Trans man Teddy Cook addressing a New South Wales parliamentary committee (Screenshot: LGBTI Rights Australia)
A trans health expert delivered a powerful testimony before ab Australian state parliament, declaring that trans people like him “deserve the dignity of being known”.
Teddy Cook was the sole transgender person to address a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry into a proposed law banning the promotion of “gender fluidity” in schools.
Cook is vice president of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH), the country’s leading body for trans health professionals.
He told the hearing he was grateful for the opportunity to speak as an adult who was once a trans child, noting that he is likely the first trans person many lawmakers have ever spoken to.
âYou do seem to see us as a threat, which is interesting. I do hope that you know some actual trans people in your life. I hope that I am not the first one you have met.
âThe reality, though, is that we are not powerful enough to disrupt the culture of this country. Many of us, even though we are incredibly resilient, are just trying to get through the day, really. We are not the threat you imagine us to be.
âHow do I know this? Well, because I see it. I see the rates of suicidality in my community, and the violence. I see the rejection and the turmoil. I hear the stories of people who have ended their own lives â young people, who would prefer not to be alive than to live in a world that tells them that there is something wrong with them, that we are disordered, that we are a problem, that we are a challenge to deal with, that we are something to legislate against.â
Published February 11, 2021
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