Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good moral panic

13 Oct Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good moral panic

Posted at 16:17h in Blog by Aby Hawker

Us humans love a good moral panic, unless that is, it is directed at us or someone we love. That’s why clickbaity journalism is so widespread.

We’ve all done it, retold a story and embellished it here and there, just to keep our audience interested, to keep them on the edge of their seats, to keep them hanging on our every word.

That’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in with the narrative currently being played out in the media in relation to the trans and non-binary community.

But things are getting out of control.

In this brilliant thread by influencer and activist @mimmymum she breaks the numbers down for anyone interested in understanding the current media landscape – you’ll have to jump over to Twitter to read it:

https://lnkd.in/et-hpkpJ

The thread explains that at its highest point, there were 33 trans hostile/neutral articles in the UK media every day. That is a LOT of articles about a minority group that represents less than 1% of the population.

This media coverage was then plotted on a graph alongside the increase in hate crime figures against trans people and the similarities are difficult to ignore.

Next time you see a shocking trans-related headline remember:

1. Be sceptical – don’t take everything you read at face value (especially if it’s opinion led and the opinion is coming from someone who isn’t trans, related to a trans person or a medical professional with an interest in trans healthcare.)

2. If you are concerned, seek out both sides of the story – PinkNews is an excellent resource for the counter argument.

3. Remember, before you get all whipped up into a frenzy about school yard sex swaps that THIS IS FAKE NEWS.

4. Affirming someone in their gender might be as simple as listening to what they are telling you – and believing what they have to say.

5. Behind the headlines is a marginalised group of people who are in need of more understanding and compassion, not less.