Disagreement Is Not a License to Silence

This is my open response to a comment made by a stranger on a previous post:

I understand that some people have strong opinions about transgender people and women’s rights. You are entitled to those opinions, but you are not entitled to redefine my life for me or demand that I disappear from conversations simply because you disagree with who I am.

I’m not “pretending,” and I’m not asking you to participate in my life. I am living honestly as myself and speaking publicly about my own experiences. You are free to disagree, scroll past my posts, unfollow me, or use Facebook’s controls to limit the content you see.

But telling me that I have “no right” to speak, that I should “stay out of women’s everything,” or that I should somehow be ashamed of who I am isn't a discussion about women’s rights. It is an attempt to silence me.

You don't have to agree with me. You don't have to understand me. You don't even have to like me.

But you do need to understand that I am a human being, and I deserve to be treated with basic dignity and respect.

I will continue to advocate for myself, participate in my community, and speak about my own life. You are welcome to do the same for yours.

Respect is something we can disagree about. Dehumanization is not something I am obligated to accept.

Finally, to address the other re-occurring comments of “why is this on my feed?”, I offer this response:

Facebook determines what appears in your feed based on your individual activity and preferences. I posted this publicly because it’s something I want to talk about. If you don’t want to see content like this, Facebook provides controls to show you less of it.