“Existing in joy, living without fear”

TCDSU Gender Equality Officer Jenny Maguire talks protesting, performing and being a PTO

Kate Byrne

Jenny Maguire is pretty hard to miss. You may have seen her performing with DU Players, protesting for transgender rights, or working closely with other members of the Student Union as the Gender Equality Officer. Maguire is a busy woman and describes herself as “making up for lost time” from secondary school, during which she felt her voice was not heard. As the first person in her family to come to Trinity College, Maguire certainly aims to make the most of her time here, describing the college as a place in which she can “be celebrated for her voice and opinion” and “run ragged” with her activism. In her time here so far, Maguire has certainly already had a significant impact on the college community, and plans to continue doing so during her remaining time here. Being such an avid advocate does not come without its challenges, however. While student outreach is incredibly important to Maguire, she says that her block button is “always in reach”. She says that like any person in the trans community, “you’re going to get hate online”, but doesn’t let her stop the work she’s doing. She finds that her consistent advocacy for student issues has been “really rewarding”, allowing her to “feel a broader sense of community”. One of the places she has found this sense of community is within the students’ union, of which she is the current Gender Equality Officer. During her time so far in the role, Maguire has worked with the union’s Welfare Officer to introduce a period product campaign, which has seen free period products placed in the bathrooms across campus. She said that “this is something that we’ve been looking to do for years and years and years. And, you know, the demand is truly there. And so, these issues exist, but it’s just about actually calling them out”. She notes that this sense of community does not only come from inside the union, but from students outside of the union reaching out to her also. She says that she enjoys helping other trans students within the college, as she knows first hand what it’s like to exist within the college community as a minority. She’s not surprised by the amount of people coming to her for support, stating that “it’s no surprise where a college fails to support its students in terms of gender equality”. She finds that many of the trans students share the same worries as her. “You don’t know if, going into your first tutorial of the semester, the TA is going to tear you to shreds”. She adds that while “these issues aren’t new”, it’s really satisfying to feel this sense of community, and she feels a sense of achievement when students come up to her to talk to her about her work.

Maguire is not afraid to speak up to criticise her fellow students, however. Just last month she was openly critical of the candidates’ responses at the Equality Hustings for the Sabbatical Officer elections. In an article for Trinity News, she argued that if candidates can’t advocate for all students, then they should simply drop out of the race. When asked about this, Maguire echoed her original statement, saying that “if you aren’t in tune with what the average student actually needs, then I’m not sure why you were there”. When questioned about whether or not she feels students are afraid of speaking over minority groups rather than with minority groups, she said: “No one expects you to be an expert. I mean, I’m inside the trans community and I don’t expect myself to be an expert. Unless you fully engage on the issues that affect every student, then you are the problem. You need to use your privilege and use your position in the SU or any position within college or on society boards to speak as blatantly and unapologetically to the best of your knowledge”.

Maguire added that refusing to speak up because you believe you are misinformed is a “cop out”: “What do you mean you don’t know what ethnic minority students need? They have to go into the library named after a slaveowner. They have to go to tutorial groups where their TAs are saying racial slurs. What do you mean you can’t speak?” When asked why she believes students remain silent on issues like this, she feels it comes from a place of fear, which she claims, “doesn’t help anyone”. Her advice to students is to “recognise the power you have in the room”, because “recognising privilege doesn’t mean to step back and say nothing”.

When it comes to educating ourselves on the experiences of minority groups within the college community, Maguire pointed to Trinity’s student publications as a good place to start. She has noticed that “a lot of minority students find their voices in these publications”. She commended College media for not being “insular”, something that she believes is a problem within many college societies. However, she added that “it’s not up to the oppressed groups to hold us to account every step of the way”. She finds that people are very quick to criticise what they perceive as a “lack of engagement” from groups such as QSoc and Students4Change on issues facing minority students. Maguire encourages all students to use their voice, not just those in marginalised groups: “Use social media, use places like Trinity News, or TN2, or Misc., or any student society. A lot of people treat it like a job, like trying to make your way up in positions. But that’s not what activism is. Activism is solely just speaking out for other students.”

Maguire’s activism stretches far beyond the pages of College newspapers. Just last month she led a protest highlighting the fact that Ireland has the worst transgender healthcare in the European Union. The protest was a call for the college to “properly support its students”. Maguire has previously called out the lack of gender neutral bathrooms and signage on campus.

She noted that “it was shut down in ten minutes”: “We were told something along the lines of Trinity can’t take stances on things”. When asked why she has protested College repeatedly, Maguire noted that Trinity has the largest percentage of access students in the country, and prides itself on this fact, “but when it comes to something as basic as trans people’s healthcare”, the college is “so out of touch with its students”. Maguire believes that the “gap is starting to widen” between College and its students, and that this is a “slippery slope”. She thinks that “vulnerable students can see right through it”, and questions what the college’s intentions are, adding that choosing when the college “should or should not be political” is “hurting them”.

Despite this gap, Maguire still actively engages with staff within the college, including the provost herself. She said that “she was in close contact with the provost last if their services are “up to scratch” to meet the needs of students. summer in regards to the issue of the (LGBT) flag being raised over Trinity, and a message that went out to staff saying to be aware in case it offends ethnic minorities groups, which is not only racist, but deeply homophobic”. She has also worked closely with Academic Registry and the IT Services “to ensure that when a student changes their name, that Blackboard would then do it automatically, because up to that point, you could change it on Blackboard. But then when you went to submit an assignment, it would always dead name you, which was crazy”. She expressed some concern about engaging with staff, saying that “you don’t know who’s going to be on the other end of the email”. She finds the experience isolating, and feels that there is a “lack of teamwork in regards to the college community”. She said that engaging with staff is a “continuous evolution”. She finds that Trinity is too quick to “pat itself on the back”, instead of reassessing

Despite the barriers in place, Maguire plans to continue her activism: “You have to be optimistic; if you don’t, you die.” While she knows all too well the feeling of “activism burnout”, she uses it to her advantage. “The systems in place that hurt you are designed to tire you out, to make sure that you’re not shouting all the time, because they’ll just get rid of you. I don’t know if it’s some sort of stubbornness within me, but that kind of drives me.” She also finds inspiration to maintain morale in the people around her. When asked who inspires her, she points to her nana. “I would sit up at night with her as a child and she would tell me stories about people who lived in the Ballymun flats, in poverty, with no money whatsoever, with no education whatsoever, and people who find joy in the day to day”. She also noted that her friend, and current Student Union President Gabi Fullam, is a major source of motivation. “I would tell her that she’s kind of like marmite – you love her or you hate her – but she uses that to her advantage, and she’s not afraid of people hating her, because she knows what she’s doing is right”. Maguire finds that anybody who “exists in joy” and lives without fear stimulates her to keep going, be that her family, her friends, or other transgender people. The idea of existing in joy and living without fear is a theme that permeates Maguire’s work, acting as both a constant reminder of the everyday inspiration that ordinary people can provide, and as an ideal reality of how the college community could live. Whether or not Maguire has appeared on your radar before now, it is evident from her persistence, passion and perseverance that you will be hearing a lot more from her in the years to come.