassion, empathy and respect when it comes to debating some really sensitive issues online. Perhaps social media simply mirrors real life, or maybe it does bring out the worst in some. Either way, it almost certainly leads to an over-simplification of issues and debates. This may be why we are seeing so many \u2018All Lives Matter\u2019 posts in response to the Black Lives Matter campaign \u2013 one simple message being countered by another, because people haven\u2019t taken the time to look at the many complex and nuanced messages behind the Black Lives Matter campaign. Of courseRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2783"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2784,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions\/2784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}