Talking about trans people
As part of my research I spent two years building a database of trans related news articles going back to around 1999, and have accumulated about 11,500. One of the interesting things coming from this work has been the way trans people are talked about, the tone taken, and the angles used when dissecting trans lives. There is no uniform way of framing trans experiences, though over the last twenty years the texture and tone has gone from mild pity and distain to a splintering of narratives ranging from fawning to outright venomous hostility. This shouldn’t be surprise, yet even trans people writing about their lives and issues has the same breadth to it. How we talk about trans people and their lives matters because it shapes our understanding and perception of trans experiences, and the more hostile the environment the harder it is to show the trans joy in the world.
It is hard not to be jaded about trans experiences when you read the media, especially when the drum beat of bad and hateful news is akin to being at the siege of Minas Tirath without the Rohan coming at dawn. One of the painful lessons I learnt from collating trans news is that the more you go digging the more spite you invariably find, especially when you are looking for the broadest range of voices. Right wing news typically portrays trans people through the darkest lens possible, especially when they are trying to generate…
