Category: LGBTQ+

  • Not my movement

    In the 2014 referendum campaign for Scottish independence, I was a proud Yes supporter. I wore the badge with pride, attended rallies, and felt part of something important: we had the opportunity to make a better, more tolerant, more inclusive country. In 2019 I wouldn’t attend an independence rally because I’d be scared for my…

  • Don’t give money to the Salvation Army

    If you’re considering donating to a charity this year, please don’t give to the Salvation Army. The charity says it’s dedicated to helping all people in need irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, but it has a long history of discrimination against LGBT+ people. Here in the UK, the Salvation Army lobbied against…

  • It can be lonely at Christmas

    Christmas can be tough if you’re not partnered or part of a nuclear family: the ads show a family life you don’t have while every shop seems to be playing It’ll Be Lonely This Christmas on a loop. As Owl Stefania writes in Metro, it can be particularly hard for LGBT+ people. Stefania’s writing specifically…

  • Bigots of a feather flock together

    I wrote the other day that many bigots are stupid. So it was just a matter of time before they combined multiple flavours of stupid, as they do here. Is a new trend that isn’t a new trend caused by something that doesn’t exist? Hoo boy, we’re gonna have to get our thinkin’ caps on…

  • This hateful, murderous ignorance

    The thing about bigots is that often, they have no idea what they’re talking about. Sometimes that’s because they’re stupid. But all too often it’s wilful stupidity, where the information is widely and easily available but they either don’t look for it or refuse to believe it. Here’s an example from this morning. Over on…

  • A dangerous obsession

    Let’s compare two numbers. In a typical year, the UK Gender Recognition Panel will grant around 320 gender recognition certificates to trans people. Over the last year, the UK press printed more than 6,000 articles about trans people, most of them negative, many of them scaremongering about the imagined dangers of letting trans people get those…

  • When parental pride doesn’t extend to LGBT+ children

    According to a new YouGov poll, a quarter of UK adults would not feel proud of their child if their child came out as LGBT+. The poll is full of saddening figures, of which this is the saddest: 11% would feel uncomfortable living at home with a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender child. That perhaps…

  • When things feel slow

    When you’re going through tough times or big changes, it can be hard to see the bigger picture. You may be in a better place than you were in the past, you may be ending things that have had a negative effect on you, but you don’t necessarily feel like bouncing around in a joyful…

  • “A fatberg in the river of Scottish public conversation.”

    I don’t normally link to The Scotsman, but I’m a big admirer of its columnist Laura Waddell. Today, she’s writing about the so-called debate over trans rights. For the sake of trans people, for women, and for the state of our public discourse, enough of the bad faith actions. The Women’s Pledges which have recently…

  • Study: you can’t turn your kids trans

    Newsweek reports on the largest ever study of trans kids, which found that – surprise! – you can’t turn your kids trans even if you try really really really hard. This is not surprising to those of us who spent most of our lives trying not to be trans. [being] responsive to a child’s expression…