Sincerely, Saskia

People, people, people: have you not realised that you’re consistently being triggered by the wrong 1%? Because, despite how those in power and certain media outlets portray trans people and their experiences, they make up such a small portion of our society and yet, they are relentlessly attacked, stripped of their rights and framed as the enemy.

We’re only four months in to 2025 and the amount of damaging displays of hate towards the community – particularly trans women – for just existing is beyond diabolical. We have the fencer who took the knee as she refused to face her trans opponent, who had every right to be competing, riling up the likes of she who shall not be named and giving her a reason to spread more vile rhetoric that really says more about her than it does trans people.

We have gym owner, Natalee Barnett, who backtracked on her support for trans women, originally including them in her women’s only gym The Girl’s Spot, just to very publicly back out of her allyship once the gym’s doors opened, Oh, and don’t forget the S.9 – Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 that, had it been passed, would have allowed grown adults to search the genitalia of young women and girls to ensure they aren’t trans. If there was one aspect of all of this that you’d think would make cis women realise that an attack on trans women is an attack on all of us, it would be this – but sadly, that’s not the world we live in.

Bigotry got a court mandated seal of approval.

And as if that wasn’t enough already for the community to deal with, the UK became the next ones to jump on the stupidity train with the Supreme Court ruling yesterday that trans women are not women, meaning the definition of a woman comes down to biological sex.

Why is this a problem?

It’s erasure. It’s the complete ignorance towards a whole community of people only asking to exist as they see themselves. It’s a step backwards, it completely undermines the Gender Recognition Act and it very loudly makes a point that trans people will not be recognised in this society.

Having not even heard from any trans people during the court proceedings, the court relied on the testimony of exclusionary groups and in a very public display, bigotry got a court mandated seal of approval.

Seeing videos of women – mainly White women – cheering like this is a victory for feminism is sickening but it is not unexpected. White feminism has prospered by ignoring the importance of intersectionality for decades, and it’s clearly no different today.

Not to mention that those making these decisions for a whole community, the white, cis, men who have no understanding of trans people’s needs, wants, experiences, but yet have authority over what rights they should and shouldn’t have is just so on brand for the widespread Trumpism currently infecting all corners of the world today.

In my opinion, and this is particularly true of US policy makers, but if you have to reach for the bible every time a congressional or parliamentary debate about trans people is raised, you really shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions that are going to effect the lives of entire communities.

To all the trans people who are reeling from this decision, who feel as if they aren’t seen, heard or understood, know you have allies who are willing to speak up and defend your existence. F**k what the Supreme Court rules, trans women are women, trans men are men. There is no debate.