It’s been nearly a year since I discovered Threads, trying to understand how it worked and what its purpose was. And I think it’s also been a year since we started hearing that one word everywhere: the dreaded “woke.” Sometimes used as praise, sometimes as an insult.
English isn’t my first language, so figuring out the meaning of this word wasn’t easy. But it was fairly easy to deduce: woke, does it come from the verb to wake? In that case, in what way is it being used? Positive or negative? I kept reading posts: “Maybe your wokism is kicking in,” and others like it. Then one day, I saw the word scrawled across an advert at Warren Street station: “Kill the woke.” And every time I asked someone, “What does being woke mean?” the answer seemed to be the same: someone extremely open-minded, upset with any form of social injustice or discrimination, pro-LGBTQ+, and so on. And I realised that’s not a bad thing, in the grand scheme of things. It’s about being inclusive, tolerant, and accepting people as they are.
And then it hit me: I guess that’s me. I guess I am woke too.
Am I? So I started thinking about it.
Sure, I laugh at Jewish and Nazi jokes, but that doesn’t make me antisemitic. I went to Auschwitz last year and paid my duty of remembrance to those who perished in the Holocaust, and I still say that visiting this place at least once in a lifetime is essential. Being a trans woman, I laugh at trans jokes, too. I remember a story a friend once told me, he came to me with it because he knew I’d find it funny. One day, he saw this stunning woman, wearing a beautiful dress, with the kind of eyes that made him melt. But when he approached her, she spoke, and the voice made him turn around and walk away. Even today, we still joke about it. Did it upset me? Not at all. On the contrary. Did I call him transphobic? No. He’s simply not attracted to trans women, and that’s okay. It happens. Not a big deal.
Then I realised something else.
My photographer is Russian. Through Threads, I met a wonderful girl from Moscow, and I never expected to have so much in common with her. We talk a lot, and she’s one of the best people I’ve connected with through social media. I worked with a Ukrainian photographer in Salzburg, another incredible person. My team at work is the best example of diversity: Italian, Burmese, Chinese, Bangladeshi. In the past, I worked with a Latvian and two Indians. I was born French, but now I’m British. Does it bother me to work with them? Not at all. They are all talented. They are people I need in my life, every single one of them.
My colleagues? One is Muslim, and the other is Christian. My photographer? Katya is fantastic! A lovely friend who helped me accept my body. So you might say, considering the LGBT rights in Russia, having a Russian national photographing a trans woman is quite the thing, but, in the end, she makes me feel like I am worth something.
Sophie, my Number Two in the shop, is a Gen Z gem, speaks five languages, and is one of the most impressive people I’ve met.
Alisa? We met only once, but I hope we will again; it was unforgettable.
But if you listen to the news…
Katya is Russian, so she’s from a terrorist state committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Sophie is half-British, half-Italian, so she’s from a country that once created fascism, and the other actively participated in the slave trade.
Alisa? She’s the victim of everyone’s crimes.
Yet all three are my friends! They are people I truly care for. And regardless of their nationalities, I don’t give a damn, they remain absolutely fantastic people! They are my friends because they are good human beings. That’s what I see first. Katya and I send each other memes, laughing about how Russians joke about their situation. Sophie and I have an ongoing, never-ending debate about whether French or Italian cuisine is superior (we will never agree). Alisa, understandably, has mixed feelings about Russia, given everything happening in Ukraine. And I respect that.
But I love spending time with them because they are incredible people.
And imagining my life without them? No, absolutely not.
Now, if someone comes to me and says, “You have to hate them because they’re Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, or whatever,” my response is simple, and just stand in two words:
Fuck off.
Yes, Russia carries out strikes in Ukraine. Of course, it upsets me, and of course, it upsets the world. Of course, I feel for the Ukrainian families suffering, and I truly wish this bloodbath would end soon. I respect the Ukrainians fighting for a war that isn’t theirs, just as I feel sorry for the Russians sent to die in a war that isn’t theirs either. It is the war of their leaders. After, the real question is this: Do they agree with this war? I didn't speak much about it with my Russian friends, as I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable (and more so because I know they cannot speak about that, safety reasons), but I don't believe they agree. Why? Because their main problem isn't to solve the war. Their main problem is working and paying the bills at the end of the month. Which I believe is also your problem, you who read this blog post.
Italy has a Prime Minister some consider questionable, vowing to kick out migrants. Okay.
Does that mean I should hate Italians? Hate Sophie?
No. Because my friends are not their governments. They are not their leaders’ decisions.
In the end, they want the same thing I do, and that you, behind your screen reading my words: to make a living, to get through life, whatever the way we can.
I remember when Russia announced mandatory conscription, and suddenly, “how to break my arm” became a top search on Google. If that doesn’t tell you enough, I don’t know what does. Or, amongst other things, read this article. Do you think they agree with that? I'm not too sure.
Now, about gender identity. Because that's also part of the thing that a woke would defend.
Ask me, and I’ll tell you: I abhor this term. In my view, there is no such thing as gender identity. There is a gender, indeed, but nothing such as a gender identity. You cannot be anything other than a man or a woman in my book. When I transitioned in 2017, it was to become a woman. But that being said, I don’t have a uterus. I don’t have a vagina. That’s why I say I am a trans woman, because, no, I wasn’t born a woman. This, however, has been questioned as, when I started my research on my body, it turned out that I already had female sexual chromosomes. So, in my case, there is no gender identity; there is just correcting a mistake Mother Nature has made.
That being said, speaking from experience, I know that being transgender is real, just like cancer and the flu are real. It happens. Someone born male may feel, deeply and undeniably, that they are female. This is called gender dysphoria; it has a medical name. And despite what I’ve heard countless times, YES, it is a form of mental illness. Why? When your body is biologically programmed one way, yet your mind struggles to accept it, that’s a conflict. In medicine, that's called a symptom. That’s dysphoria. And that is an issue. But that doesn’t mean it’s inherently bad; depression is also a mental illness, yet we don’t dismiss those who suffer from it. In my view, both depression and gender dysphoria need to be treated with care and respect. You don't judge someone who has cancer, do you? There’s no fundamental difference between depression and cancer when you think about it: if left untreated, both can lead to tragic consequences.
But what I despise is ignorance. Do your research, and you’ll realise that transgender people are not a modern phenomenon. History is filled with examples. Take Elagabalus, the Roman emperor, arguably one of the first documented cases of a gender-diverse individual. Callon of Epidaurus, another. Eleanor Rykener is a medieval example. The Chevalier d’Éon, to whom I even dedicated a podcast episode. Albert Cashier was a Civil War soldier who lived his entire life as a man. If you don’t believe me, the sources are there, do your reading. So to those claiming that being transgender is just a trend, well, darling, history itself proves you wrong. Consider the five names above as a starting point for your education. Some men felt like females in history, as well as females who felt like men. There were intersex people in history; there is nothing new. There were and there still are some people born with both a penis and a vagina. But that's a problem at birth. It's just not a choice. But the non-binary issue, I have more difficulties with that. Let me explain why.
First, it’s not about who they are. That, I don’t care about. People are free to live without gender if they choose. To each their own. But this is where I struggle with the idea of calling myself woke. For me, a trans man or woman has a real, tangible issue known as gender dysphoria. We acknowledge it, we talk about it, and we seek solutions. But at the end of the day, we belong to a gender. We don’t belong to a gender identity; we belong to a gender. Then I came across the argument: There are non-binary animals. And, yes, that’s theoretically correct-ish. Seahorses? They have unusual reproductive roles, sure. Oysters? They can change sex throughout their lives. Some bring up clownfish (Nemo, for those in the back of the classroom who don’t know, pictured above) as an example, since if the dominant female dies, the breeding male transitions into a female. But let’s be clear: this is not non-binary. This is just another example of sequential hermaphroditism, a natural biological process. Before they change, they are still male or female. That’s not gender neutrality; it’s biological adaptation.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, people can decide to be genderless; they can identify as male or female, and they can choose to change. That’s their right. But let’s be honest: if you go down this path, you can’t claim that it’s normal. It’s not. I say this as a trans woman: being trans is not normal. It never was; it is not, and it never will be. It’s an exception, a condition, a rare experience that exists, but it is not the default. That being said, people can live however they want. What truly bothers me about the non-binary movement is how quickly some reject or attack those who don’t fully understand their cause. Not all of them, of course, but it’s difficult to have a conversation when aggression takes over or ad hominem attacks flourish. I am happy to discuss with a non-binary person to explain their point of view and have a constructive discussion about it. I just don't do it when it comes to aggression.
For me, a trans person undergoes transition through medical means. A non-binary person does not. There are documented cases of transgenderism in history, and as I just exposed, also documented cases of transgenderism in the wild. It is not only a human problem. Because of that, I don’t believe non-binary individuals should be classified as transgender. They should be recognised as their own group, a group that also deserves respect, understanding, and open conversation. I have no doubt they have a lot to contribute to this world, but they should not be automatically linked to the trans community. They aren't transgender.
But it doesn't make them as not human either. Everyone deserves respect, regardless of who they are.
Being woke, at its core, is about respecting people’s choices.
I grew up in a country where a remarkable woman named Simone Veil made history. In France, and, in my opinion, she should be recognised worldwide, Simone Veil is not just a feminist hero; she is a hero, full stop. She fought tooth and nail to make France the first country to legalise abortion in a world where obscurantism was a standard. And as much as I despise Emmanuel Macron, I have to acknowledge that enshrining abortion rights in the French Constitution was a necessary and commendable step, one that deserves recognition and respect.
To me, abortion is not even a matter of debate. When a woman has sex and conceives, it is her choice whether to keep the baby or not because she is the one who will carry the package for nine months. This is not about God. This is not about the man. This is about her body and her choice.
So, in my world, there is no question about whether a woman should have the right to abort. OF COURSE, she must have that right if she decides not to keep the baby. And OF COURSE, she must have access to counselling and support if she chooses to go through with it. Being against abortion is as absurd to me as being against eating potatoes; it’s pointless. Under what right could anyone deny a woman the choice to give birth or not? It’s pure nonsense.
So, long story short, I don’t know if I should call myself woke. Maybe I am. But what I do know is that I am against ignorance and stupidity.
I don’t understand why people should be deported from a country just because they weren’t born there.
I don’t understand why transgender people should be judged simply for being different.
I don't understand why non-binary people should be discriminated against because they feel different and have their own movements and beliefs.
I don’t understand why a man loving another man should be anyone’s concern.
I don’t understand why a woman wearing a hijab should be offensive.
I don’t understand why we should be divided by the lines on a map.
We are one world.
We live on one planet. And if we want a future, if we want to thrive, if we want to make This World Great Again, we have to build it together.
So whether you are Russian, Palestinian, Ukrainian, Israeli, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, gay, transgender, non-binary, Black, white, Asian, African, whoever you are, wherever you come from, you are welcome to talk to me. I’m happy to listen. You are my friend, because I don’t care about where you’re from. I care about what you stand for. I believe that you are great because you are you, you are one of the best creations this planet has, and you can change things. If you want to build a better world, a safer world, a place where people can thrive, where we are not alone, that’s what matters to me. Because, I want to help you in this task. I want to be there.
But if your goal is to divide... if you refuse to accept that trans people exist... if you refuse to accept that a man can love another man... if you believe Muslims are a threat to the world... then let me give you a small reminder.
Not so long ago, in Germany, people were fed up. Unemployment was rising, inflation was spiralling after the financial crash of 1929, and they were still reeling from a war they had lost. Then, along came a man, popping up from nowhere, offering a simple answer. He blamed a minority for stealing jobs, for ruining the nation. He promised to build walls to stop immigration. He declared a Germany First policy. He vowed to reunite Austria, reclaim lost German lands, and create a safe homeland for his people. He told the crowds he would Make Germany Great Again. He passed what history remembers as the Nuremberg Laws, stripping minorities of their rights and preventing them from working. When an attack on the Reichstag happened, he used it as a pretext to declare an emergency decree, giving himself unchecked power, silencing opposition, and justifying his crackdown on “traitors.” He rejected any criticism, calling it fake news, claiming the media was the enemy of the people. Then, to secure his rule, he encouraged political violence, using riots and a coup attempt to wipe out his enemies and dismantle democracy. The event was later known as The Night of the Long Knives. And in another time, in another place, a man encouraged riots in the Capitol. Does that remind you of something?
And 70 to 85 million deaths later, we thought we had learned our lesson. Or, judging by what’s happening in some parts of the world... have we?
So before you choose hate, before you start pointing fingers at those who are simply different, think twice.
Peace.
Taylor.
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