Shaneel Lal: Sonny Bill Williams support for an anti-trans tweet is harmful

No one in the queer community was bothering Sonny Bill Williams, but he chose to pick on us anyway, says Shaneel Lal. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION:

On Tuesday, Sonny Bill Williams endorsed a tweet that echoed anti-trans views.

A Twitter account shared a screenshot of someone else’s story that read, “From ages 4-12 I wore boys’ clothes, played boy sports and rejected all thing ‘girly’. When my brother teased me for being a girl, I even said that when I got older, I would ‘cut my boobs off’. I was not transgender. I just idolised my brother. Thank God my parents were sane.”

In the screenshot, there were two photos; one of a young girl and another of a woman. These photos were apparently of the woman who wrote the story. The Twitter user does not provide any information about who this person is. Nor has the story been verified as accurate. It is possible that the story is made up. The two people in the photos could be different from one another and have no idea that a story of this nature has been shared on Twitter alongside their photos.

Williams quote-tweeted it with two 100 emojis. 100 emojis are widely used to show full support for something. The tweet was by an account that actively advocates against transgender rights and once suggested that doctors who support the use of puberty blockers should be imprisoned.

After being slammed by some users on Twitter, Williams deleted the tweet and moved on as if nothing had happened. His actions led transphobes to come out on their burner accounts to share anti-trans misinformation. I don’t think Williams understands or cares about the harm his actions may have caused.

Sharing a tweet that suggests parents are insane for affirming their children’s gender to almost a million people contributes to the anti-trans fearmongering. It also contributes to misinformation about what trans children can access as gender-affirming care in New Zealand. I wonder if Williams investigated gender-affirming care available to trans people in New Zealand before endorsing the tweet.

Young people can access puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy. Puberty blockers are a safe and reversible medicine to halt potentially unwanted puberty-related physical changes. The point is that young people can grow older and decide if they want to take any irreversible steps. There are at least six steps, including seeing a GP, a clinical psychologist and a hormone doctor, before a young person can access puberty blockers in New Zealand. Puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy are not handed out willy-nilly to children.

People cannot get gender reassignment surgery in New Zealand until they are 18 years old. Suggesting we are cutting off children’s boobs in the pursuit of making them trans is a lie. People who argue that the “trans agenda” is to mutilate children always leave out the vital piece of information that it is not happening. It is strange how people create problems in their minds, then pretend to be afraid of them and try to convince the rest of society to be terrified.

No one is actively encouraging children to be trans - not trans adults, parents, or queer activists. The vile hatred for trans people online overwhelms the support for trans people often. We were only six days into Pride month when Williams endorsed the tweet. This month is about celebrating our community. Queer folk, especially trans people, are more vulnerable to suicide than non-queer folk. Now is not the time to amplify transphobic sentiments.

It is disappointing to see Williams, who has advocated for understanding and empathy for marginalised groups he belongs to, amplifying the voices of people who seek to perpetuate harm against one of the most vulnerable communities. No one in the queer community was bothering Williams, but he chose to pick on us anyway. I do not understand how one can expect to have their humanity respected while disrespecting others’ humanity.

Shaneel Shavneel Lal (they/them) was instrumental in the bill to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. They are a student, model and influencer.