The Betrayal of the Voiceless: An Open Letter to Transgender Europe (TGEU) and All Advocacy Organisations Missing the Mark

This isn't just another opinion piece. It's a clarion call—a piercing siren aimed at shattering the wilful deafness of advocacy that perpetuates harm. Your recent tweet on "Sex Worker Pride Day," TGEU, is not just misguided; it's an affront. And it demands an immediate reckoning.

Dear Transgender Europe,

Your recent messaging that trans people feel "valued for their transness" in sex work is not just problematic; it's a betrayal. It's a slap in the face to the scores of transsexuals who have felt nothing but commodified and marginalised by a society that refuses to understand them.

You don't get it. And the worst part? You're supposed to.

A Stab in the Back

Being fetishised isn't validation; it's degradation. When you equate the two, you perpetuate the dangerous idea that the only worth transsexuals have is in the commodification of their bodies, as objects for others' pleasure or curiosities. This isn't just insensitive; it's a violent affront to human dignity.

By implying that the fetishisation experienced in sex work is somehow affirming, you not only misrepresent the lived experiences of transsexuals, but also armour the prejudices that continue to imprison us in social stigmatisation and ostracisation.

This is not advocacy. This is not representation. This is reckless endangerment.

Blinded by the Broad Strokes

In your pursuit of a broad advocacy agenda, you have effectively silenced the segment of the community that suffers from the very real implications of fetishisation. And let's be clear: The word "community" here is generous because what community is there when some of its most marginalised voices are drowned out or, worse, co-opted for narratives that further push them to the fringes?

Exploitation Packaged as Empowerment

What you’re doing is a form of exploitation packaged as empowerment—selling a dangerous narrative that not only undermines the struggles of transsexuals but also threatens to calcify public opinion against us. It suggests that our worth is negotiable, commodifiable, and reducible to the salacious desires of others.

The message is clear: the complexities of transsexual experiences, our pain, our sacrifices, are secondary to a generalised, fetishised notion of "transness."

Reckless Advocacy is Harmful Advocacy

You were supposed to be the microphone, amplifying voices that society strives to mute. Instead, you've become the gag. It's not enough to be well-intentioned if your actions amplify harm. Your advocacy isn't just failing; it's actively destructive. You have traded in the complex, often harrowing lived experiences of transsexuals for palatable, marketable sound bites that serve your narrative but destroy ours.

This Isn't a Game; These Are Lives

For many transsexuals, your tweet wasn't just words on a screen; it was another brick in a towering wall of misunderstanding and neglect we face daily. How many saw your tweet and felt their stomachs turn, knowing that an organisation meant to fight for them had just trivialised their strife?

You are playing with fire, and you are burning the very people you claim to represent.

An Unyielding Call for Change

This is not a plea; it is a demand. Retract your damaging words. Apologise for the harm you've inflicted. Then, listen — truly listen — to the varied, complex voices of transsexuals. Your advocacy should be a mosaic, reflecting the multitude of experiences in the “trans umbrella”, not a monolith that silences and erases.

The time for reckoning is now, TGEU. Transsexuals will no longer allow you—or any organisation—to commodify our struggles for your convenience.

To those organisations walking the same dangerous line as TGEU: This is your wake-up call too.

Don't just stand for us—stand with us, or step aside.

Sincerely,

The Voices You Forgot You Represented