The United Kingdom seems to become a more and more transphobic place all of the time – fortunately, we have people like Shon Faye speaking with a voice of reason and compassion. Trans people are just ordinary people trying to live their lives, and yet they’ve been portrayed in such a way that suggests that their very existence is problematic.
The biggest thing is the moral panic that surrounds children receiving treatment after they realise they are trans. A lot of people talk about children receiving irreversible surgery, or act as though everyone who comes into the GP talking about gender dysphoria is immediately given hormone treatment. This book details the reality – that surgery can only be given after somebody reaches age 18, and that any kind of treatment for trans people is really hard to get (requiring them to jump through lots of hoops that essentially force them to act in a way that is stereotypical of their gender). She also then highlights that very few people who receive treatment ever regret it, and indeed see a significant increase in quality of life (while those who don’t gain access to it are at a much higher risk of suicide).
She also addresses concerns that well-meaning but ignorant parents are making their children pursue treatment as trans kids, when they’re really just mildly interested in things traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Using several case studies, she highlights that this is really not the case, and that, in fact, a parent with two trans children actually faced serious problems from social services because of it – even though it was ultimately discovered that there was no wrongdoing, they just had two trans kids. With a legal system that’s so keen to stop parents imposing a trans perspective on their kids even when they are actually trans, how would they ever have room to do so?
It also tackles the rampant transphobia in the media, with several examples of tabloid newspapers posting highly inaccurate stories in order to provoke a negative response. By the time a clarification is posted in the following issue (which will have nowhere near as much prominent as the misleading headline) the damage will be done and thousands will retain the prejudice misinformation as truth. It’s the kind of thing that kids should read while they’re in school so that they can be conscious of the manipulative behaviour of the media and how it works to make people hate those in minority groups. Very sadly, it also details how one particularly nasty story likely contributed to the death of a trans person.
I learned a lot from this book and it helped me to better understand the problems facing trans people and the extent of the lies that have been told about them. People are often lead to believe that they’re defending women by attacking trans people, but these two things are not at odds. Yes there are still questions to be asked about the most effective way to support trans people during their transition (a lot of improvements are needed) – but there are no questions to ask when it comes to treating them with basic compassion and respect.
Rating: 9.1/10
