How does one become a stronger ally to trans people? One Australian mother is using Twitter to show the way.
To commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), Leanne Donnelly cobbled together a 15-tweet primer that asks, “What can you do to reduce the violence faced by this community?”
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“I wrote it because I am the proud mom of a 16-year-old trans child,” she tells Gay Star News, “and I want the world to be a better place for him.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
1. Speak up and shut down any ‘jokes’ about trans folk. Immediately. You can say ‘hey, that’s not ok’.
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
2. Do not support movies or tv shows that have transphobia in it.
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
3. Support trans folk. In Australia follow @georgiestone16 who is just amazing and Victoria’s young person of the year! (Like truly amazing!)
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
4. Donate to trans services. Minus18, twenty10, your state gender centre or clinic, lifeline
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
5. Petition state politicians to allow birth certificates in Australia to reflect a persons gender without the current mandatory abhorrent requirement of sterilisation to do so
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
6. Petition federal politicians to remove the requirement for trans adolescents to apply to the federal family court to access necessary medical treatment
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
7. Support safeschools loudly and emphatically. It’s actually a really great teacher resource
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
8. If you are in a position to employ people, employ trans folk
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
9. Know that trans women are women and know that trans men are men
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
10. Educate yourself. Ask questions if you don’t know something. But also know it’s never ok to ask trans folk about their genitals.
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
11. Don’t announce a national survey on Marriage Equality if you are a prime minister as this will stir up long running hate against trans kids and adults by religious extremists.
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
12. Vote for candidates that support trans folk and their right to self-determination
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
13. If you are in @Gladysb’s government, urgently establish a gender clinic for kids in NSW. We currently have nothing and kids are self-harming as a result. Victoria has 2 clinics and are saving lives
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
14. If you are the parent of a trans kid then love them. Love them so much. Don’t kick them out of home. Just love them and support their decisions. Get help for yourself if you don’t know what to do.
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
15. If you read all this then you’re awesome. Thanks. /end
— Leanne Donnelly (@Leanne_Donn) November 19, 2017
She added:
“I read the statistics and we have so much work to do to achieve equality for trans folk…
This recent marriage equality survey targeted trans kids by the No campaigners which was awful and still is.
We need to be a better society for them.
I get scared for my kid after reading statistics. I love him so much and like all mums want my kid to grow up to be a happy adult that contributes positively to society. He can’t do this though if attitudes to trans folk don’t improve somewhat….
I also get so worried for the kids who aren’t supported by their parents. They need to know allies are out there.
And to the unsupportive parents – maybe nobody told them it’s ok to love their kids. This message needs to get out there more.
Love your kids no matter who they are. Without your support as a parent you’ve just unnecessarily made your own child’s life that much harder.
Love is the first and most important step in parenting a trans kid.”
Knight
“1. Speak up and shut down any ‘jokes’ about trans folk. Immediately. You can say ‘hey, that’s not ok’.”
Hmmm…does this include jokes made BY “trans folk” about “trans folk”? Has this woman ever seen a drag-show? Half of it is just them being catty and “joking” about each other’s boob-jobs. It’s part of their “culture”. Does she expect to shut that down too?
KaiserVonScheiss
Basically, be a censorious SJW.
And I’m sorry, but a transwoman is not a biological woman. That is a fact. I have no problem calling a transwoman ‘she,’ but that doesn’t make her an actual woman. She is a mimic of a woman.
And what does she mean don’t have a national survey on gay marriage? That just sounds insane. She clearly doesn’t want debate. She just wants people to accept her beliefs as facts.
Knight
Truth. Atheists, SJWs and Communists (or all three in one individual) typically claim they rely “purely on science” when it comes to morality…but on the subject of abortion and sex, they have to shove their fingers in their ears and scream “la-la-laaaa” as the science behind these topics is clearly not in their favor, so they must rely purely on emotion. And you cannot win an emotional argument since it comes down to how each side ‘feels”.
Kangol
Another way might be to cover the successes of out trans people in the US, like Danica Roem and Andrea Jenkins. Not so hard to do, Queerty, so maybe try a bit harder?