Media & TERFs Are Failing to Demonise Trans Doctor in NHS Changing Room "Row"

Aesthetics & Bigotry -- In their world, we are diseased, and they are better than us by way of birthright. When they're forced to reckon with the fact this isn't true, it's hilarious and beautiful.

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They really don’t like it when we’re prettier than them. They don’t like it when we’re wealthier, smarter, happier, or more successful than them. In their world, we are diseased, and they are better than us by way of birthright.

Every so often, something happens in the media that forces the anti-trans hate mob to reckon with the fact that that is simply not true. And it’s always beautiful to watch it happen in real-time.

In the UK right now, an NHS nurse named Peggie has taken her employer to the employment tribunal, after being suspended for putting a patient at risk by leaving during a resuscitation simply because a trans doctor, Dr Upton, entered the room. As well as for repeatedly harassing Dr Upton relating to her use of the women’s changing rooms leaving her in tears.

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Anti-trans advocates have inexplicably been in support of the nurse, who is, and I repeat, allegedly willing to put a patient’s life at risk by leaving an active resuscitation just because a transgender woman walked into the room to assist with saving their life.

Initially, during the court ordeal, Upton covered her face and managed to keep images of herself out of the media, leading to transphobic people in and outside of the media speculating on her looks. Creating awful characatures and strange memes speculating on the appearance of her face.

More recently though, she has been brave enough to show her face. Revealing the normal face of a transgender woman in her 30’s who has spent some time going through her transition. Admittedly, Dr Upton is a pretty woman. Those who are obsessed with aesthetics, like transphobes and conservatives tend to be, are incredibly upset by this revelation.

Maya Forstater, a prominent UK anti-trans bigot, shared her concerns around the portrayal (read: photos of) Dr Upton in the media.

Sarah Ward and the Daily Mail had to cope by using an obviously poorly timed, carefully selected photo of Dr Upton, who still, funnily enough, looks prettier than the best photo of Nurse Peggie that they could find.

It’s important to remember that this is just misogyny, the looks of a woman being used as a marker for whether her opinions and viewpoint matter. This misogyny is uniquely wielded against trans women, when it is used to invalidate our stance and our status as women. (see: transmisogyny)

The transphobic nurse looks set to be dismissed from work for putting patients in danger, and Dr Upton has not been accused of any wrongdoing. This appears to be a rare win on all fronts in the culture war, both from a public opinion standpoint and from a material one.

TERFs will criticise me for focusing on aesthetics here, and for highlighting the ways they use beauty as a weapon. They will call me a misogynist, and suggest that only a man can make the observations that I have made. However, they will then without a second thought, send early and pretransition photos of whoever they’re attacking to them. So, their criticisms will always ring incredibly hollow.

It’s disappointing that these aesthetics matter in culture, but they do. When readers have 10 seconds to read a headline, skim an article and view a picture; anti-trans activists in media know they have to push a visual narrative too — the imposing, ugly, mannish trans woman — that they desperately try to portray us as.

When this fails on all fronts, like it is now, it is so spectacular to watch.