Annalee Newitz: 'These are not debate topics, these are weapons'

Annalee Newitz:

"The thing about the psychological war on trans people is that oftentimes, in the mainstream media, it gets mistaken for a debate. Someone will come out with an article saying, you know, we shouldn't allow trans teenagers to exist. You shouldn't get gender, affirming care as a teenager. That's a way of saying that trans youth are simply imaginary, or or are some kind of toxic sickness.

The way that we can push back against that is to acknowledge that these are not debate topics, these are weapons. These are these are pieces of rhetoric that are being used to demoralize trans people, to traumatize trans people, and there's no way to respond to them rationally. There's no way that you can talk back to a gun. The gun doesn't have an opinion, it's just trying to hurt you. So the only way that we can respond and stay healthy and get over this, is to admit that these are traumatizing pieces of rhetoric. To say, "Actually, this is not a legitimate argument, this is you hurting me, and I'm hurt." And to admit how how wounded we are.

And then to say, "Now, let's move on and build something different." We don't need to respond to the people who are just trying to hurt us. What we need to do is build our community up to be stronger, to tell our stories. To make our stories available as much as we can, so that people who are being hurt will hear them and know that there is a place of safety and warmth and love.

I constantly am taking hope from just seeing like, amazing weird, beautiful sparkly, awesome stuff that trans people are creating to talk to each other and reassure each other that not only do we deserve to be alive, but we're fucking awesome."

"There's No Way You Can Talk Back to a Gun": On Psychological Warfare. Annalee Newitz, interviewed by Charlie Jane Anders. Happy Dancing. May 28, 2024.