What it feels like to have become a hate figure in the uk

A powerful personal account of the impact of the recent Supreme Court ruling on transgender rights

by Zoe Perry, West England Bylines

image by Thiago Rocha. Unsplash

Never had it occurred to me that one day I would be the object of the world’s biggest political wedge issue; that I would help justify the Republicans spending $215mn on a hate campaign; that the world’s biggest selling author would devote her life to my ultimate destruction; and that a Labour government would turn on a sixpence and allow the removal of most of my human rights.

Seven years ago, I fully came out as a transgender woman. Before doing so, I was riddled with anxiety. I thought I would lose my wife and that my family might disown me. In the event, those things didn’t happen. For months I experienced euphoria on such a scale, I couldn’t eat properly and around that time I lost a pile of weight (that felt good too). The world suddenly seemed a magical place.

There was affirmation from many directions. My friends and neighbours were supportive and online there were many people offering me guidance on how to transit…