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Not feeling great, and not giving up

A little over a week ago, I was thinking of writing an unpost about just how depressing everything is at the moment (and probably focusing on so-called ‘artificial intelligence’, which I consider a scourge to humanity).

But then, on 21 May, Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities, formally endorsed the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s revised draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, by ‘laying’ it in the UK Parliament. If not ‘disapproved’ within forty days (not counting times when the Houses of Parliament are in recess, as they are right now), the guidance will come to have whatever legal force statutory guidance has. (I’m not entirely sure how guidance can have any legal force, but I am not a lawyer – thank god.)

Bridget Phillipson, a white woman in her forties with shoulder-length dark hair, in her official parliamentary portrait, wearing a blue dress and a glitzy necklace.

Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities

Now, I went through the EHRC’s consultative draft a year ago, and wrote about it in as much detail as I could bear. I could delve into all the ways that the guidance has been tweaked in the last year to make it ever-so-slightly less transphobic, but I value my sanity too much.

So this really is a kind of unpost, and it is kind of going to be about how depressing everything is at the moment. But the focus has shifted and is a little sharper. Also, I really don’t want to be too negative. I want to find reasons to be hopeful if I can. And having passed through an initial sense of despair, I’m now more inclined than ever to be defiant.

Initial shock

The trans community waited for a year for the final draft guidance to appear. A little bit of me hoped it had been quietly shelved, but alas not. And in typical sleazy British fashion, the juicy announcement of its appearance was leaked to the press the day before the minister did whatever she had to do to ‘lay’ the guidance before Parliament. Unsurprisingly, the paper that got the scoop was the right-wing Daily Telegraph.

I don’t know how accurate the Torygraph’s account was, nor those of the other UK newspapers who followed quickly behind, because I didn’t read any of them. But I did see the headlines, and none of them sounded like good news.

Then Bridget Phillipson did her stuff, it was all official, and the numbness set in – even though at this point I was really only accessing the news second-hand. Indeed, if you’re looking for any detail of what’s actually in the guidance, I’m afraid I’ve still only seen the bits that other people have shared on social media (probably far from the best place to be at a time like this, and I’ve tried to limit my exposure).

As someone who has become slightly agoraphobic for other reasons, this has done nothing to encourage me to leave the relative safety of my flat. I began to think that I’d be best to avoid going anywhere in public where my nearest toilet options would be gendered, and imagined my life being severely curtailed from now on.

In particular, I felt disappointed that my planned trip to the Netherlands (which might have been in September this year) wouldn’t be possible after all, given that I’d be travelling half the length of the UK before crossing the channel to the continent. I wouldn’t be able to hold it in for that long!

A fresh perspective

Over the past week, while I’ve seen some people on social media leaning in to the doom – understandably and not without justification – I’ve also seen a few who‘ve been able to lift their heads and see a possible light at the end of the tunnel. And to be quite honest, I’d rather emulate them if I can.

Let me say right away that I undoubtedly have it easier than others, because within the trans community I have a fair degree of privilege. Firstly, I’m white, which is definitely a biggie. Secondly, I’m mostly cis-passing (though that may change as more people are primed to be on the lookout for, and suspicious of, trans people).

The news has been sensationalist, and has felt intimidating to many of us. The guidance as it stands is clearly unworkable in practice, but more people (cis as well as trans) may now be challenged by transphobes when they try to use toilets and changing rooms according to their gender, and it’s going to have a real negative impact on their quality of life.

I refuse to be cowed by the intimidation, and will carry on using the gendered facilities I’ve used for years, using my privilege to take a stand for those who can’t take the risk.

I do not believe segregation is what most people in the UK want, and trust that decent cis people will understand that trans people do not present a threat.