My gender is not your political opinion.
Over the last few years, I have heard many politicians discuss and debate whether or not I, as a trans person, deserve medical care, the privilege of emptying my bladder in areas designed for public use, and even whether or not I exist.
My gender has been framed as a political opinion, to be discussed, debated, and challenged by other people, whether or not they have any knowledge of trans issues or personal experience as a trans person. However, there is a difference between discussing scientific facts and using politics to dismiss science.
This may come across as a semantic argument, the kind of debate usually reserved for academics in fields like philosophy who like to argue about thought experiments in their ivory towers. But the difference between a fact and an opinion is incredibly important to this topic and not particularly difficult to understand.
It can be healthy to challenge political opinions, to debate them, to be friends with people who may have different political opinions than our own. For example, I have friends with different views about how much the government should limit personal freedom to protect the public good. As a society, we have decided that you cannot choose to drink and drive because it impacts the safety of those around you. I have debated with friends about government responsibility for preventing and mitigating climate change. But if you say that climate change is not real, you are just wrong and we cannot engage in any further debate over these policies because the entire premise of your argument is inaccurate.
Politicians often try to reframe facts as political opinions. When framed as an opinion, they can ignore any evidence or experts who don't fit into their own beliefs or whose ideas are inconvenient for them. As voters, we are encouraged to listen to "both sides" of an argument and we honestly believe that the truth is somewhere in between, even in cases where the scientific evidence irrefutably shows that one (or both) sides are wrong.
Framing science as a debate can be very harmful. Trans people still exist in the United States, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's insistence that people can only be male or female based on sex at birth. And more than 100,000 trans people will continue to exist in Canada even though Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre has never heard of us. And facing consequences for trying to erase us is not "cancel culture "or being fired for a political opinion, it is hate speech and advocating to infringe on our human rights, as protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Regardless of what politicians say, one to two per cent of people will continue to develop naturally in ways that do not conform to the gender binary.
All over the world, there are cultures dating back hundreds, if not thousands, of years with genders that do not conform to the two distinct groups we call male and femaIe. Scientists in fields such as biology, genetics, psychology, sociology, and medicine overwhelmingly agree that trans people exist.
We are not a political opinion. This should not be controversial.
In less than a month, people in Canada are casting a vote that could eliminate my ability to exist. Not allowing me to use bathrooms outside of my home restricts my ability to work, go to school, shop, or even just go to a restaurant. The belief that underpins transphobic policies is that everyone fits neatly into one of two boxes (or bathrooms) — male or female — and are unable to exist outside of them or transition between them under any circumstances.
But we know this isn't true. Science knows this isn’t true. No matter how hard they try to push the idea that trans people are new, it never has been true. No matter how hard they try to erase us, it never will be true.
The fact that I exist is not a political opinion to be decided at the ballot box: it’s reality. And I cannot just agree to disagree with someone who is trying to eliminate my existence.
Dr. Laur O'Gorman (they/them) is the former co-chair of Fierté Sudbury Pride, former professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality studies, parent, writer, and activist. Let Me Be Perfectly Queer is a column about issues that impact 2SLGBTQ+ people in Sudbury as well as their friends, family, neighbours and co-workers; why queer issues matter to everybody. O’Gorman uses the word “queer” as an umbrella term that includes understandings of gender, sexuality, romance, and families outside of what is most common in our culture. If you have any questions relating to 2SLGBTQ+ issues, please send them to [email protected].