‘The appearance of a trans woman on the TV quiz show Only Connect provoked the anger of anti-trans activists on the dung heaps of social media this week. Called out by kamikaze transphobe Graham Linehan, the show’s presenter Victoria Coren’s response, seen below, offers a salutary insight for all those who complain loudly that their anti-trans activism has destroyed their relationships with family members, friends and workmates.
For the rest of us, the tone of Coren’s response is a reminder that angry men think nothing of harassing women in the name of (checks notes) women’s rights. And the fact that the ‘gender critical’ are willing to go ballistic because a trans person appeared on TV is yet more evidence that their campaign is not about women’s toilets. It is about eradicating the trans community.
A trans woman participating in a quiz show and being treated with the respect due to any individual is a threat to those who seek to demonise the trans community to the extent that they will be too afraid to show themselves in public. This is what the self-appointed defenders of morality sought to do to the gay and lesbian communities back in the 20th century. We stood up for gay rights back then, and we should stand up for trans rights right now.
On a side note, I was greatly encouraged to find that Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger won handsomely in the race for the governorship of Virginia, despite her vocal support for the LGBTQ community. Over half of the adverts placed by her Republican rival attacked Spanberger’s support for trans rights, yet she won over 50% of the vote.
In countless other local races, from the Virginia House of Delegates to local school board races in Texas, anti-trans candidates faced loss after loss. The Pennsylvania small town of Downingtown even elected the state’s first-ever openly trans mayor. And even more tellingly, of the 31 self-declared representatives of the virulently anti-trans Moms for Liberty who ran for office on Tuesday, every single one was defeated.
I hope our trans and non-binary siblings take some solace from these results. Together we defeated the homophobes. Together we will defeat the transphobes too.’
Billy Bragg
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