On #InternationalPronounsDay, we are told just to be kind, asked why we can't just be nice, asked what it costs us just to make a bit of an effort. Because it could save someone's life. Because it's the lack of acceptance within communities which is the cause of trans suicides /1

For the most part, these pleas come from a place of good intentions, but they are irresponsible, and they are dangerous. They promote suicide ideation within the trans community. /2

By saying this, you put the idea of suicide into the heads of vulnerable, confused teens. You tell them that the normal response to society's not bending over backwards to validate them is suicidal thoughts. You actually validate those thoughts./3

The teenagers caught up in this do not need constant validation. They need to be challenged, and questioned, and counselled extensively./4

If their lives truly depend upon everyone pretending to believe that it's possible to be neither male nor female, and using stupid made-up words, then they are seriously mentally ill, and they need professional help. The answer is not to force everyone to go along with it. /5

The answer is to help them. Explore where these feelings have come from. Help them work it out. Help them understand that not everyone sees things in the same way, and that they can't expect everyone to validate them all the time. Actually prepare them for real life /6

So please think before you mindlessly throw out these accusations in a debate. Please stop oversimplifying this complex issue, and please stop trying to force your belief in gender ideology upon everyone. It does much more harm than good to those you claim to be trying to protect