Daily Failings
By Thais Yanez, NCAFC LGBTQ+ Officer, Trans* Place
The death of Ms. Lucy Meadows is not just another statistic or tragedy we have to protest against, it is the result of a campaign of bullying and discrediting led by the Daily Mail and Richard Littlejohn who would have Transgender people like Lucy disappear quietly and move away from their neighbourhoods. According to the columnist Lucy Meadows was “not only in the wrong body… he’s in the wrong job”
In addition to the constant hateful reference to Lucy as a ‘he’ (as though if he said it enough ‘she’ would go away indeed), no attention was paid to her record as a teacher or the fact that parents, pupils and colleagues might have been supportive of her decision to transition. Littlejoh is in fact the actual man in totally the wrong job as he has dismissed his duty to truth and investigative journalism and used his column to spread his personal views which are fiull of hatred, bigotry and transphobia.
Last year we in the Trans* community had to mourn 267 of our sisters and brothers lost to transphobic hate crime which was largely ignored by the media. And that is the ones we know. Suicides seldom go reported as transphobia. We are in constant mourning as a community but it is ther families and friends whose lives have been shattered and whose loss we feel and we send our most heartfelt sympathy.
It is said there is no clear link between Lucy’s death and Littlejohn’s article of media coverage but the Guardian reports activists in the Trans* community received e mails from Meadows complaining about the stress she felt after her private and difficult transition became national news thanks to the Daily Mail. A heretofore competent teacher was portrayed in the triggering article as a ‘selfish’ ‘man’ who should have had “ the operation and then return to work as ‘Miss Meadows’ at another school on the other side of town” . Like if it would have been so easy to find another job. Unemployment in the Trans* community is high and thanks to bigotry like this is likely to remain so.
The Trans* people who go through with transitioning will testify how the process is not only stressful and lengthy but invasive and even dehumanising, as well, as they are pathologised. Littlejohn hismself asserts he is ok with ‘sex changes as long as they are a medical necessity’. Thanks, then. Trans* people are forced to justify their very existence to professionals that have never gone through anything alike. As queer/non binary person I can only imagine and sympathise with sisters and brothers who are put through this but I would not attampt to describe their feelings and experiences.
And like if this wasn’t enough Littlejohn patronisingly implies that children, who still believe in Father Christmas, he says, are too dumb to understand gender identity. I wonder if he would have them being brought up with his transphobic values instead, if they are not too young to be taught hatred and discrimination. Why does not safeguarding of children extends to the very paper on which he writes whose page 3 shows these children half naked women and teaches them thus that women can be objectified and exploited? Why does he not safeguard children from prejudice and intolerance that destroy lives?
His false cries for freedom of speech should not be louder than ours for freedom to exist.
Bigots don’t seem to realise they are harming children to the point of it being abusive by raising them up to hate others and have total disregard for other people’s rights. Why doesn’t Littlejohn complain about EDL members raising children. Why did not he show outrage when the French right wing Le Marif per tous held a rally in Trafalgar square to protests agains equal marriage on 24th of March and the dozens of children as young as three shouting against LGBTQ people getting equal rights. This group, which is banned in France, did not catch the attention of Littlejohn who seems to be only in the lookout for someone to bully to death. And he found Lucy. Rest in Peace, Miss Meadows.
e, Miss Meadows.
