Why Are Trans People Hated? - The Roots of Transphobia

In the world today, trans people in general are the most vulnerable minority; this reason alone is why they have become a football for politics and the media.  The issues in the United States toward this minority affect Europe and the United Kingdom.  As a practitioner, I am preparing myself and my patients for the potential spread of this vitriol to the Southern Hemisphere, and so infecting my home, Australia.

The transgender ideology, biological binary, transgender agenda, public toilet and changing bans and scrutiny and bans on transgender athletes…I could continue much further with this list, but all of it can be briefly summarised into one word - Transphobia.

As alluded to in my introduction, the US Presidential elections have had a profound and significant impact on Europe and the Western world.  In the United Kingdom, there is a stuttering government that is reluctant to put its head above the parapet and support transgender people; they don’t seem to be able (the EHRC ruling dosen’t help) to be able to see that the term “woman” isn’t as biological as they believe. My last article/blog discussed this, should you want to search that out on here.

The plain reality of all of this is that the impact is most definitely going to be negative and make their lives so much harder and more complicated.  As supporters and allies, I feel we have no other choice but to stand firmly against it and continue talking freely and supporting trans people in our populations around the world.

Troubling Statistics

I will start with some figures and discuss the general reasons and core of what we know as Transphobia.  Trans Europe & Central Asia (TGEU) is a trans-led non-profit organisation supporting the rights and well-being of trans people in Europe and Central Asia; since 2008, they have reported over 5,000 cases of transgender people being murdered, 94% of these were trans women and two-thirds were aged between 19 and 40.

https://tgeu.org/will-the-cycle-of-violence-ever-end-tgeus-trans-murder-monitoring-project-crosses-5000-cases/

Prejudice against transgender people is in the ascendancy, with Napier (2024) finding that 16,000 participants across 23 countries, transgender women were more likely to be ostracised than transgender men across all groupings of gender, age and skin colour.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/*****************?journalCode=sppa

This paper demonstrates that transgender people in general are much more likely to be victims of prejudice than other members of the LGBTQ+ community.  Resulting in transgender people being the most vulnerable minority, specifically making trans women the number one target for politics and the mass media.  

Arayasirikul et al. (2022) discussed in their results of 83% of participants reported verbal harassment and abuse, while 56% reported physical abuse; more than half of trans women have been victims.  These figures are disturbing when you realise that every second transgender woman has been a victim of physical assault due to her gender identity.  The study concluded that there is no other category of people more likely to be victimised.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12939-***********

Origins of Transphobia

This manifests itself as a lack of true understanding of transgender people, gender dysphoria and transitioning in general, citing that it's a deviance and mental illness.  Society fails to understand, and I quote, “trans women are women” and that they think, feel and act like biological women.  Those who choose to transition medically have bodies and hormonal levels identical to those of cisgender women. Gender Dysphoria was not a condition that was created by the so-called ‘trans agenda’ ****** of trans people and their supporters, but rather a medical diagnosis determined by trained professionals like myself using treatment and medical protocols based on evidence, research and real-life experience.

It's well known and commented that transgender people have existed throughout history for thousands of years and are not a construct of post-modern societal ideas.

Most Vulnerable Grouping 

Many of my transgender clients inform me that it's always been unsafe to be transgender; every day in many parts of the world, they step out of their homes in some sort of danger.  The most at risk, they tell me, are those who don’t “pass” as cisgender; I have commented many times in my own interactions and research with trans people that I am against the term “pass”.  As a medical doctor, I do not support the notion of a strict gender binary, even though some identify as being at the farthest end of the gender spectrum.

One of my current patients transitioned from one pole to the other without being in between. They commented that they believed that every single person should look, dress and act however they feel.  This patient commented that the ostracism wasn’t the primary reason. Still, it was compelling enough a factor in their decision to rush through their transition and endeavour to do everything possible for them to appear passable.  I read and hear so many times where society battles to differentiate gender expression from gender identity, since most people are cisgender, they believe one's inner identity should match one's outward appearance.  Society expects that women should conform entirely to its understanding of how women should look; if there is a conflict in this belief and notion, then you are labelled an inferior member of society.

Transgender People Are Not the Only Ones Affected

Transgender people often tell me that they often face public shame for not being passable, reaching a point where even cisgender women who don’t meet societal expectations are becoming victims; this has been well demonstrated with the bathroom and changing room ban.  In addition, let's think of Imane Khalif, the Algerian boxer at the last Olympic Games. She was accused of being a trans woman even though she was never a man and had undergone rigorous testing. The French first lady, Brigitte Macron, was accused of being transgender and was forced to make a stand in a French court, ultimately winning her case against the perpetrators, receiving menial sentences with no substance or weight.  Many of my own patients tell me that when they publicly disclose that they are transgender women, many people immediately start looking for remnants of their previous appearance and automatically assign them characteristics of another gender, for example, the ‘Adams Apple’ or the pitch of their voice or their bone structure, large feet and hands; reality is that many cis-gender women have deepened voices, large feet and hands.

It appears that no matter how well they match the appearance of cisgender women, that one word of the word ‘transgender’ immediately attaches harmful and hurtful stereotypes to them.

The Political Arena

Politics in the United Kingdom has been deeply embroiled with “trans bans” mainly stemming from the 2025 Supreme Court ruling defining sex by biology (see my previous blog on this), under the Equality Act, leading to potential restrictions in single sex spaces (toilets, shelters & changing rooms) and debates over the inclusion of trans people in women's sporting events.  The EHRC issued guidance allowing biological sex segregation.

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-work/uk-supreme-court-ruling-meaning-sex-equality-act-our-work

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10259/

The Labour government restricted trans women from core Women's Conference events, while the government implemented an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for under-18s, creating significant political division and impacting daily life, services and people's rights.

The situation in the United States (US) is very much worse, and I feel the UK government are possibly watching to see what they may need to mirror here in the UK due to bending to public opinion and media pressure.  The Republican Party spent $215 million on anti-transgender advertisements.

https://truthout.org/articles/republicans-spent-nearly-215m-on-tv-ads-attacking-trans-rights-this-election/

Currently, there are 1.6 million people in the United States who identify as transgender, making up less and 0.5% of the population.  Research has shown that in a group of 200 people, you would find only one transgender person, including trans women, trans men and non-binary people.  The protagonists want the world to believe that trans people are the cause of the world's problems. I disagree when you let these figures soak in; in short, definitely not.

Controlling the Narrative & Propaganda

There is a political focus on transgender people as they are an easy target.  Transgender people are easy to segregate as they are a small and vulnerable minority that can't adequately defend themselves, and the media and public are taught that they are the ultimate threat to society.  It's much easier to conform the majority to fight against a purported enemy, as that majority will congregate around a leader or party willing to lead a stance against trans people or so-called ‘holy war’.

The psychology of crowd behaviour is well documented, and recently Drury (2025) suggested that this common principle in controlling crowdsis to find a weaker enemy (or manufacture one); convince people of an unavoidable threat, such as the supposed danger of harm or violoence from trans women in public bathrooms and changing rooms and then unite people around a belligerent and fabricated threat.

https://www.qeios.com/read/K26NKZ

I have conducted my own research here in the United Kingdom and in my home country of Australia to find any evidence of transgender people causing problems while using public bathrooms and changing rooms; it's probably no surprise, but I could find zero information, other than the transphobic rhetoric we have all been drip-fed.  I myself have asked questions, and I have been ostracised for challenging the narrative, some of my colleagues in medicine visibly looking uncomfortable at the very raising of the subject.  Another widely used tactic in negative propaganda is that if the claim is so absurd and quite frankly unbelievable and shockable then the less society is likely to question its validity or accuracy.

President Trump repeated a claim that minors are undergoing gender-affirming surgeries in schools and are encouraged to transition by their teachers.  This was fact-checked as incorrect and not the case, but conservative communities believed this information without question. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/trump-false-claims-schools-transgender-surgeries-rcna170217

Currently, minors in the United States and the UK cannot undergo gender-affirming surgeries (except in extremely rare cases, requiring medical review and intervention).  At the very most, minors may be prescribed puberty blockers; however, in the UK, the routine prescription for these for under-18s with Gender Dysphoria has been stopped following the Cass review, concluding that decisions to transition medically are made only in adulthood, not during childhood.

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/**************/https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/

The likes of this outrageous propaganda work, as it's a basic lack of education, making it much harder to convince someone of misinformation when they have a very basic and, in most cases, no knowledge of the topic.  In my experience with trans people, the only knowledge about them tends to surface from adult content from the internet or biased media portrayals on television, in magazines, web influencers, and newspapers. This only reinforces the negative stereotypes which have no basis in reality.

The Media, Religion & Society

There is an undercurrent that often claims that “transgenderism” ( I use this term with flippancy) is contagious and must be stamped out at all costs to save humanity, the right-wing would have us believe.  Many peer-reviewed research articles have comprehensively refuted these claims.  The truth is that the number of people identifying as transgender is increasing as a result of access to information and more visibility, and not a contagion as claimed by the right-wing haters.

It’s also well-documented in the United States and made worse by this administration that transgender people face significant barriers to healthcare, access to counselling, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and gender-affirming surgeries, with a restricted gate-keeping stance being adopted.  I am aware that in the UK and Australia, there are extremely long waiting lists for referrals and medical intervention, and in some cases, the costs that transgender people have to absorb to be their authentic selves, all while dealing with the daily struggle of wanting to be seen and accepted as an individual in society, harming no one and living their lives

Religion is also a major contributor to transphobia, although many communities are accepting and welcoming transgender individuals, some of the largest denominations often shape cultural attitudes, laws and the social norms that oppose transgender people. These conservative religious beliefs collide with acceptance, understanding and support for vulnerable minorities. Transgender people are often portrayed as living a sinful and unnatural way of life, which is at opposing poles of their religious teachings

Conclusion & Seeking Change

The transgender community has long been suppressed by stigma, stereotyping, social isolation and medical gatekeeping.  The community is mentally exhausted from the constant fight for its existence. Of course, this is exactly what the transphobic rhetoric relies on - the community's silence.  I have long been a supporter and champion of a ****** of information and taught that education is the most powerful tool.  I am a firm believer that we need to educate others and keep ourselves abreast and up-to-date with legislation and research. We must explain why these people are transgender, share their struggles and testimonies and limitations to their daily lives.

We must be accurate and be precise in our own language and communicate clearly their daily struggles, a focus on the younger generation (although many are well versed), children should learn that transgender people exist, and there is no foundation or reason to fear them. 

If we examine history and other marginalised groups such as women, indigenous people, black communities and gay and lesbian communies its clear to me that progress can and will only occur through effort and action from everyone.