Chief Editor's Note: Recent Events and Queer Allyship

Today, as I’m writing this chief editor’s note, is the 31st of March and the International Transgender Day of Visibility. Or just a Tuesday. Depends on who you ask. I don’t know of a single person who would necessarily celebrate the Trans Day of Visibility, but I can definitely tell you that celebration is the last thing on my own mind at the moment. In addition to the Trans Day of Visibility being in March, trans rights have been discussed quite a lot recently because HBO dropped a trailer for the reboot/do-over/whatever you want to call it of Harry Potter. To be completely honest I would rather not talk about it on any level to avoid giving it any more publicity than it is getting, but I’m also tired of just standing by and not sharing what I know a lot of trans people are thinking about it honestly.

It sucks. It all sucks. Not the show per se, I obviously haven’t seen it, but the concept of it sucks. Supporting anything that J.K. Rowling puts out has a direct, and I do mean direct, negative effect on the lives of trans people. I can understand nostalgia and other strong emotions regarding the series, but nostalgia shouldn’t overrule human rights or our safety. Trans rights being so controversial stems from bigotry and prejudice, and so many would rather join the side of prejudice than give up nostalgia. It kills me how many people are claiming to be trans allies and then turn around and support someone like Rowling who uses her money and power to undermine our rights as human beings. It would be a different thing altogether if she were dead, but she is very much still alive and using her money to fund anti-trans legislation. I know I cannot and I do not aim to speak for all trans people, but do not expect great reactions from your trans peers if you publicly discuss watching the show. Trans people cannot be expected to treat everyone with kindness and humility, when even the mention of a Hogwarts house might mean that they are no longer welcome in a space. It’s not like I will automatically assume you hate me if you wear merchandise but I also have no way of knowing if I’m safe around you or your circle of friends. Do not claim allyship if it only applies to things that are convenient for you. Allyship is not meant to be convenient.

Another thing that has been all over at least my own social media is the announcement for Bridgerton season 5. I don’t watch the show, but it is so mainstream that it is frankly impossible to miss. That also means that I know who the main couple is going to be next season: Francesca and Michaela. And boy does that have people up at arms. A lesbian couple? But that’s not historically accurate! (Except that it is, queer people have always existed.) But that’s not book accurate! (The series in general has never been or even claimed to be.) But what about this and that and why and when and where? All thinly veiled homophobia and racism. People may claim it isn’t the case but so many of them loving Heated Rivalry and then immediately planning to skip the upcoming season of Bridgerton does sound a bit fishy to me. Just saying.

And let’s face it, for once, queer people have access to storylines that are about love and joy and fulfilling relationships, rather than trauma and pain. For once, we’re celebrating queerness in the mainstream without conforming to the idea of how traumatic a queer life is or should be. But we’re apparently not allowed to have that after all, because instead we should watch yet another straight couple be straight because that’s allowed and that’s normal. So, we have fierce advocacy for a story about two gay hockey players in a contemporary show but immediate hate for a biracial lesbian couple in a historical drama? Make that make sense. And obviously I’m not claiming that Heated Rivalry didn’t face any backlash, because it did, but I think it’s hypocritical to claim to be a fan of one show while bashing the other, especially since Bridgerton’s fifth season is not even out yet. Again, it feels like allyship is only true allyship when it’s convenient and while queer people are still marginalised and out of the mainstream.

So yeah, being queer has not been easy in the current political climate. Not only have queer people had to defend their positions against Rowling’s transphobia and the homophobic uproar of the Bridgerton fans, but queerness has also been discussed in the news for better or for worse. Some days ago, we got the news that the Finnish Supreme court convicted Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish politician and a member of the Finnish Parliament, for incitement against minorities. What led to the conviction was a pamphlet that Räsänen had published in 2019 and 2020, in which she called homosexuality a psychosexual malformity. The supreme court sentenced her to pay a fine of 1800e and Räsänen herself has stated that she plans on filing a complaint about the sentencing. Even if she does, it is refreshing to see that at least sometimes we can hold people accountable for what they say and do. At least somewhat.

Another thing that has recently been in the Finnish news regarding LGBT+ rights is the Olemme Olemassa citizens’ initiative for a third juridical gender marker. Finland currently recognises two gender markers, M and F for male and female respectively, but has no marker for non-binary individuals, and the initiative calls for a third one to be introduced. If you want to know more about citizens’ initiatives in general, you can visit the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s site at https://dvv.fi/en/citizens-initiative, but the main gist of it is that people have the option to set up an initiative to propose new legislation from the Finnish Parliament. For an initiative to be sent to the Parliament as a proposal, they need to collect a minimum of 50,000 support signatures from Finnish citizens of voting age. The Olemme Olemassa citizens’ initiative recently wrapped up their collection of signatures, meeting and passing the minimum quota of 50,000. I have a lot of feelings and thoughts about the initiative in general, but most of them are positive. Being a trans man and thus on the “binary” side of the trans spectrum, my own experience is vastly different from the experiences of non-binary people and it is quite a lot easier for me to get the correct gender marker on my documentation. Meaning that I can and non-binary people cannot. So I’m glad the initiative has gotten so much visibility and support, because it’s a step in the right direction. We’ll have to see what happens, but especially in the middle of all the negativity online, I’m glad queer people have some things to look forward to in anticipation rather than fear. And that’s something we also need actual allyship for.

With that, I leave you to read this issue of BTSB in peace. For this spring issue, Emilia takes you on a journey around town in her newest iteration of Helsinki in Details, and Minja’s poem highlights the cyclical nature of time itself. Valo’s short story on the other hand takes the mundane into something utterly different and mysterious. Enjoy!