It’s a sad time for journalism at the moment in my opinion. I’m trying to break out as a trans columnist writing articles that require research, investigation, talking to people and providing an unbiased viewpoint of the world, somewhat uniquely focussed through the lens of my experiences as a trans woman going through all the trials and tribulations of transition (yes, I can do alliteration as well).
And then ‘writers’ like Richard Littlejohn and Jeremy Clarkson step in and start talking about being transgender.
Now I could go down the usual route here of spittle-filled diatribe about how ridiculously out of touch they are (not that I’m saying they aren’t). But the simple fact is they represent the old school of journalism. The one where you didn’t need to do any research, know anything about the subject which they were speaking about and could just drop in a few highly inappropriate jokes at the expense of the subject matter. Thankfully they’ve (mostly) stepped away from being blatantly misogynistic and racist these days, however it seems that newer areas that spring up are still viable.
Is transphobia just ‘acceptable’ racism?
The worrying part is a certain section of the general public still find this amusing, which means these dinosaurs can still get column-inches dedicated to their own brand of journalism. However I can’t see this lasting in the longer term. A significant portion of readers are becoming more educated, more aware of human rights across the board and more accepting of alternative lifestyle, sexuality and gender. People are becoming *individuals* – perish the thought.
The much maligned (by Messrs Clarkson and Littlejohn) ‘yoof’ of today is way more open about standing out from the crowd. Individuality, self-expression, exploration and creativity are the buzz-words today. Recent studies have shown young adults quite happy about identifying as bisexual or exploring their sexuality, coming out as gender fluid and being inspired by new stars such as Ruby Rose, Jaden Smith and Miley Cyrus.
So I actually feel sorry for the Richards and Jeremy’s of this world – they are on their last wallow as the prehistoric beasts that they are – soon to become extinct as the newer wave of journalism continues to spring forth. Plenty of readers are crying for stories that promote individuality, experience, fact over opinion but also flavoured with a dose of reality that doesn’t revolve around tweed jackets and high-octane cars.
The biggest irony for me is that I grew up on Top Gear. I tried being the macho guy for a while, listening about cars and laughing at the fool antics around caravans. I can still identify with quite a of those traits – coming out as trans doesn’t mean that I have to be all girly, I’m an individual and define my own gender. I can still fix a car should the need arise, can do DIY better than quite a few husbands I know and know which way up a map goes. Those traits aren’t ‘masculine’ – they are just traits. However internally I feel incredibly feminine, and having come out to friends as trans an awful lot of them have realised that the femininity has always been there. Plus women get *way* cooler clothes.
I think that’s part of what these prehistoric journos fear though – the world is forever changing around them, and they are still churning out the same thing. Part of what I do revolves around being entrepreneurial and that means new ideas, new concepts and almost constant innovation. Those are pretty alien concepts to those brontosaurs. It’s almost like the record has broken, and sometime in the near future people are going to want to throw out the record player and just stream the message instead!
However it also bears thinking about the thousands of trans people out there (yes, Jeremy, there are literally thousands – not believing a fact doesn’t make it untrue) who already have enough to deal with in life right now. Being trans just adds to all the standard pressures the people face day in day out – it’s like we’re doing life on hard mode and it’s not like we got to choose it that way. I help run trans support services in Berkshire so I’m dealing with real cases and real trans people on a week to week basis – I see the problems these people go through with my own eyes and ears and having a supposedly educated person in an Ivory Tower telling me they don’t exist is frankly just denying reality and insulting in equal measures.