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Kristina Harrison and transgender people

Kristina Harrison is a British paramedic and conservative transgender activist.

Background

Kristina Jayne Harrison was born in ~1965 and made a gender transition in the late 1990s.

At around age 40, Harrison competed in a women’s soccer league, writing “Since becoming aware that there was controversy & subsequently learning from women, my views have changed significantly but I always felt it would’ve been unfair if I’d competed in my prime instead of in my 40’s. Mid 40’s is hugely over-the-hill for football, but I’m not saying it’s fair or unfair. 100’s of women where fitter, faster, better, many were as tall, some taller. Few were as strong. The main advantage was I could still be competitive at middling levels of the game in my 40’s.”

Activism

In 2018, Harrison was lead author in a letter to The Guardian critical of proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act. It was also signed by Debbie Hayton, Amanda Dee, Rhona de Jong, Jaycee Dove, Ashlee Kelly, Kay M, Rachel Maton, Leanne Mills, Fionne Orlander, Jenny Seed, Isobel Sheldon, Miranda Yardley. “and four others.”

In 2021, Harrison was profiled in The Telegraph with two other conservative trans women, Debbie Hayton and Miranda Yardley.

Harrison has been criticized by some anti-trans activists, including Jennifer Bilek at Uncommon Ground, Julia Long at Object! and Fred Roth at Women Are Human. They see Harrison as an interloper who gets attention and validation from being in gender-critical spaces. Roth wrote:

It must be very validating to receive such adulation in a female-centred space 
 but it’s OK, he doesn’t actually identify as a woman but identifies “with girls and women”[8]. Such wordplay seems common for men trying to rationalise trans behaviour while otherwise professing a grip on objective reality. Unlike the earlier mentioned duo, Harrison has not been as forthright about autogynephilia and kept coy about the origins of his “identity”, although an AGP diagnosis fits like a glove. Snatching away the megaphone from women within their own fight is also something Harrison has done, again winning greater access to respectable media outlets than most female activists.

References

Silverio, Sergio A.; Barras, Abby (October 2019). ‘We just want to be listened to.”: Mundane Transphobia in BBC1’s ‘The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova.’ British Mensa’s Androgyny https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336944648_’We_just_want_to_be_listened_to_Mundane_Transphobia_in_BBC1’s_’The_Trans_Women_Athlete_Dispute_with_Martina_Navratilova’

Coverage in anti-trans press

Roth, Fred (February 23, 2021). Trans Biographies Pt 3:  Shades Of Gray. Women Are Human https://www.womenarehuman.com/trans-biographies-pt-3-shades-of-gray/

Stanford, Peter (October 16, 2021). The trans women who support women’s rights. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/10/16/meet-trans-women-agree-publicly-question-gender-self-identification/

Gibbons, Katie (October 12 2021). Trans community rallies to defence of threatened professor Kathleen Stock. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/trans-community-rallies-to-defence-of-threatened-professor-kathleen-stock-mvbklz078

Long, Julia (May 14, 2020). A Meaningful Transition? Object! https://objectnow.org/a-meaningful-transition/

Bilek, Jennifer (May 6, 2020). Deconstructing the “Good Transwomen.” Uncommon Ground https://uncommongroundmedia.com/deconstructing-the-good-transwomen/

Shukman, Harry (November 19, 2019). Trans people ‘scared to back dissent’, Maya Forstater employment tribunal told. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/trans-people-scared-to-back-dissent-maya-forstater-employment-tribunal-told-nk9c6zccx

Lyons, Izzy (November 18, 2019). Transgender people who agree with using terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ too afraid to speak out, tribunal hears. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/18/transgender-people-agree-using-terms-men-women-afraid-speak/

Bannerman, Lucy (February 4, 2019). Transwoman ordered to delete ‘hateful’ tweets about gender. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/transwoman-ordered-to-delete-hateful-tweets-about-gender-tkt8rl2s9

Staff writer (February 4, 2019)). Transwoman accuses Twitter of being ‘Orwellian’ over gender posts. Christian Today https://www.christiantoday.com/news/transwoman-accuses-twitter-of-being-orwellian-over-gender-posts

Selected writing by Harrison

Harrison, Kristina and signatories (May 4, 2018). Standing up for transsexual rights. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/04/standing-up-for-transsexual-rights

Harrison, Kristina (November 15, 2018). Where does trans oppression come from – and how can socialists fight it? Morning Star https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/where-does-trans-oppression-come-%E2%80%93-and-how-can-socialists-fight-it

“H.J.” (July 9, 2018). Our second week of essays on transgender identities. The Economist https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/09/our-second-week-of-essays-on-transgender-identities

Harrison, Kristina (June 3, 2018). A system of gender self-identification would put women at risk. The Economist https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/03/a-system-of-gender-self-identification-would-put-women-at-risk

Harrison, Kristina Jayne (April 12, 2018). Why I’m with women for rights and autonomy for all. Woman’s Place UK https://womansplaceuk.org/2018/04/12/why-im-with-women-for-rights-and-autonomy-for-all/

Harrison, Kristina (October 2017). Gender: we need more than self-identification. Socialist Review http://socialistreview.org.uk/428/gender-we-need-more-self-identification [archive]

Harrison, Kristina Jayne (March 15, 2018). As a trans woman, this is the unity I want to see. Counterfire https://www.counterfire.org/article/as-a-trans-woman-this-is-the-unity-i-want-to-see/

Media

Woman’s Place UK (January 28, 2018). A Woman’s Place is Under Threat (Kristina Harrison) 17th January 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPdhIjWgKFg

Resources

X/Twitter (x.com)

What Is A Woman UK (whatisawoman.uk)

Morning Star (morningstaronline.co.uk)

Medium (medium.com)

Socialist Project (socialistproject.ca)