Brynn Tannehill, an analyst who specializes in trans issues, tweeted out a primer on the background behind the recent spate of anti-transgender legislation that’s required reading for anyone wondering how trans folks became the new target of the religious right.
It started when an anti-LGBTQ hate group spent $10,000 to start a fake “feminist” group.
Related: Trans History 101: Transgender Expression in Ancient Times
“A short history of where all this anti-trans stuff came from, and why you should be concerned,” Tannehill posted. “Worth a read, please take a look.”
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What follows is a sourced timeline of the machinations that led to the shift in focus. There was money to be made and power to be gained; hate groups and evangelical leaders needed a boogeyman – so they made one.
But what does it mean?
It “signals this is likely to be a wedge issue in 2022, and in the general election in 2024,” Tannehill says, “making it the first time in 20 years that LGBT issues have been centered in a presidential election, and that the GOP thinks they can win on this openly.”
2015: Having lost the fight against marriage equality, but winning against LGBT protection laws, religious right leadership decides to shift focus onto trans people via bathroom bills, fear mongering, and making it a wedge issue. 2/nhttps://t.co/H4vebDyFDz
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
2015: The FRC publishes it's plan trans people: no legal recognition, no legal protections, no transition related health care, and no trans people in the military. It encourages religious based conversion therapy instead. 4/nhttps://t.co/zSDj87emcM
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
2017: Despite running a campaign that largely avoided LGBT issues, Trump quickly appeases his base and moves to ban trans people from the military and revoke federal protections. The FRC and Ryan Anderson of Heritage are key influencers. 6/n https://t.co/EL7FDi9wKk
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
2020: The APP, a religious right PAC, bucks the RNC and tries to make the 2020 election about trans people as a wedge, focusing on trans youth sports and medicine. Though unsuccessful at the time, they succeed post-election. 8/nhttps://t.co/1Si3ZpHTLP
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
2021: Tucker Carlson and Fox News ramp up the anti-trans coverage to unheard of levels, (several segments a day) largely echoing the stated aims of the religious right and shaming Republicans who aren't draconian enough. 10/n https://t.co/WP3aqej9Ck
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
2021: A record number of anti-trans bills are passing state legislatures. Most use model language provided by ADF, and target target trans youth in sports and medicine. Some bathroom bills as well. Many pass. It's the worst ever. 12/nhttps://t.co/Hpvbbxb97W
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
April 7, 2021: Carlson declares that transgender people are a threat to the survival of the human species, implying that minimizing them is more than just a moral imperative, and that they represent an existential threat to eliminated. 13/nhttps://t.co/STUKBwitvK
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
If "separate but equal" being floated as a "solution" to the "trans question" doesn't make you nervous, I'll also point out that Germany took it's cues from the American Jim Crow South. 15/n https://t.co/MRoVznysNo
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
It also signals this is likely to be a wedge issue in 2022, and in the general election in 2024, making it the first time in 20 years that LGBT issues have been centered in a presidential election, and that the GOP thinks they can win on this openly. 17/n
— Cassandra of Troy (@BrynnTannehill) April 12, 2021
A short history of where all this anti-trans stuff came from & why you should be concerned