Let me tell you what I, a trans person, did, and didn’t do, over the Christmas holidays.
My partner, who is also trans, and I have been visiting my family in rural Iceland.
I’ve spent quality time with my loved ones, making delicious food, and unwinding by feeding the animals on the farm.
I wasn’t, as many might assume, cooking up nefarious plans to invade single sex spaces, celebrating my role in dominating and destroying women’s sport, plotting how to remove women from society, or discussing how I intend to be taken to a women’s prison if I am ever arrested.
That may be a shock to some of the politicians, gender critical trolls, or transphobic commentators who sadly often dominate discussions around LGBTQ+ rights on social media.
They’d probably be surprised to know my life is actually quite boring. And that’s the way I like it.
Contrary to how many on social media portray us, trans people don’t spend our time constantly thinking about our own identity, attempting to brainwash children, or trying to destroy the fabric of society.
Frankly, we are far too busy trying to live our lives, seeing family and friends, going to work and simply getting on with it – and taking part openly in society as well as using the spaces and services that we need without trouble.
So much of the commentary around trans people vastly overstates our impact and influence – remember just 0.5% of people recorded in the 2021 England and Wales Census said they identified as a different gender from the one registered at birth.
This Christmas, I realised that nothing gives you more perspective on life than tuning out of social media.
It was a much needed reminder for me, and the wider trans community who are continually demonised online, that while people may make assumptions about our lives, the reality is very different.
My daily routine doesn’t differ from any cisgender person’s. I go to the shop, to work and to meet friends like everyone else. I am read as a woman by everyone, use the women’s changing room at the gym and blend in with ease.
My loved ones naturally refer to me as their daughter, sister, auntie and niece without second thought, and refer to my partner in the correct way as well.
Rarely have trans issues even come up in my interactions with friends and family but when they do, it’s always been in a positive way, or with people declaring their dismay and sympathy over the fact that some UK politicians (and parts of the media) seem to be maliciously obsessed with trans people.
And this is the case for the majority of trans people, whether the online trolls like it or not. Most of us are happily getting on with life, and all the challenges that come with it.
The fact is that trans people have been a part of the fold for a long, long time, and we have been openly living our lives and participating for many decades.
Frankly, if we truly were going to destroy society, as some on the fringes of the internet seem to believe, it would’ve happened already.
The reality is that the current climate in parts of the media and political commentary isn’t a product of reality.
It is tied to a disproportionately toxic agenda, one that scapegoats the trans community and continues to distract us from issues that are truly important and impacting all of us – such as the cost-of-living crisis, climate change and conflicts across the world.
So for 2024, you can stop listening to those horrible and divisive voices and politicians that target vulnerable minorities instead of addressing actual issues and problems we all face.
And I’ll try my best to do so, too. For my own sake.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Share your views in the comments below.
MORE : I came out as trans after completely losing my eyesight
MORE : Proud trans dad ‘couldn’t be happier’ after welcoming baby he carried
MORE : 13 Reasons Why actress accuses airline of ‘transphobia’
Sign up to our guide to what’s on in London, trusted reviews, brilliant offers and competitions. London’s best bits in your inbox
Share this with