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Being progressive is not enough
Part of the reason I have not posted frequently since September 2024 is due to an encounter I had with an anarchist trans woman during a trans conference who accused me of being a capitalist sellout and supporter of genocide. While I usually take such things in my stride, her pointed remarks felt like bullying, especially when I was in an academic space when trans issues were being discussed openly. I felt alienated, and for the rest of the conference I simply switched off, feeling unwelcome and unwanted for not ascribing to a particular set of values which the vast majority of the conference voted for. Indeed, the whole week called into question my personal activism and trans advocacy because it felt like I was not just reading from a different script but also inhabiting a different plane of existence from the rest of the attendees.
The moment I came out at university in 2000 I have been a trans advocate, if only to fight for my own existence as much as ensuring those who came after me had a better place to inhabit. My values have always been about openness and honesty, see the benefit from a wide array of perspectives rather than a simple narrative black and white one. 24 years on I feel more pragmatic, still progressive, yet also aware of the limitations of what activism can achieve. When I walk into a room I have gravitas and weight to my voice due to my age and experience, yet I am…
