“I want to talk about the ways in which myths and misinformation are used to create divisions between different social groups, which then work to maintain systems of oppression. There are many examples of this, but here’s one: during the recent Tory conference in Manchester, our Health Secretary announced that trans women will be banned from all women’s wards on the NHS, and trans men will be banned from all men’s wards on the NHS. This was done under the narrative that this ban is necessary in order to protect cisgender women (meaning, women assigned female at birth), and to keep them safe. However, when you look at the data concerning the history of complaints made and the issues that occur on these wards – there is no evidence to suggest that trans women are causing any major issues on women-only wards. There’s no evidence of serious complaints being made or tribunals being held. This is just not a problem that exists in the NHS.
There are a lot of issues with the NHS, mainly resulting from persistent underfunding and mismanagement, and a lot of women are feeling the resulting pain the most. There is evidence that many cisgender women feel that their doctors don’t listen to them, that their pain isn’t taken seriously, and that there aren’t enough resources to support their mental and physical health needs. For example, there is currently a lack of sufficient crisis support for women, with rape and domestic abuse services losing funding as a result of austerity measures.
Instead of resolving these issues, trans people are being villainised. Our government should be investing in support services that help women, and in better education for medical professionals on women’s healthcare needs, but instead they’re banning trans people from accessing gender-specific wards, the result of which will only lead to more healthcare issues for trans people.
It’s important to realise that it is actually in the interest of cisgender women to fight for trans inclusive policies. As is the case with most discriminative policies, anti-trans policies don’t just hurt the community they intend to hurt. For example, anti-trans healthcare policies have meant that cisgender girls now struggle to access puberty blockers and cisgender women have a harder time accessing hormone therapies.
There are many examples of where a division has been created based on myths and lies in order to avoid actually making a more equitable and fair society, harming the very communities they claim to support. Other examples include the ways in which racist government policies have historically hurt white working-class communities as well, or the ways in which cutting funding and resources for disabled communities can also harm our ageing population. The vilification of unions and climate activists has harmed everyone’s right to protest and free speech.
To bring about intersectional justice and liberation in our society, we need solidarity with groups that are different from us. And I don’t just mean allyship, I mean having skin in the game and really seeing your own personal stakes in this fight. So rather than listening to false rhetoric, we have to ask: what does the evidence say? What are my own personal stakes in this? How can I use my own skill set to support not just other people’s liberation – but my own?
We all stand to benefit from a system that is more equal and more fair. Step one is seeing our common humanity.”