Meet the straight, white, cisgender, middle class Tory who wants you to state your pronouns to support trans folk
A person holding a transgender pride flag outside the Stonewall Inn at a 2019 rally. (Getty/ AFP/ ANGELA WEISS)
Plot twist: did you know that a trans ally can be of any political leaning?
While anti-trans commentators are often conservative or otherwise perceived to be right-wing, and “identity politics” – including the concept of using the right pronouns for people – are lambasted as a left-wing issue, transgender people and their allies have a broad range of political affiliations and beliefs.
Writing for iNews over the weekend, a “cisgender, straight, white, male, middle-class Tory” has written an illuminating and much-needed piece about why respect for trans people “is about little more than a rudimentary level of courtesy and respect for our fellow human beings”.
Jason Reed, a student and treasurer of the LSE Conservative Society, wrote a piece about why he states his pronouns in his social media bios, and why cis people urgently need to do the same if they want to be a trans ally.
“The declaration of pronouns seems to be a red rag to socially conservative bulls, resulting in seething intolerance for anyone who dares to openly diverge from perceived gender norms,” Reed said.
“However, I believe that we can change that – with a basic level of humility and solidarity.”
Mermaids, the charity for trans and gender-questioning young people, has previously highlighted how making simple, easy changes to the way trans people are treated in society can have a huge impact, and can prevent trans children and teenagers from having suicidal thoughts.
Reed’s piece agreed with this: “If everyone stated their pronouns, allowing those with a non-traditional gender identity to blend into the crowd, the quality of life of countless people could improve markedly, with negligible inconvenience caused to everyone else.”
It has also been shown that consistently using the correct name and pronouns for trans people can reduce their rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts to almost the same levels as their cisgender counterparts, something that Reed again highlighted in his piece.
“One of the most woefully overlooked ongoing social phenomena is the cataclysmically high suicide rates among young trans people and that hate crime against trans people has risen by 37 per cent,” he said. “This matters.”
Referencing Piers Morgan, Reed also pointed out that “bigots think it is endlessly entertaining to taunt harshly oppressed minority groups” but that “feeble, ham-fisted attempts at satirising the gender debate so often conceal much darker vicious attacks on people because of the way they identify or present”.
Reed concluded: “If stating your pronoun fills you with anger I urge you to ask yourself why the issue of gender identity riles you to such a great extent.
“It has little to no effect on your life, yet social conservatives explode with fury whenever it crops up.
“Is this not the same snowflakery of which they relentlessly accuse liberals and leftists?”
