Conservative media has been quite exercised this week by a story about a transgender student at Florence High School in Colorado allegedly harassing girls in the locker room. The Pacific Justice Institute, a California-based anti-LGBT group, spurred the media focus by sending a letter to the school demanding accommodation for the supposed victims. Cristan Williams at The TransAdvocate debunked the story by speaking directly with Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti, who explained that no harassment took place — a few parents just don’t like that a transgender student is being allowed to use the locker room of the gender with which she identifies. Now, PJI has basically admitted they invented the story because they’re just transphobic.
One of PJI’s responses came through the conduit of attorney Cathy Brennan, a mouthpiece for a fringe group of transphobic feminists who do not believe that trans people exist and that any attempt to recognize or respect them is an attack on all women.
Now, can we please once and for all acknowledge that TERFs (trans* exclusionary radical feminists) are violent with criminal intent, purposefully harming trans* people either through rhetoric, or, like in this case above, direct, material harm? One of the arguments we hear from TERFs is that they are not violent, they merely “disagree” with trans* people’s existence. As this case exemplifies, this is not the case, Cathy Brennan, aka Bug Brennan on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, etc, invented lies to have a trans* girl’s access to school facilities removed. She went as far as associating with an anti gay hate group to achieve this.
Next time a TERF demands proof that they are violent (something they are keen on doing when confronted with their awfulness and hatred), just send them this link. Cathy Brennan, one of their loudest representatives will go as far as harassing teens in their school. If that is not a hate crime, I don’t know what it is.
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