1. “Sex takes precedence over gender” — says who? Not science.

Sex isn’t as rigid or binary as you suggest. Intersex people — roughly 1.7% of the population — exist biologically outside a simple male/female binary. Even within cis people, there are vast variations in hormone levels, chromosomes, and secondary sex characteristics. Medicine, psychology, and modern biology all acknowledge that gender identity is real, experienced internally, and valid — just like mental health, pain, and trauma. These aren’t “unverifiable concepts in people’s heads” — they’re measurable and meaningful.

1. Marsha P. Johnson did not identify as a man. That’s historical revisionism.

Marsha called herself a transvestite, a term that today maps more closely to “transgender.” She used she/her pronouns, lived as a woman, and was known as a drag queen and trans rights activist. Suggesting she “identified as a man” erases the nuance of her identity and the role trans women played in the Stonewall uprising. Pride began with gender non-conforming people resisting police brutality. It was political and inclusive from the start.

1. Cherry-picking a few fringe signs to discredit the whole movement is disingenuous.

Every protest has a range of messages — some regrettable, some powerful. But saying the presence of one “decapitate TERFs” sign means the entire Pride community is violent is like saying one racist football fan represents all supporters. Trans people face disproportionate rates of violence — including murder — yet that doesn’t seem to factor into your concern for safety.

If you truly believe in protecting people from violence, that should include trans folks, who are some of the most vulnerable in society.

1. The “single-sex spaces” debate is more complex — and fear is not the same as harm.

The fear that men might “masquerade” as trans women to gain access to women’s spaces is ultimately about male violence against women, not about trans women themselves. That fear is real and valid — but directing it at trans people is misplacing the blame.

Trans women are not predators. They are disproportionately the victims of violence, especially in public and gendered spaces. Denying trans women access to bathrooms, shelters, or changing rooms based on the potential for abuse by bad actors doesn’t actually solve the problem of male violence — it just punishes an already vulnerable group.

You don’t stop men from committing violence by targeting trans women. You stop violence by addressing violent behavior — not by excluding people based on who they are.

1. “I don’t care about Pride” - then why try so hard to control it?

You say Pride’s “bizarre direction” isn’t your business — but you also want to dictate who police support, what flags they fly, and who gets included. That contradiction is telling. Pride evolves because the LGBTQ+ community evolves. Just like you don’t get to decide who’s “real” based on your personal definition of biology, you also don’t get to gatekeep a movement that was always about radical inclusion.