Compassion Builds Bridges One thing I often say is that, in culture and politics, we must always avoid tribalism. In recent years, I have become concerned that the discourse around trans issues has become similar to the wider political environment, with increasing tribalism, black-and-white thinking, and echo chambers. The main reason why I have started speaking up about trans issues again after not talking about them for a decade is because I want to counter this trend. I want to build bridges between the trans community and different parts of the wider society, to increase mutual understanding, so that our views of each other aren't dominated by stereotypes and biased perceptions. I believe this is the key to building trans acceptance, because it is what I have found in my own life experience. Most people don't have a problem with trans people, but they might not understand us very well. This can lead to difficulties when we ask for accommodations to be made. But the thing to remember is that, most people aren't actually against us. Rather, it's a problem of understanding.
When I say I want to break the echo chambers and build bridges, I mean that I want to do so on both sides of the divide, i.e. the trans community as well as society at large. In recent years, trans representation in mainstream media has improved, and most people out there probably have at least a rudimentary understanding of trans people. This stands in contrast to when I first came out in 2006, where the first 156
