As a woman, I have long looked up to outgoing Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon as a role model of strong female leadership. As a trans person, I am also deeply appreciative of her principled stance on Scotland’s gender recognition bill, which passed the Scottish parliament but was then blocked by an increasingly transphobic Westminster.
It’s disheartening that Sturgeon is stepping down amid controversy over her consistent support for trans rights (she denies that the pushback on this issue is the reason she’s resigning). Her willingness to stand up for her convictions on trans equality, even under fire, is admirable. And it’s encouraging in a period when the transgender community is under vicious attack, in both the US and Britain.
I don’t presume to preach or prescribe policy to populations outside the US. But as an observer of UK politics from the other side of the pond, I have long felt a sense of solidarity with the cause of Scottish independence – especially since Brexit forced Scotland out of the EU, and now that the government in London is actively preventing progressive change north of the border.
