Transgender people are the subject of polarised debate in Sweden and there is a tendency to use alarmist examples to stir up emotions. This is shown in a new thesis that examines the language used in opinion pieces on trans-related issues.

It was in about 2019 and the following years that debate in the media around trans issues started to change. Carin Leibring Svedjedal, who was preparing to write her doctoral thesis in Scandinavian languages, became interested at this point in analysing the actual state of reporting in the media.

“I saw that the pendulum was swinging hard. All of a sudden, there was a different climate of debate around transgender people. It went from a desire to make language more gender-neutral and society more inclusive, back towards a more traditional and conservative view of gender and identity,” says Leibring Svedjedal, who recently defended her doctoral thesis Att vara och göra trans – diskurser om kön och transidentiteter i transpersoners egenvalda självbenämningar och svensk medierapportering 2019–2023 (Being and Doing Transgender. Discourses on Gender and Trans Identities in Transgender People’s Self-Chosen Designations and Swedish Media Reporting 2019–2023).

Polarised debate about transgender people in the media

The thesis is based on a survey and interview study on transgender people, along with an analysis of Swedish editorials, debate articles and columns on trans-related issues published in the major daily and evening newspapers in Sweden. The analysis of opinion pieces shows that the debate on trans issues is polarised. One side focuses on bringing the perspectives of transgender people to the fore, particularly with respect to healthcare and legislation. The other side expresses concern about the potential implications of increased inclusiveness, such as the impact on other vulnerable groups or the risk of some people regretting their medical treatments.

A recurring feature of the opinion pieces is that they highlight alarmist examples.

“This may involve, for example, drawing parallels with the United States, where there has been much debate about how to deal with trans women in women’s prisons.”

There are also media accounts suggesting that trans activists are a ‘cult’ that forces individuals to make irreversible changes to their bodies.

Good intentions appreciated

Through interviews with and questionnaires addressed to 31 transgender people, Leibring Svedjedal also examined how they use language to shape their identity. What she found was that most people choose a first name that feels right to them, without it needing to resemble their old name. The choice of pronoun usually follows their gender identity – trans men prefer ‘han’ (‘he’), trans women ‘hon’(‘she’) and non-binary ‘hen’ (‘they’).

The study also shows that transgender people can encounter difficulties in their environment. For example, it can take time for family members to adjust to new names and pronouns, which partners and friends often find easier to accept.

“Some people may imagine that transgender people feel very offended if someone accidentally say the wrong pronoun. Of course, it’s very important to use the correct first names and pronouns, but the vast majority of people in the study also understand that it takes time to adjust. The most important thing is that the people around you have good intentions, and that they don’t deliberately say the wrong thing because they don’t accept the person's identity.”

Different perspectives on transgender people

Based on how trans-related issues are written about in the media and how transgender people themselves describe their experiences, Leibring Svedjedal is able to identify two central discourses, or sets of underlying ideas and knowledge in society about what it means to be trans. She concludes that a discourse exists among transgender people in which mental gender is regarded as dominant. One consequence of this is that you do not need to correct your biological sex to belong to a certain gender. This discourse differs from the ideas that appear in the opinion texts.

“In these texts, biological sex is regarded as dominant instead. The texts in the media are based on a belief that it is too difficult for transgender people to fully transition, i.e. to correct the biological sex to such an extent that the person really passes as a man or a woman, so there is no point in even trying,” says Leibring Svedjedal, while also pointing out that these texts do not explicitly deny that transgender people exist.

Opinion pieces aim to stir up emotions

Leibring Svedjedal believes that the change in the climate of debate around transgender people is rooted in fear of the unknown. As this fear is exploited politically, she thinks media consumers should adopt a critical attitude.

“It’s important to be aware and to ask yourself: what emotions are these opinion pieces trying to evoke? And do I have to get on board? What are the political motives behind this, and which voices get to be heard?” Leibring Svedjedal says. She continues:

“In my concluding remarks in the thesis, I call for a little more accepting and friendly attitude towards the unfamiliar. You don’t have to understand 100 per cent. Try to see the person standing before you. What does it cost you to use the pronoun or name that the person asks you for?”