This unfortunately. And it's not just the legislative attacks, or threats of attacks but the relentlessness of it which is beginning to have a real impact of people's mental health and sense of safety in the world - and a lot of people weren't having that great a time of it before all this started. A barely known trans influencer in the US does an Instagram tie in with a beer company and it causes a near insurrection. Dr Who hires a trans actor for a minor part and half the internet goes into meltdown and bombards the BBC with complaints. A train station displays a rainbow flag and is hit by protests and outraged articles from the commentariat about the Trans Taliban, or Queer ISIS or whatever the slur of choice happens to be at the moment.
It's not just the media noise that does the damage but the way it starts to get repeated, by friends, families, and people who are often in positions of power, not least including employers. It's not like you can just log out of twitter and not buy the Daily Mail and pretend it's not happening, it's everywhere including our own front rooms, workplaces and social circles in a lot of cases.
And should trans people ever respond, with despair, anger or frustration, then that is only used to further justify the persecution - which is how it always happens I guess, like when kids at school bullied someone until the point they had a meltdown and lost their shit and that reaction was used to justify,and intensify the bullying. It's always the victim's fault and anything the victim does to fight back will be used as evidence of this.
There was a video that caused outrage in gender critical circles a couple of years ago of a black trans protester outside the LGB Alliance conference. There is no doubt they were behaving abusively, shouting misogynist slurs about people's appearance and they were far from coherent. As well as being angry however they also seemed desperate and heart broken (and possibly quite drunk). But where does the power lie in this situation? With the black trans woman yelling in the street or inside one of the most prestigious venues in the world where a group largely consisting of journalists, lawyers and academics were holding a conference that she wasn't welcome at about what to do about people like her?
So yeah trans activism isn't perfect. Movements of marginalised people never are because a lot of people are already traumatised and damaged to begin with. Trans people, benefit claimants, refugees or other self organised groups will never achieve the slickness of middle class dominated and well funded campaigns that can afford to spit their venom with faux politeness and respectability. Trans people will never have access to the media and corridors of power in the way those opposed to their existence do. And the liberal groups and individuals which deign to speak for the marginalised will frequently sell them out as soon as things get too rocky. Sometimes shouting in the streets is all there is left and that's a sign of desperation not power.
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