In an insightful discussion on trans rights, Our Editor Charlotte Dignam interviewed Cleo Madeleine, Communications Officer at Gendered Intelligence.
Established in 2008, Gendered Intelligence aims to increase awareness and understandings of gender diversity. The trans-led charity seeks to improve the lives of trans people through various mechanisms, such as campaigns, public engagement, work in educational settings, youth services, and their councillors and therapists network. Information on trans rights and inclusion is also provided to, and tailored for, families and professional bodies.
Understanding Gender Identity
Beginning the discussion, Madeline asserts that the founding principle of Gender Intelligence is improving societal understandings of gender identity. Based on the contention that the prejudice trans people face stems from limited awareness and conceptualisations surrounding gender diversity, Madeleine states that Gendered Intelligence strive to break down systemic barriers and help people realise that trans people are just ordinary humans too.
Madeleine points to three ways in which Gendered Intelligence seeks to achieve its aims. Firstly, through public engagement, which includes campaigning and media work such as interviews and the production of social media content. Secondly, through the professional and educational services arm, Gendered Intelligence work with a range of industries across the public sector including the NHS, along with schools and universities, to provide trans awareness training.
Lastly, through youth work, which Madeleine describes as the backbone of the organisation., Gendered Intelligence provide support to people from the ages of eight to thirty through groups which are conducted in-person across the country and online. These groups provide safe and age-appropriate spaces for people who are trans or have questions about gender identity. Young people are also taken out on trips, such as to the theatre or cinema, and a summer residential is held. Madeleine asserts that against the societal exclusion that many trans people face, these groups provide young people with a sense of community.
“As the political climate around trans people has become more challenging, there have been more and more attempts to attack the rights and protections of trans people. This is filtered down to our young people and they are finding it harder to get into activities and spaces, so what we want to do is make sure that they have those opportunities to just be themselves in a safe environment.”
Policy Implementation
When talking about the ways in which trans people are treated today, Madeleine contends that there is a huge amount of pressure being placed, particularly on young people. Discussing research conducted by a US-based charity called the Trevor Project, Madeleine notes how the negative portrayals of trans people promoted by politicians and the media have an impact on the mental well–being of young trans people, to the point that a mental health crisis among youths in the trans community is becoming apparent. More so, transphobic discourses perpetuate bullying, exclusion from gendered spaces, barriers to healthcare, and the use of conversion therapies.
“Seeing their rights, their futures, sometimes even their existence constantly up for discussion like that, it can sharpen the insecurity that lots of young queer people already feel.”.
Madeleine also discusses the frustration the trans community is feeling as equalities regulations and institutions such as the EHRC, which ought to protect people are “exploring ways to reduce the legal rights and protections afforded to transgender people”. Madeleine states that as an organisation, Gendered Intelligence is conscious that difficult times are ahead and that they are looking to maintain their services and support their community in the face of future challenges.
Regarding the education system, Madeleine says that Gendered Intelligence is fighting to maintain things as they are due to the “danger that protections and safeguards will be stripped away”. The charity stands firmly against the notion of disclosing young people’s trans status to parents as “we know anecdotally of young people who come out to their parents and who are abused as a result of it, who experience physical violence, who experience exclusion from school, like separation from their friends.”.
Rather, Gendered Intelligence argues that guidance for educators, tailored to specific support needs, should be prioritised. This would allow for any transphobic abuse to be dealt with effectively and questions or advice surrounding gender identity to be answered and provided in a safe space.
When asked about any specific governments that could act as a model for trans inclusion, Madeleine mentioned that those of Iceland, Germany, and Spain have policies that empower trans people and filter down into educational settings to ensure that trans youth feel welcome and accepted.
In particular, Madeleine highlights a project currently in the works called Hour 28, a retrospective on Section 28 to mark the 20th anniversary of the repeal. The aim is to look at the legacy Section 28 holds and the similarities with the UK Government’s current stance on trans rights.
“it’s disappointing because as a trans person who lives in the UK, and there are nearly 300,000 of us, I think it can feel like there isn’t anybody, like, advocating for you at the top of the country. There isn’t anybody who’s working for your future.”
Addressing Controversies and Combatting Disinformation about Trans People
Madeleine notes how there are many debates and controversies that often consume conversations on gender identity and can lead to polarising opinions. Madeleine argues that hostile media narratives portraying trans people as a threat, particularly trans women, drive wedges between communities, even though trans women and cis women have solidarity against many issues, such as male violence. She contends, “Men already hurt women. Men already abuse women, sometimes in women’s spaces, without pretending to be trans women. Because the problem isn’t whether or not we allow trans women. The problem is male violence, which is something that affects all women, regardless of whether they’re trans or cis”.
Madeleine also asserts that the long waiting lists debunk the notion that young people are being rushed into decisions surrounding their gender identity.
Moreover, Madeleine notes that when it comes to defining sex and gender or distinguishing between them, people are entitled to believe what they want as long as they are not promoting any form of discrimination or exclusion, as gender is a protected characteristic. Madeleine recognises that the difference between the terms is challenging, and she understands why people may find it confusing, “I find it difficult and I’m transgender” she says.
“What we would say as an organisation is that you have your sex registered at birth and then you have your gender identity, which for most people is the same as their sex registered at birth. For some people, about 0.5 per cent of the population, your gender identity is different. And that’s when you’d be trans or non-binary or however else you want to describe yourself”.
A crucial aspect Gendered Intelligence focuses on is providing safe spaces for people to ask ‘awkward’ questions to demystify discourse around trans people and enable allyship. “I think one thing that’s really important, particularly in these difficult times, is to try and be calm and clear around what’s going on with trans issues,” Madeleine concludes.
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