Are Trans Rights a U.K. Middle-Class Issue?
Class politics and the question of gender
I’ve seen quite a bit of discourse online over the last few days in UK politics where people try to frame support for trans rights as being a kind of middle-class endeavor. This coincides with them trying to push some weird class-reductionist idea, or just as a justification to ignore trans people because it’s (according to transphobes) not working-class politics.
This was actually inspired by a recent post from British Labour MP Jonathan Hinder who ridiculed trans activism on the grounds that it’s not going to win back the working class.
Now, for the sake of context, it’s worth pointing out that Labour have suffered some pretty historic losses recently. They just recently lost a by- and lost massively in the local council elections. In fact there were a number of wards where All of this is historic because no government has ever become so unpopular so quickly. It took Tony Blair seven years before he lost a by-election while in government for instance.
The reason why Labour have lost so much support is that they’ve delivered a platform that is harming the great majority of people. Also, they’ve been outwardly transphobic during this time, such as supporting the recent Supreme Court ruling against trans people. Support for trans people is also rather widespread, as we saw from that took place after the ruling was announced.
If Labour were to change their position on this and move in a much more pro-trans direction, it wouldn’t make them any more unpopular, as the leading reasons why people have stopped supporting Labour have nothing to do with trans people.
Even beyond this though, it’s clear after even the most basic examination that support for trans people is not some political movement that was created by the middle-class or high society; in fact much support for trans people comes from other marginalised communities.
If you just look at the anti-trans movement for instance you will immediately see the likes of Joanne Rowling as someone who dedicates a large amount of her time to voicing her dislike of trans people and those who support trans people. She’s spent almost five years now going after trans people and she herself also voiced support for the recent Supreme Court ruling.
Naturally, it’s worth pointing out that she is also a billionaire who also came from a very privileged background, despite her claim to a rags-to-riches story.
You also have , someone who’s worth hundreds of millions himself and is . He is also one of the main politicians in Britain who helped to create an extremely hostile climate against trans people. His successor as leader of the Tory Party, .
We can even look at the US and look at some of the major contributors to the rise of transphobia there, such as Matt Walsh, an extremely wealthy person who’s almost certainly making over $1 million a year. It’s the exact same story with the likes of , and every other right-wing culture warrior who crusades against trans people.
All of the major figures in the anti-trans movement are either incredibly wealthy to the tune of millions or they come from an otherwise extremely privileged background. Now, I’m not aware of any major working class transphobes but even if there were, the anti-trans movement is incredibly financially rewarding. Hence, in my opinion, it runs counter to the idea that they can be working-class or underdogs in any meaningful way.
Looking at this from a , it is working-class people who are more on the side of trans people than anyone else. Transphobia is something that is manufactured from those at the top of society, it’s not something that arises organically from below. Just as an example of this, I know tonnes of trans people from poorer backgrounds and when they came out to their family members, they were fully supportive of them.
The recent marches for trans rights are supported by predominantly working-class people. The Green Party and made it consistently clear that they support trans people, and they’ve had a surge in support from working-class and poorer people in recent months.
Ultimately, though, working-class interests in any way. When one marginalised group is attacked, it only serves to bolster further attacks on other marginalised groups. People who are bigoted against trans people almost always go on to have toxic views about others.
Again, just look at the likes of Matt Walsh and Joanne Rowling; they’ve also been criticised for their and other issues. The bottom line is, the elites and those at the top of society are almost always going to be the most vocal transphobes, while those at the bottom always stand with the oppressed.
Why do you think LGBT people stood in solidarity with ? It’s because they recognise their shared struggle against oppression.
