A group of independent trans people have called on Together for Yes to formally apologise to the trans people of Ireland, and to acknowledge the pain caused by the trans exclusionary campaign ran by the group in the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment of the constitution.

“We had been informed that, during the course of the campaign, directors and representatives of Together for Yes stated that their exclusion of trans people from the campaign, and campaign messaging, was done purposely to reach the ‘middle ground’. Not only is the idea that trans people, and their lives, are confusing or repugnant to voters extremely offensive but, judging by the tallies and exit polls being released, it seems that it was entirely unnecessary.”

“During the Marriage Referendum in 2015, bisexual people and trans people were actively excluded from the campaign’s literature. That referendum wasn’t about ‘gay and lesbian marriage’, and the use of such language was damaging to the mental health of bi and trans people at the time. That side of that campaign has been effectively whitewashed from history, and we will not allow the repeal campaign to be sanitised in the same way.”

While cisgender [1] women do account for the majority of people affected by the eighth amendment, other AFAB [2] people, mainly trans men, non-binary and intersex people, are affected while not being women.

The Abortion Rights Campaign, one of the major groups that comprised Together for Yes, had previously used trans-inclusionary language, and had trans speakers like Matt Kennedy [3] speak at their March for Choice events in the past. For the national campaign to reject the inclusivity of groups like ARC for no real reason other than a fundamentally transphobic viewpoint of the electorate is repulsive and reductive to a trans-inclusionary feminist viewpoint.

Trans Voices for Repeal would like the national Together for Yes campaign, as well as its individual co-directors, to formally acknowledge the pain their actions have caused trans people in Ireland, the negative effect their campaign has had on the mental health of trans people and the unnecessary nature of this exclusion.

Glossary of Terms

[1] Cisgender — your gender identity corresponds to the one assigned/given at birth.

[2] AFAB — ‘Assigned Female At Birth’, a catch-all term for those ‘assigned’ as women, that includes cisgender women (see above), trans men (a.k.a. FTM trans people), non-binary people (people who identify as neither male nor female, a mix of the two or something in between) etc. by doctors at birth.

[3] Matt Kennedy is a Dublin-based poet, academic and trans rights activist.

About

Trans Voices for Repeal is a non-partisan group of non-binary people, trans men, and people affected by the Eighth Amendment. The group was founded in early 2018 as a way to combat the trans exclusionary Together for Yes campaign, to make trans people being excluded felt listened to and respected, and to actively campaign for a yes vote in the referendum.

Contact

TransVoicesForRepeal@gmail.com