I never fancied being a press war correspondent.
Bullets and shells whistling around my head is not something I would choose, to be honest. I am not that brave. But sometimes reporting on the gender war (also known as the terf war) it sometimes feels like I am in a war zone. I walk close to what some in my community would call transphobes, terfs or gender crits, and some trans folk are not that happy with me.
But I do what I do so for good reasons.
Firstly, for my website to gain traction and support within society (in other words ordinary cis people) I need to report what “the other side” says. I need their opinions and comments so I can rebuff them. I also need their views because I write for other websites and I am obliged to give a “balanced view.”
Secondly, I need to get close to some GC “questioners” so I can convince them they are wrong – and I do get successes. One GC said to me not so long ago when I explained in advance what she was scared of was “Oh my God you are good aren’t you”. Just by reading her timeline on Twitter, it was obvious she had been “sold” the idea that trans people were predators and criminals. Sad, but true – some GC actually believe that rubbish!
But a word of promise to my community – I am trans, and I will never give way on any established principle of being trans and supporting those I love and want to care for.
