Maëlys McArdle

Author: Maëlys McArdle

  • TDoR 2022

    TDoR 2022

    There was two TDoR events last weekend; one on the francophone side of the river and one on the anglophone. I helped a pal carry the displays they made for the English-language event, then attended the French one.

    It was intimate; perhaps fifteen or so. Quebec’s transphobic Bill 2 was brought up. There was a mother talking about the loss of her gender diverse child who had passed away by suicide last spring following bullying and school inaction. A trans teen spoke up about their own mistreatment. We took turns sharing what we liked about being trans, and about community.

    This one hit different; I’m used to speeches at TDoR that are are a mish mash of academic theory and vocabulary. That stuff resonated when I was younger but now feels like an empty performance, so I go for the newly out to see that they’re not alone. Either way, this event wasn’t like that at all. It was personal.

    Part of why this event may have struck a chord could have to do with the kind of week it was.

    (more…)
  • Transphobia and the intelligence apparatus of the right

    Transphobia and the intelligence apparatus of the right

    I gave a five minute talk as part of a panel I was on today at a conference discussing transnational far right movements. This is that speech.

    You’re no doubt aware that trans people are the subjects of a moral panic in the United-States and in the UK.

    This year in the US, Republicans have introduced hundreds of bills to eliminate anything that makes trans people visible. The dog whistles are access to washrooms, inclusion in sports, access to hormone therapy, etc. Racism is inextricable here as cisgender black girls and women are disproportionately having their gender scrutinized and these same politicians and talking heads pair their transphobia with fear mongering about Critical Race Theory.

    (more…)
  • An incredible summer

    An incredible summer

    As summer 2022 comes to a close, I reflect on what has been the best one I’ve had yet.

    The move

    Four years ago, I had just gone through the breakup with Jean. I felt at the time that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be and that a move back downtown would be a first step towards it. I was half-right for the wrong reasons.

    (more…)
  • The radicalization of an Ottawa teacher

    The radicalization of an Ottawa teacher

    In this article, I’m going to document how an alleged high school teacher in Ottawa went from being supportive of LGBTQ students to making her entire public persona about being a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist).

    Though she used to put a full name on Twitter, and there is a teacher by that name currently working at an OCDSB high school in Nepean, I’m not going to reveal her presumed name or this school. I am against doxxing and for all we know this could be a pseudonym or there could be someone else with the same name. This article will only show her public tweets and I will only refer to her by the initials A.M.

    I’m treating this as a case study in anti-trans radicalization.

    (more…)
  • Beyond the Baseline

    Beyond the Baseline

    This week, the Aquatic Federation of Canada, a body representing Diving Canada, Canada Artistic Swimming, Swimming Canada, and Water Polo Canada, voted to effectively ban trans women from women’s events. This vote was for a policy with the international body FINA governing its events of which the Aquatic Federation is a member.

    Contrary to assertions, this was not about fairness in sports. I’ve already debunked that line of reasoning with the Rugby ban. The reason we’re having this moment about a topic as specific as trans inclusion in swimming is because conservatives successfully created a panic out of the minor success of a single trans swimmer, Lia Thomas.

    (more…)