Since this is gaining more attention than I expected, I wanted to draw particular attention to the call to action I made at the end. I know it's fun to shit on liberals, but we need to take actual action:
"Protect trans kids.
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Advocate avenues for children to escape abusive families that aren’t “more abusive group home” or “more abusive foster care”. Better yet, step up by stepping up to create housing support networks in your community. If you know a queer kid, don’t let them go homeless.
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Stop trying to find a middle ground between those who support trans people and those who want us dead. There is no “third way”, I don’t care how much of an ally you call yourself.
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Raise the social consequences for transphobia. Show your transphobic friends and family members that you won’t put up with their reactionary bullshit. If they don’t cease, break it off. Your silence normalizes these reactionary attitudes and allows them to fester unchallenged.
4)If fascists in your area are targeting queer people, be it at the next drag show or pride parade, you should grab your friends and be prepared to confront them. We can’t do it alone, and we can’t allow them to normalize this.
5)Show up to school board meetings. Raise hell. If you’re not there, Moms for Liberty and other Christofascists will be. Be prepared to escalate [and draw attention]. If they take an inch, you should take a mile.
5a). Don’t be afraid of civil disobedience. If trans women can risk going to men’s prisons when fighting for their rights, so can you. But don’t be a martyr. Prepare."
There's also a significant portion of the article dedicated to talking about the fucked up framing of transition as "a choice between parents, children, and their doctors" without prioiritizing the autonomy of children, particularly given the patriarchal reality we live in, where parents are able to abuse their children without practically any recourse.
I think it would be good if more of the discussion was framed around this.
excellent essay, friend. I especially appreciate the callouts of the autonomy of children, and the need to take action and not just assume others will. Kids, especially teens, while they may need protecting at times, are definitely autonomous individuals, and desperately need to be treated as such and not infantilized further
insert joke about hexbear liberalism here
I respect the work you're doin trying to pull libs left on this one.