Social Media has allowed people to be publicly transphobic, but in a very open way which increases harm in the real world. Now printed media is having a go. Rob Fitzpatrick investigates.
Discussions focused on trans people in British print journalism have been on the rise since 2012, with a recent study by Mermaids UK showing that the examination of transgender issues in print journalism was 23 times more common in 2019 than in 2012.
Many people wonder why discussions about trans people have become more common within the last decade. Most explanations point towards the increased visibility that trans people are afforded by the internet. The open source of information allows people of all ages to finally research and explore gender identity, read first hand accounts from other trans people and receive support that would otherwise would be unavailable to them within the confines of their daily lives.
“The perception that individuals get from headlines, that Mr. Burke has been imprisoned for refusing to use the correct pronouns, emphasises the false narrative of woke culture enshrining itself in law.“
The onset of the world wide web and social media allowed for many communities to find each other, whether they be LGBTQ+ or other marginalised groups. Community building, the ability to start a movement through connection, and the existence of a safe space to discuss and learn about yourself has resulted in more people connecting and discovering these new communities. This increased visibility, and spread of information, inevitably lead to individuals that otherwise would never have had the chance to explore their gender or question their identity being able to do so. And so with the explosion of online and open source information, individuals began to learn more about themselves and more began to come out. This would never have been an option for those in the past, who would not have had the opportunity to talk to those who felt similar to them, or even know that they existed. They would never have been able to access the language that would give them the ability to understand themselves. With community building through online forms, YouTube channels, and elsewhere, individuals were able to start movements, start businesses and influence how the next generation of trans people would experience life.
Of course for a community that had always existed on the periphery and have always suffered discrimination through the lack of access to healthcare and the disbelief of their existence, being pushed into the mainstream caused issues. For the trans community, there was a certain protection in people not knowing or acknowledging that they existed. Trans people are but a fraction of the population and are often most subjected to economic hardship and physical abuse. With information, resources and support now available to the trans community, the amount of people identifying with a trans label has increased. Those who feared "deviance" believed this increase to be unnatural and inorganic, and believed there to be a trans lobby which sought to corrupt their children. In reality, this was just the result of trans people being given the language and support necessary to be open about themselves.
“For print media now, transgender issues are a nice headline an interesting and relevant story, but those individuals who sought community and safety - they are now being put at risk by the rhetoric that editors endorse.”
As one of the most famous women in the world, J.K. Rowling, weighed in on this discussion, and brought attention to the idea of people who detransitioned, those who now regret physically transitioning. She's but one example of someone with an incredible amount of power using their celebrity against a community that is small, isolated and has only recently found power through the community on the internet.
The strides the trans community have made in securing healthcare and recognition from the state are being reversed as we speak because of the attention the media has now decided to pay to this issue, and the nature by which information is consumed about trans people. Whereas at the beginning of the digital age, trans people were able to find community, now those communities online are being targeted and used against the fight for trans liberation. The average Joe doesn’t watch a YouTube video about a trans woman becoming comfortable in her body, they read an article in the Guardian and believe they are now well informed.
Kylian Mbappé is one of the most famous footballers on the planet. He has recently been reported to be dating a trans woman, and the resulting social media reaction has been profoundly negative. This visibility could be empowering, but because social media has an uncanny ability to spread hatred, we have seen biassed reporting, which seeks to engage and appeal to what online media outlets perceive football fans’ opinions to be.
“The perception that individuals get from headlines, that Mr. Burke has been imprisoned for refusing to use the correct pronouns, emphasises the false narrative of woke culture enshrining itself in law.“
Those who have been writing this narrative on social media have permeated into traditional media, with respected newspapers such as the Guardian printing the takes of those who obviously have an agenda. The platforming of non-trans people, writing about trans issues, has influenced how the general population views healthcare, rights and the agency that trans people should be given.
For a period of time this was confined to British print journalism but over the past 3 years Irish print journalism has become just as guilty of platforming those who have one take on trans individuals, and have not given the same space to trans people to present their own lives and stories. The Irish Times is one example of this, with the Trans Writers Union boycotting the paper, due to damaging articles and the perceived lack of balance that the paper endorses.
In recent times, reporting on cases such as the Enoch Burke scandal have been dominated by misleading headlines, and have opened the trans community up to more hatred. The perception that individuals get from headlines, that Mr. Burke has been imprisoned for refusing to use the correct pronouns, emphasises the false narrative of woke culture enshrining itself in law. The actuality of the matter is that he has not obeyed court orders, what those court orders are for should be irrelevant.
For print media now, transgender issues are a nice headline and an interesting and relevant story, but for those individuals who sought community and safety - they are now being put at risk by the rhetoric that editors endorse. With increasing discussions surrounding trans rights, the availability of Healthcare and recognition of gender, the perception that the public has, has never been more important. Print journalism, which is trusted far more by the average person than an article on the internet, continues to print unbalanced and sensationalist language. Trans people are at the very least at risk of losing political ground and at worst incurring the wrath and violence of an incensed society.