AS a committed reader of The National since its first edition and the mother of a transgender daughter, I have to say that I was deeply disappointed to see The National choosing to jump on the current media bandwagon of publishing articles which spread misinformation about trans people under the guise of concern about women’s safety (Women must not be silenced in the debate on gender identity, The National, January 19).
To be sure, an article defending the rights of trans people was published the next day (We must change our attitudes towards trans people, The National, January 20), so perhaps the editorial team have salved their conscience by telling themselves they are being even-handed.
However, publishing Shona Craven’s article facilitated the continuation of the poisonous and quite staggeringly hateful myth that all or most trans women are simply male sexual predators determined to disguise themselves as the opposite sex in order to prey on vulnerable women in public toilets and female changing rooms.
If this were indeed the case, then one would expect there to be a number of recorded instances of such attacks in the UK or any other country, but I have yet to see journalists and campaigners who peddle this particular myth present even one documented case as evidence to support their “concerns”. What I have seen, however, is reputable research from organisations such as Stonewall, which demonstrates that far from being the sexual predators which the Daily Mail and other hate organisations would have you believe, trans people are among the most vulnerable and abused minorities in the UK today. They are the ones at risk of assault and abuse; they are the ones who are discriminated against in every aspect of their daily lives and who live in daily fear of simply being truthful about who they are and trying to live their lives in peace. In fact, entering a public toilet or changing room appropriate to their true gender is a stressful and frightening experience for most trans people as they are constantly worried about being abused or assaulted by bigoted and ignorant people who hate them simply for not conforming to a particular set of societal norms around the physical appearance of gender.
The Equality Act protects trans people from discrimination and harassment on the basis of the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (and no, this does not mean that the person has to undergo surgery in order to qualify for protection). Harassment is defined as violating a person’s dignity and/or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for a person. The mainstream media currently facilitate and encourage with virtual impunity a wider social narrative which discriminates against and is intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive towards trans people.
This is what enables the appalling climate of fear in which trans people have to live their daily lives. And The National has joined in with legitimising this narrative.
Natasha York
Jedburgh
I KEEP reading about how much the automobile is causing damage to our health and the planet and we should be encouraged to use public transport.
I have no argument with the claims that the automobile is bad for health and wellbeing.
However, I would ask that those who call for bans on their use to stop and think.
Many of us who have lived in the country could simply not live without vehicles, especially ones with four-wheel drive.
For example I live in an area where I would have to walk one-and-a-half miles on a narrow road with no footpath or lighting to get a bus. On reaching the stop there is a bus every two hours. I would love to have a bus service and as someone living on a small pension it would save me the expense of running a reliable car that is designed for dealing with snow on the roads.
Lastly their are many rural dwellers living just above the poverty line who have to run old, inefficient vehicles simply to live – not all rural dwellers are well-off and run brand-new Chelsea tractors.
If we want to limit the use of cars then perhaps governments and environmentalists should ensure the infrastructure is in place first.
Bryan Auchterlonie
Perthshire
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