Catherine McGregor apologises for opposing Safe Schools

Catherine McGregor apologises for opposing Safe Schools
Image: Cate McGregor speaks at the 2016 Gender Trailblazers event for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival. (PHOTO: Ann-Marie Calilhanna; Star Observer)

Writer and former military official Catherine McGregor has publicly apologised for her previous stance against the Safe Schools program.

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, McGregor said her mind had been changed by a young trans man, Charles O’Grady, with whom she recently worked on a theatre production.

“[O’Grady] told me how much he resented me for my stance on Safe Schools in 2016 and for my life as a soldier,” McGregor wrote.

“He found me incomprehensible. A fascist at best, and a tool of the Australian Christian Lobby in its vile war on trans people at worst.”

McGregor said that rather than fighting, the two began talking openly, and are now “dear friends”.

“I understood exactly why he felt as he did,” she wrote.

“He penetrated my defences and challenged me to review my own behaviour.

“Many young trans people believed in me at one time. I had never fully grasped the extent of the hope that I had inspired in them.”

She acknowledged that she had been wrong to oppose the Safe Schools program.

“I dashed their hopes and broke their hearts over my criticism of Safe Schools,” she wrote.

“I was too selfish, too ideological, and too combative.”

McGregor said she had come to understand how her experiences differed from those of many young trans people.

“I had a limited, arguably obsolescent view of how gender variance manifests among contemporary teens,” she admitted.

“My model worked for me. Indeed, it was integral to my survival and sense of self.

“But that is not how O’Grady lives and expresses his gender.

“Neither of us are wrong.”

She added that she regretted supporting transphobic conservatives.

“Even more to my chagrin, I failed to anticipate the ammunition I offered to those like Miranda Devine and Lyle Shelton who refuse outright to accept the reality and legitimacy of trans identity,” she wrote.

“In light of the harm I did to many and the friendships that I lost, I deeply regret my actions.

“I wish to apologise to all those I harmed or disappointed. I made a mistake and threw the baby out with the bath water.”

McGregor said young trans people are “doing it tough”.

“Mainly because of cruel religious fanatics and their enablers like Devine,” she wrote.

“The ignorance and hate directed against them is killing them.”

She apologised to those she may have harmed with her past views, adding that she forgave the people she had clashed with.

“We may not agree always,” she wrote.

“But we need one another.”

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7 responses to “Catherine McGregor apologises for opposing Safe Schools”

  1. Correspondent Nikola is entirely wrong. No Nikola – progressive is not owned by the left sorry. There are many progressive conservatives – it is just unfortunate that in this country the ultra right have had so much influence for so long.

    • I have not said anything like what you claim. However you’d better do a little research at least to understand that progressive is an antonym of conservative – therefore one can’t be both at the same time. It would be like calling ones-self cis-trans or Straight-gay, which would be impossible.

      • Progressive is an antonym of conservative but people find it easy to confuse these labels when the Greens are progressive left and thus support civil liberties freedoms but not economic freedoms while dickwads like Tony Abbott are conservative right and thus oppose minority rights while supporting the freedoms of the owners of capital to do whatever they like.

        Ruxxy’s error is grammatical. When she says progressive conservative I’m presuming she means Libertarian (with a capital L). Happy to be corrected if wrong.

      • So, when given the opportunity, you said ‘no’ to the conservative institution of marriage?
        If you said ‘yes’ then we need an explanation as to how it’s ‘progressive’ being equally married alongside arch-conservatives like Tony Abbott, Cory Bernardi and Fred Nile.

  2. One cannot be conservative and a spokesperson for a group of people marginalised by conservative society. I’m sure Cate McGregor is a kind-hearted, well-meaning person, but one simply must come from the progressive side of society to fully understand how conservative society, the institutions and attitudes it cherishes is utterly repressive to those whose simple existence proves that the diversity conservative society resists – exists.

  3. If only there were more Cate’s around the world would be a better place. It takes a big person to admit they were wrong – good on her.

  4. Well done Cate, much better late than never. Labels like left and right are descriptions of economic philosophy. There is no obvious reason for someone who is economically of the right to have to also adopt socially conservative positions on issues like gender identity and trans acceptance. It’s like saying if you support, say, the Port Power footy team you also must identify as a bogan and drive a beat-up car. You can be one without the other.

    In fact, if you are right wing you believe in free markets, individual liberty and self-determination. It’s a bloody good reason to be socially progressive on issues like gender identity, marriage equality and even drug law reform because these are also about the rights of individuals.

    The reason so many right wingers are also social conservatives is not that they are right wing, it’s just that they’re disgusting fucking hypocrites who want freedoms for themselves while tearing them away from others. Just look at whatever idiot labelled Safe Schools as a Marxist program when it has nothing to do with the ownership of capital and when Marx himself never uttered a word about trans folks.

    Call out the hypocrisy of the Tony Abbotts, the Lyle Sheltons and the Miranda Devines for what it is – simple illogical hatred.