Who said that coming out as trans was going to be easy?

I have been thinking a lot about the proposed protest / vigil against transphobia this coming Thursday and after reading all the posts on the event page, I find I am still left wondering exactly what the message is that we think that we are going to be sending out? What is it we hope to achieve and what is the best and most positive / rational way to do that?

Thinking about it logically, as I understand it, the plan at the moment is to stage a protest / vigil at an organisation that we claim is transphobic and yet has already removed and apologised for the article that was written by Julie Burchill. On top of this Suzanne Moore has also issued an apology for any upset her original aricle might have caused.

I am concerned that there is a very real danger that the Guardian Media Group (and other publishing houses and press organisations) could well take the opportunity to make us look ridiculous or petty through irresponsible reporting, which would be far more damaging to us than if we do nothing at all. We have an enormous responsibilty here; how we are perceived in future could well hang on what happens on Thursday and how we present ourselves.

We need to be focused and sure of our message. Are GMG as an entity actually actively transphobic? Can we prove this? They would of course argue that they are not; they publish articles from trans journalists, therefore they could legitimately say they give us an equal voice. We as a group tend not to write deliberately provocative articles and so there is no media frenzy about any articles that we publish.

In terms of addressing the publication of Julie Burchill's diatribe, the Press Complaints Commission is the correct place to register complaints and issues against publications. Going to the PCC is a targeted action that will be handled appropriately if enough people engage in communication rather than a hastily pulled-together protest, which could be perceived as a knee-jerk reaction.

Does the press in general handle trans issues in a responsible and fair manner? Not all the time, no. Do we help promote a positive awareness of ourselves? Often not. Just look at the article in todays Daily Fail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261756/Transsexual-tries-pay-parking-fine-council-refuse-believe-man-driving-car.html

This is NOT news from any angle. I believe a common mistake has now made headlines for the wrong reasons. The victim in this incident has blown everything way out of proportion and rather than accept an apology in good faith, has decided to escalate the issue and in the process created a sensationalist headline that does nothing to help our cause.

While I agree something needs to be done to address this weekends events, I am aware that emotions are running at a high and we as a group are hurt and angry. We might be far better placed to achieve a positive outcome if we all take a breath, pause for a minute and come up with a rational, well thought out and organised plan to discuss the serious issue of transphobia and the damage done by promoting transphobic views.

Who said that coming out as trans was going to be easy?