Putting knowledge into practice is the best Pride action the University can take

When a transgender student first enters the University community in the autumn, they will not get to spend their first months only on courses and meeting new people. They will have to worry about things that cisgender students do not even have to think about.

Will they be able to change their University email address to use the name they wish to be called by? Can they change their name in the study systems? What terms and name will the teaching staff and other students use? What about gendered toilet facilities and changing rooms? Where can they change their clothes and use the bathroom?

The status of trans students at the University is often discussed through these practical issues, and supporting students with them is important. On that note, we are glad to see that this year’s theme at the University of Helsinki is allyship. Allyship constitutes the ability to see the problems around us, take action to resolve them and bear the responsibility for societal structures at large even when it is difficult.

Every single one of us should be an ally to trans people, as safer space does not develop by itself. It only comes about once we know how to act in problem situations, dare to take action against harassment and decide that our community has no room for inaction. It requires the courage to question your preconceptions and critically assess your actions.

Work conducted within the University community is key to eradicate structural discrimination and obstacles that target trans students in the academic world. However, the University community also has much broader opportunities to help ensure that the rights of trans and other LGBTIQA+ people are realised in society.

Transphobic attitudes disguised as concern and feminism have received an increasing amount of support in our societies in recent years. An example of this is the policy adopted by the International Olympic Committee this year to test athletes’ chromosomes to ‘verify’ their sex before the Olympic Games. Mis- and disinformation along with direct hate speech about trans people, the trans experience and variations in sex and gender are easy to find on social media platforms.

A problematic issue in Finland specifically is that a doctor with considerable authority over gender reassignment processes – which are long and hard to begin with – is participating in public discussion with the intention of undermining trans people’s equal rights to receive treatment. Attitudes on issues related to values and identity in particular are becoming sharply polarised in the Western world. We have a pressing need for counternarratives outside the trans-friendly communities on social media.

Societal interaction and supporting the societal impact of research data are among the core duties of universities. In terms of trans issues, utilising academic knowledge and competence is an important form of allyship that only the University can carry out. This translates into communicating about research in popularised form, giving interviews to the media and, of course, conducting research to support political decision-making processes.

Deciding on what we teach our future experts and professionals is one of the most far-reaching ways the University community can influence society. Future experts’ understanding on trans people and issues impacts the ways in which they react to structural injustice in their work. This is reflected in the trends of our society’s set of values as a force akin to social media.

Knowledge is the most important resource we have, and boldly and deliberately utilising it can change the world. We should remember to use it all year round –  not just during the Pride month.

Happy Pride!

More information

Nikola Eerola
nikola.eerola@hyy.fi
050 436 5604

Delila Belahcen
delila.belahcen@hyy.fi
050 472 7950