SubscribeThe following text is a press release issued by danish trans rights organisation Transpolitisk Forum on may 15th in response to an announcement from the danish minister of health promising to push for de-psychiatrization of transgender persons.
In june 2014 Denmark was celebrated as a progressive country for transgender rights. The parliament had just passed a law allowing people to change their (by the state assigned binary gendered) social security number without the former requirements: castration and a mental illness diagnosis.
At the same time the state of Denmark monopolized access to hormones and surgeries and turned up the pathologization one more level. No one mentioned this apart from a small group of transgender activists, largely silenced by the main stream media, who had just a few months before celebrated Denmark as a progressive state.
What we are seeing now with the (potential of) removal of the diagnosis is mimicking the situation in june 2014. While healthcare for transpeople REMAINS extremely degrading and state controlled, Denmark is again celebrated as a progressive country.
As long as the discussion of the diagnosis is not followed by direct action on the matter of access to healthcare, this is nothing but a false and misguided celebration of a nation and state politics that, at its best, is symbolic.
We as transgender activists are worried. We have seen this before. And we know that when the camera lights has been turned off, the same politicians right now harvesting the fruits of being seen as progressive will continue to view transgender people as we have been for centuries: as someone living a life not worth of protection and recognition.
We encourage you to hold your horses before taking part of this celebration and instead continue to demand actual rights instead of symbolic acts.
