Being trans is not paedophilia

Rachel Saunders
4 min readFeb 20, 2024
Photo by Kat Smith: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-bulb-wire-567979/

Stating the obvious is something that needs to be done on occasion. Trans people are not walking paedophiles for being trans, period. To even typing those words should never have to happen. Trans people are not groomers, sexually attracted to children, or doing sexual acts on children simply by living their affirmed selves. Being trans is not a threat to children simply for being trans. To insinuate that being trans is speaks as much to the power bullying of those who use groomer and other slurs as it does for the perception of trans folk in society. As child abuse has become the ultimate attack to use against any minority, the fact that it is the immediate weapon of choice for transphobes highlights the pernicious venom levelled against anyone who is trans inclusive or trans themselves.

In many ways I really wish this as all a dank meme, one which I could write a dark comedy about, highlighting the absurdity of those accusations. Yes, some trans folk are convicted of child sex offences, and yes, those are weaponised on an industrial level any time a trans person tries to defend trans rights. What goes unremarked is the insinuation that simply throwing trans paedophiles in the face of law abiding trans women. Every time I engage in trans discourse on the socials I invariably get a barrage of these posts, with people calling me groomer and much worse for standing up for trans kids. It angers…

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