Scottish Greens co-leader threatened with being ‘outed as trans’
Co-leader of the Scottish Greens Lorna Slater. (Twitter)
The new co-leader of the Scottish Green Party, Lorna Slater, has revealed she received an online message from someone threatening to “out” her as transgender just minutes after she was elected.
Slater, who became co-leader of Scotland’s Green Party on August 1, has launched an informal campaign to get more women and non-binary people into politics.
She tweeted on August 3: “To the person who DMed me & threatened to ‘out’ me as Trans. The Trans people I know are kind, genuine and very, very brave. Your threat does not bother me. I think it’s hilarious, but I’m sorry for people who have to deal with this abuse all the time. #transally.”
To the person who DMed me & threatened to 'out' me as Trans. The Trans people I know are kind, genuine and very, very brave. Your threat does not bother me. I think it's hilarious, but I'm sorry for people who have to deal with this abuse all the time. #transally @rainbowgreens
— Lorna Slater (@lornagreens) August 3, 2019
One reply to Slater’s tweet said, “I’m a trans ally and those scumbags have tried that with me. They need to learn that calling someone trans is not an insult and won’t upset me.”
In an interview with The National, Slater said, “The threat was just to ‘out’ me if I didn’t say what my ‘real sex’ was.”
“From the supportive messages that I’ve received, I gather this is a fairly standard thread to women who are trans allies.
“It is a bit of an odd one, to try to shame me for being trans when I don’t think being trans is anything to hide or be ashamed of.
Being trans isn’t even really all that hard. Being trans in a world where you are baselessly judged for who you are is. Good for you! Thanks for being one hell of an ally!— ?️??Madison Shaw??️? (@Kalawend) August 3, 2019
“When I responded on Twitter saying that the trans people I’ve met are kind and brave, it is because I think to make the transition, you have to really do some self evaluation and reflection.
“You need to really know who you are and accept who you are, and the consequence of doing that work is that you live an examined, meaningful life.
“People living that kind of life are brave and kind. I think it is those who lead un-examined lives, who haven’t really accepted themselves, who are frightened and insecure, who are unkind.”
Scottish delays to reforming Gender Recognition Act
Scotland recently announced it was delaying planned reforms to the Gender Recognition Act in order to conduct further public consultation and an equality impact assessment.
The Scottish government also announced it would not be extending legal recognition to non-binary trans people.
In 2018, Scotland’s only openly transgender politician – a non-binary Scottish National Party councillor called Gregor Murray – stepped down from their role citing online abuse for their decision.
There are currently no openly trans MPs or MSPs in Holyrood or Westminster.
