I've been waiting until the right moment to post this thread. Today feels like the right day, as my daughter Ash came out as trans at her school today.
Anyone paying very close attention to my likes and retweets recently may have noticed that many of them have been around the UK government's consultation on proposed changes to the GRA (Gender Recognition Act).
This has been a really difficult time for many members of the trans community. While I'd like to *hope* I'd have been supportive even without a personal connection, it would be foolish to ignore the impact of having a trans daughter.
I strongly support the proposed changes to the GRA. They feel like another few steps towards society recognising trans people as people with equal rights and needs as cis people. People are people. It shouldn't be as hard as it is to have your identity recognized and honoured.
Even with the proposed changes, Ash won't be able to change her birth certificate until she's 18. That's a long time for the law to tell her that it knows her better than she knows herself.
The situation for non-binary folks deserves more attention, too. My understanding is that there's currently no provision for a non-binary GRC. The consultation asks briefly about this, but it's surprising that it's not highlighted more, given the current inadequacies.
You can't have a law about legal recognition of trans people that excludes more than half of the trans population. (Data source: the UK government's 2018 LGBT Survey, which found 52% of trans respondents to be non-binary. tinyurl.com/uk-lgbt-survey…)
Trans friends: I see you. I hear you. I value you. I'm sorry for past times I haven't supported you properly. I'm also sorry for the times I'm bound to get it wrong in the future. I hope I'll get better at this.
Friends who are worried by these changes: I see, hear and value you too. I'm not going to pretend our disagreements are unimportant. I also know that as a cis man I'm in pretty much the worst position to fully understand all the concerns or present arguments around them.
But it must be possible to protect women's rights without impeding trans rights. There's a discussion to be had, for sure, but I really want to see that discussion happen in a less dehumanising way than I've seen recently.
Ash: I love you, I'm fiercely proud of you, and I've got your back.
Finally, a reminder for UK-based followers: The GRA consultation closes tomorrow. I'd urge you to read up on it and contribute to it if you haven't already. I found the @stonewalluk guide helpful: stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campa…
