Dear Editor,
The U.S. has serious issues of poverty, hunger, and climate-driven disasters. Yet, if you look at conservative media, you’d think that the country is facing an existential threat from an army of transgender and nonbinary individuals. Republican officials are pushing bills to deny trans rights and even criminalize someone for identifying as transgender.
So where did all the threatening transgender people suddenly come from? Less than six tenths of one percent of Americans identify as transgender or nonbinary. All of the transgender and nonbinary people in the country represent a smaller population than that of Phoenix, Ariz. What about the threat of transgender athletes competing on sports teams that match their gender identity? The NCAA president told a Senate committee last December that 500,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championship sports, and fewer than 10 are transgender.
The “transgender threat” is just another arrow in the quiver of politicians who seek to cultivate anger and hatred as a distraction from real issues for which they have no solutions. History is sadly full of examples of leaders who vilify segments of the population and create an enemy through disinformation. The result is always the same – discrimination, anger, and violence. It is horrifying to see this play out in our country, and even in our own communities.
The Chester, Vt., GOP recently posted comments on their social media page about a demonstration at the State House by transgender advocates in response to so-called “Detrans Awareness Day.” The absurdly bogus event sponsored by anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans has been soundly criticized by health care and human rights experts as another attempt to discredit the journeys of transgender people who just want to live a genuine life. The event promoted the false trope that many transgender people regret transitioning and are seeking to “detransition,” despite the extremely rare incidents of trans people seeking to halt, or reverse, their gender-affirming care. In reality, gender-affirming care dramatically reduces stress-related illnesses, depression, and the rate of suicide.
The local Republican commenters railed that those protesting events were “disrespectful,” an ironic claim coming from the party whose elected leaders have deliberately misgendered a transgender member of Congress, and are working to deny trans people access to essential health care and the right to legally exist. The storm of antitrans rhetoric is dangerous. Transgender people are our friends, neighbors, and family members. They deserve to be treated as such, and not disparaged or threatened.
Sincerely,
Robert Nied
Chester, Vt.