A thread on how absurd the UK is on transgender issues and how the UK got so transphobic

In 2015 Parliament held an inquiry looking into the state of Transgender equality. Trans people of all stripes outlined many different problems across many, many different areas.

As a result Parliament created a list of recommendations including legal recognition for non binary people, gender recognition act reform, allowing 16 year olds to change their legal gender and reform of NHS gender identity services.

The government under Theresa May ignored everything that was recommended except for Gender recognition act reform. This act came into law in 2003 and gave trans men and women (but not non-binary people) the ability to legally change their gender on their birth certificates.

The process at that time to change your birth certificate under the GRA was to make an application to a panel of cisgender people who would decide if you were sufficiently trans based on your payslips, photo ID and bank statements. You would not get the option to speak to them.

(Also this process cost £140 which is just a tax on being trans)

WTT MEDIA CLASS

HATE LIKE THE PRESS 101

Welcome to class everyone. Today we will learn 2 different kinds of news story. Then we will ignore the good one and go for the one that (if done enough) will create a profitable moral panic against transgender people. (Long Thread)

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A "This is" story (the type we tend to do on our podcast ALMOST exclusively) explains an issue or specific event from a "this is" angle and reports what the SUBJECT is. This analyzes the SUBJECT of the story from as many angles as possible with evidence (sources, data etc).

2/25

A "They said" stories are entirely on what a selected group or person has said. What is said about the subject does not have to be factually accurate. A "they said" story is making only one claim: that a specific person said it. This story is easy, cheap and profitable.

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A "They said" story must have 5 things

1. A statement that someone has said

2. Proof that they said it

3. Other views BRIEFLY at the end (which most people will not get to)

4. Lies that are presented as equal to the (optional) truth

And

5. Few/No Trans quotes or names

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With this you can pretty much do anything. You can twist it to any political ideology you like. You can put this out in a broadsheet, tabloid, TV news segment, web article, YouTube video, Tweet or podcast.

Almost every transphobic news report fits a "They said" model.

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