22
RantThe death of Jamie Lee Williams and the "trans genocide"
So 'The Vivienne' has died, and this article blames both transphobia and homophobia. According to the drag queen quoted in it (see below), all the LGBTQWERTY people who've died recently have been murdered by queer-phobes. Not done in by hormones or surgical complications. Not murdered by angry johns or drug-dealers.
Now, though we don't yet know how he died, the death of anyone at just 32 is a crying shame. He was found by his mum and stepdad, which is heart-rending. And yes, homophobia is the work of nasty gobshites. What riled me up about this article is something quite different: its generous helping of pernicious queer-soup, in which being gay—genuinely a ""reason"" for harm, injury, even death, for many innocents, not to mention the damage being done to young women by the foul lesbophobia that seems to be affecting the young—is mixed up with being AGP, and being a cross-dresser, and being a twat with blue hair and nose-ring, and being a spicy straight with a "trans kid".
We know that talk of a "trans genocide" is bollocks. Even Wikipedia knows it—or used to, anyway (https://archive.is/O9dsj). Nobody is murdering trans people en masse. Very few are murdered at all, which is just as it should be. And if Williams did away with himself because of the abuse he received, that is terrible. But it isn't an excuse for confusing sexual orientation with liking dressing up in women's clothes, whether in private or on TV, or any of the other ways in which people today are "queer". 'Queer', for me, will always remain a slur. I hated it in the 80s and I hate it now.
Sadly, after the pre-recorded episode aired, The Vivienne became the target of sick homophobic abuse. Now Britain's Got Talent drag queen Myra DuBois, real name is Gareth Joyner, has hit back at those who "bombarded" The Vivienne in their final weeks, urging people to "challenge transphobia when they encounter it".
Taking to Instagram, BGT semi-finalist Myra wrote: "I don't know how The Vivienne left us, and I will be respecting the family request for privacy by not trying to find out, or by fuelling rumours. I do know that after appearing on Blankety Blank over Christmas they were bombarded with a slew of homophobic abuse.
They continued: "Do you make an effort to use pronouns that might not immediately make sense to you? Do you post comments of love so they drown out comments of hate? Do you oppose political parties who openly discriminate LBGTQ+ people even if they align with your beliefs elsewhere?
"I don't care how you answer, it's between you and yourself. But in the last few years, I have buried so many friends, all of them LGBTQ+, all of them taken too soon. And it is NOT because of the 'lifestyle choice'. It's the burden of shame. Society murders queers, and I am so, so angry."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/viviennes-friend-sheds-light-last-34438858