I am trying to pick up Swedish again after taking four German classes in Uni…. At this rate I am creating some unholy matrimony of Germanic languages. Who next will be added to the soup

The 6 Kinds of anti-Trans ‘research’ and why they aren’t reliable at all

This is mostly because I have been asked this questions by radfems in PM, but it is so much easier to make a post with the links + send them the post than try and make a message with the links.

#1 - Research saying ‘trans women are as much of a risk for violent crime as men’

“Long Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden” (The 2011 Swedish Study) is usually the underlying source being cited in these claims (there are several Radfem-authored studies which cite this for their own violence claims).

TERF Interpretation (from Speak Up For Women): “There is no evidence that even undergoing sex reassignment surgery reduces risk [of a male being a sex offender]. The available evidence is to the contrary. (Quotes the above study)”

Actual real fact of the matter (from the author herself, in multiple places, like here and here):  “[People who are] making claims about trans criminality, specifically rape likelihood, [are] misrepresenting the study findings. […] [F]or the 1989 to 2003 group, we did not find a male pattern of criminality. […] As for the criminality metric itself, we were measuring and comparing the total number of convictions, not conviction types […] We certainly didn’t control for [type of crime] and we were certainly not saying that we found trans women were a rape risk.”

#2 - Research saying ‘puberty suppression is dangerous and youth should wait to transition’

“Growing Pains: Problems with Puberty Suppression” is the most complete research on this topic I’ve seen used in TERF spaces

The authors have incredibly dodgy histories with unreliable, anti-LGBT research sponsored by right-wing ‘Judeo-Christian Moral’ lobbying groups. The information in the research is directly contradicted by more reliable sources such as the APA [here’s where I broke this study down]

#3 - Research saying ‘transgender women prisoners are often sex offenders’

“Half of all transgender prisoners are sex offenders or dangerous category A inmates” is an oft-used study in this area.

The study is by a radical feminist group (Fair Play For Women). Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it’s reliable; multiple journalists including the BBC Fact-Check team have pointed out that this study’s methodology and conclusions have serious flaws.

They also do note cite any background research at all in their work; their two references are to UK legal proceedings specifying trans women’s rights in prison, and The 2011 Swedish Study, which they claim shows trans women are a rape risk, despite the author pretty clearly stating that was not something their data would be able to show.

#4 - Research saying ‘some people are trans because it’s trendy’

“Parent reports of adolescent and young adults perceived to show signs of rapid onset gender dysphoria” [or just the concept or ‘Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria’] is commonly used by TERFs.

I did a breakdown of the questionable methodology here, but in short: it was based off an informal survey of 256 parents on the internet, recruited by convenience sample, by seeking out parents already complaining of ROGD in online forums. This really does not conclusively prove at all that ‘ROGD’ is a thing.

#5 - Research saying ‘some people are trans because they get off on it’/ ‘Autogynephilia’

This is most often based on ‘Blanchard’s transsexualism typology’, which claimed autogynephilia was a significant motivation within a small sample of trans women.

The methodology of Blanchard’s original research has been shown to be the cause of biased data, and repeated studies have failed to find a significant association between ‘autogynephilia’/transvestite fetishism and transgender identity. Here’s a great summary of literature on the topic.

#6 - Lists and examples of transgender-perpetrated crimes

"The Tip of the IceBerg” is the largest and highest-note-count one of these on tumblr, to my knowledge. [the link also includes my addition when I examined the sources]

The endless list overwhelms people’s capacity to check the validity of all the sources; but when you follow the links, the vast majority of them either a) come from a right-wing site with a reputation for non-factual reporting or b) don’t actually refer to transgender people at all.

#1

It's been a little over a week, and I don't miss ice as much as I thought I would. It only took four trips out of the country for longer periods of time for this acceptance to take root. How have you bettered yourself this year?

This blogging adventure will be a bit different than the past as WordPress has decided to turn my beautiful blog into a horrible modge-podge of broken photo links. I'm currently debating on trying to switch all of my photos to tumblr, but also... that's a lot of work! If you're new to my blog, go check out the past writing! (and whatever photos are left.) I arrived on April Fool's Day to Sweden with, potentially, the best long haul flight experience of my life. A few glasses of wine and a forensic scientist to chat with while drinking said wine, followed by a entire row of airplane seats to myself, a sweet, new Norwegian airplane, and a completely edible in-flight breakfast maybe set the mood. While here, I'll be working within the Center for the Future of Places at KTH Royal Institute of Technology on the beginnings of my thesis for concurrent Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Urban Design & Planning degrees I'm set to complete this December. (almost eight years of post secondary education coming to culmination is exciting and unnerving.) I'm super psyched to be here and working around/with the talented researchers, PhD students, and professors at KTH and specifically within the CFP! EVERYONE wants to know what I'm researching and writing about... as do I. :) Psych, I kinda know. I’m exploring the concept of multifunctionality in relation to public space planning and design; specifically, how can public space be planned and designed with both the environment and social aspects as imperative? What can be learned from Stockholm’s historical approach to planning/designing its park system, but also is the future better addressing this discourse? Multifunctionality, in this sense, is alluded to with a sustainable design model of planning and development, but still, is not prioritized over economic aspects of public space. Spaces that have been deemed multifunctional (environmentally and socially) have not been as successful. I plan to analyze (hopefully two!) at least one project current project, the Royal Seaport. I am also looking at a few of the older developments, such as Hammarby Sjőstad. Hopefully, by analyzing Stockholm as a case study to the concept of embedding multifunctionality within the planning and design processes, more research can be established to further the sustainability and resilience (buzzwords, I know,) of urban spaces.

I have a feeling this will continually morph while I am here in Stockholm as I meet and speak with more and more people at KTH and across the city. I also have a whole proposal and powerpoint if you want to see either :) My first 10 days have been pretty uneventful for me personally, while the city of Stockholm has been affected by an act of terrorism. For those of you who do not follow the news, a beer truck was hijacked while unloading on Drottninggatan, one of the most populated and central shopping streets in the city, killing and injuring many before crashing into Åhléns, a large department store, adjacent to T-Centraalen (central station.) The incident happened Friday around 3pm, and completely shut down all public transportation for five or six (?) hours. It was quite shocking, as Stockholm is known for being very safe and welcoming. I unexpectedly walked by the memorials at Sergels Torg/Åhléns on Sunday while roaming; it was uplifting to see how many people seemed to be coming from all over via the tunnelbana with flowers to be placed on the steps and on police vehicles. I have one (lousy) photo; I didn’t feel very comfortable taking any (even though *everyone* was,) combined with the fact that there was a huge mass of people wanting to pay their respects.

On my end, I have walked quite a bit - my phone is telling me I’m hitting ~12,000 steps a day. I was taking the tunnelbana more the first few days, but the sunshine is so nice!!!! (Seattle-deprived ftw.) Safe to say jaywalking is a thing here, and pedestrians are truly put first. I’m usually a walker, but I have been much more aimless this time around as time is rarely an issue. Perhaps that is a highlight of my past week: I have not had this much free time, mostly light on the obligations, to enjoy a city like this; since, well, pretty much forever, I have stayed busy with LOTS of obligations. I’m enjoying walking around, mostly to different parks, and people watching, a favorite hobby of mine. I’ve made it my mission to explore one new park (sometimes public space, but not as imperative,) a day, and I’ve definitely experienced at least one a day thus far. (more on that below!)

For entertainment, most of you might have already heard via Facebook, but I have had the privilege of attending my first yoga class… taught in Swedish. It was a true wtf the moment as the class started and the instructor started moving and then speaking in Swedish; by that point, it was too late to run out, and, honestly, I think my brain was a little slow on the uptake that I would not be able to follow the movements without looking up constantly. I struggled, but am now signed up for (at least) weekly English yoga classes.

I haven’t had any grand stories at the supermarket either (which in the past has been a common occurrence.) I’ve stuck to whole foods, not processed or really any junk food. There are many supermarkets to choose from nearby where I am staying, of which are on the smaller side (normal.) This makes it easier when choosing items; I have less options to stare at for long periods of time trying to find English on the labels at all, consequently attempting to decipher Swedish (failing) all the while converting the price in my head to USD until giving up to go with a choice based on little real objectivity. It’s fun; I’ll keep you updated with more riveting stories.

Lastly, for another anecdote, I really enjoy running in parks: mostly because I love using running as a way to experience cities, but also because I really love croissants. I happen to be staying very close to a part of the Royal National City Park (above this post).

This is what I believe every city in the world must have: a park system! Of course, Stockholm has the first! (and largest? unclear thus far.) It’s on my list to bike it before I depart, but more about the system later. Anyways, running here is a DREAM. It’s the first time since living in Colorado, even compared to running to and along Santa Monica’s beach, that I have felt a weight lifted off my shoulders upon entering for a run. While living in south central Colorado, I could easily run at the base of mountains in the cleanest air imaginable. (The altitude was was also higher than anywhere else I have lived, and I was, therefore, in the best shape of my life.) Finding out part of the National City Park was so close was incredible! Not only that, but while running, I ended up starting in the middle, which caused me to immediately stop and just take a 360 degree turn to see the vastness I would be running through.

I don’t know how else to describe it other than

“****, this is awesome; I cannot believe I’m in Stockholm still //

just looking at any corner to run to makes me feel out of shape //

I should not have started in the middle //

Google lied or this was not to scale on the map //

OMG USABLE PUBLIC SPACE.”

It’s not like Central Park, with a mix of specifically-designed programming/space typologies, even though there are pockets of trees, playgrounds, etc along the borders; the small piece of this giant park system I am speaking to is a enormous open space covered in a combination of formal paths, informal paths, and grass. I’ve only ran a few times in the last week, but I guessing I will continue solely so I can run all of the paths! I’m also not a runner with my phone, so no photos yet. Can’t wait to talk about this so much no one reads my blog...

Shout out to the ScanDesign Foundation and Valle Scholarship for granting me this opportunity! I'm extremely grateful to work at KTH and truly immerse myself into life in Stockholm!

I hope to write more about a background on Stockholm, as I acquire more knowledge. If you have any questions or suggestions on places to check out, do let me know!

xx