Sir, – In her recent letter about gender identity, Sara Morrison claimed that “dissent is pathologised” (Letters, May 9th) and she is right, but not in the way she suggests.
We as trans people dissent from a rigid gender binary that tells us who we are and how we should live. And we are pathologised for this: labelled as mentally unstable, subjected to invasive psychiatric assessments, denied essential healthcare, segregated from public life, and excluded from decisions that impact our bodies and lives. We are treated as modern folk devils to be “fixed” for our dissent from the norm.
Does this sound familiar? Women have historically faced – and continue to face – many of the very same barriers. That’s why, if you care about women, you should care about trans people too. Our struggles – and our freedom – are shared. – Yours, etc,
KY WALKER,
National LGBTQ+ Federation,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
