Experience Anu

Paula Gerber was in conversation with Kim Rubenstein on her new book Sex, Gender & Identity: Trans Rights in Australia. Why are trans people so hated? Barely a week goes by without pointed media stories about the trans community, usually targeting trans women. They are likely to have a sensationalist headline and a salacious tone, and the writing is often ill-informed and vilifying. Favoured topics include women in sports, bathrooms, where prisoners are housed, and health care for trans and gender-diverse children and young people. Why have they become contemporary ‘villains’ and the target of so much prejudice and bigotry? And most importantly, how do we change this? Is it possible to move from blaming, shaming and excluding trans people to respecting, protecting and including them? These questions are at the heart of Sex, Gender & Identity: Trans Rights in Australia, alongside the goal of increasing community-wide understanding of this much maligned minority. Professor Paula Gerber is a law professor at