Thread by @DrSarahLiu

Many people challenged me for condemning the event without actually having seen the film, which is fair. I’m a busy gal 💁🏻‍♀️ but thought I should watch Adult Human Female to see whether it’s transphobic for myself. A 🧵:

https://twitter.com/DrSarahLiu/status/1602300097496289282

Also decided to take a shot for every time someone makes an argument for transgender women are not women. Let’s see if I black out before the film or survive the night. Here we go #livetweet.

Right off the bat, the first person interviewed said she (I assume all in the document do not want to be called “they”, which I respect) doesn’t “believe that sex change can happen.” But it’s already happening! With the help of modern medicine and technology. 🤗

The film starts with the argument that it’s all about biology, which is also a social construct. We see sexism, racism, ableism in Biology textbooks, which means nothing is truly biological/fixed, especially when some species’ sexes can change. growinguptransgender.com/2018/11/01/bio…

Based on the biological argument, the film claims that gender (or sex as it calls it) cannot be identified. But what’s wrong with letting people decide? I’m straight, but I don’t care that gay people can also get married because inclusion doesn’t take away my right for marriage.

Ah so one concern is about fairness in sports competitions. But when these men are transitioned into women, they have the same hormone levels, etc. as any other (biological) women, so they don’t really have any advantages, do they?

I’d want to see the percentages of women winning major prizes because they have transitioned from men, besides Lia Thomas. Transition is difficult. Can’t imagine anyone doing it just to win when winning is not guaranteed. aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rig…

Major concern is about safety. Some Ministry of Justice statistics are cited about the (high 🤔) proportion of transgender women who are sex offenders. Tried to find where the data comes from but can’t seem to find how the data is collected/analyzed.

Violence against women is a real issue. But the enemy is not “transgender” women because far way more men are violent against women than transgender women. Transgender & gender non-binary people experience violence at a high rate according to the @HRC. hrc.org/resources/fata…

So if violence is an issue, let’s address that. Let’s create a safe environment for all women. There are bigger fish to fry here. I receive hate and death threats on my twitter - don’t think a “gender-critical” person ever stood up for me and condemned these men’s behavior.

The firefighter is saying that in the fire stations, men would come into women’s bathrooms and make a mess. This perception seems pretty gendered. I mean, do y’all not know any women who’re like super messy? I can definitely name a few in my life. 😂

So now children’s perception of their own identity is being questioned. 😱 The interviewee is basically saying that society shouldn’t cater towards children because they’re too young to know anything. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I believe in the agency of children and making them feel loved & supported.

This guy said “There’s a sense that if you can brand yourself as part of this alphabet-oppressed group, then you get points for it. It’s socially desirable.” 😮😮😮

I belong to multiple oppressed groups but don’t think I’ve ever received any benefits. If anything, I’d want to be a cis straight white man. Because fuck, life is just so much easier for them.

The guy goes on to say trans is cool for young people. For God’s sake, when can we give young people more credit? If it’s mostly the older generation of feminists who don’t believe that trans women are women, then maybe it’s time to follow the trend?

Why? Because inclusion is beautiful and makes the world a better place for everyone. Okay, I’ve finished the film and believe I’ve gained the official right to declare it transphobic. The whole film basically says trans people shouldn’t exist.

Going back to my original tweet - why might screening this film foster a sense of unsafety and exclusion for staff and students? Imagine basically being told you shouldn’t exist - I don’t know about y’all, but I would be pretty horrified.

So to the organizers of the film screening - please don’t be offended when people call you out. If you don’t think trans women should exist in the same space as women, then you are transphobic. At least own up to it.

Many thanks for the support @ucuedinburgh, @LGBwiththeT, and many others the last few days. In solidarity with many members of the @EdinburghUni @UoEStaffPride whose struggle I’ll never be able to understand as a cis.

Now that I’ve seen the film and literally took one for the team (still alive, don’t worry!), I’m gonna watch something more trans-inclusive, like pretty much all the YA shows on Netflix, which always warm my heart 🥰 (because young people kick ass). Peace out, y’all! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Oh I kid. There was never gonna be a “last” tweet from me. For those who asked me to clarify how the film was racist - well, discrimination against trans has huge racial impacts. Trans PoC face multiple forms of oppressions - trans issue is a race issue.
theconversation.com/amp/transgende…