The Weekly Buzz Kill: Transgender and Transphobia
Opinion, Sub Feature Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
"I just don't understand the problem here. It's not like the Bible has a problem with genital modification."
When people talk about LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) issues, you hear a lot about gay and lesbian issues, with bisexuality falling under the LG umbrella. The people you don’t hear much about are the members of the transgender community. Why? People don’t like them. The idea of something other than binary gender roles freaks out most Americans.
Transgender means that the gender a person feels inside doesn’t match up with their biological sex. This can take a few forms, including androgyny, meaning someone who doesn’t identify as either gender; gender fluidity, where a person oscillates between male and female; and male-to-female (MTF) or female-to-male (FTM) transgender, where someone is born as one gender, but identifies internally as the opposite gender. Sometimes MTF and FTM transgender people have gender-reassignment surgery, aka a sex swap.
For clarification’s sake, drag queens, feminine men, butch women and cross-dresser fetishists aren’t transgender. They may have personality traits and fashion tastes of the opposite gender but if they like their junk the way it is. They’re what’s called cisgender, same as straight people.
Okay, now we have the basics down. Let’s talk about why you should care. Well first of all, they’re human beings and deserve to be treated as such, but we all know that doesn’t really matter. Actually, they have a special holiday coming up, and we all know how the privileged classes love co-opting holidays. Actually, you may not want this one.
The gay community gets Pride Day. Straight, cisgender people get every day. But the transgender community gets a bleak November day on which they remember their dead. That’s right, instead of the Pride Day’s “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it,” Transgender Day of Remembrance’s (TDOR) slogan is more like “Stop killing us, please?” In the past year, 14 transgender people have been murdered in the U.S., along with countless assaults and incidents of harassment, including rape and death threats. Transgender people are frequently denied health care, housing, credit and even police protection because they’re not a legally protected group in 39 states.
Even the so-called liberal media has an anti-transgender bias. 33 percent of transgender high school students have attempted suicide, 55 percent have been physically attacked and 74 percent report having been sexually harassed at school. We never hear any of this on the news. Is it too ubiquitous to even be newsworthy? The entertainment industry is even worse. While it’s estimated that 2 percent of the population lives with gender-dysphoria, the only transgender characters in movies or TV are hookers or the hot woman who the protagonist almost sleeps with before realizing hilariously that she has a penis and then beating her to death. (Oh wait, they don’t show that last part.)
Even “Glee,” which is supposed to be one of the most progressive shows on TV, shies away from acknowledging the transgender community. In the “Glee” homage of the cult-classic film “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a movie centered around a transgender character named Frank-n-Furter, they assigned a female cast-member to play the iconic role. While they were okay with using the word “tranny,” which is considered a slur, the “Glee” writers felt the need to edit the song “Sweet Transvestite.” Instead of Frank-n-Furter’s chorus of “I’m just a sweet transvestite, from Transsexual Transylvania,” the sanitized Glee version went “I’m just a sweet transvestite, from Sensational Transylvania.” Not only did they ruin the message of “Rocky Horror” (at least I think it had a message; it’s hard to tell), they killed the alliteration and wrecked the catchiest song in the movie just so they wouldn’t make people uncomfortable.
The transgender community is one of the most marginalized and hated groups in the nation. Since Saturday, Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, why don’t we start with baby steps? Make a resolution to avoid harassing, threatening or murdering a transgender person. They’re actually people, believe it or not. Hell, if you really want to go out on a limb, you could talk to one! Or you could go on letting your archaic biases spill over and stain the lives of other people who are just trying to get by. Either way, I guess.
UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who responded and corrected my use of terminology. I apologize for my inaccuracy in this matter.
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Posted by Josh Gamble on Nov 17 2010. Filed under Opinion, Sub Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Thanks for the article Josh… it's good to see there are some people in Idaho actually open to the trans community (sadly, your state doesn't have a great rep).
One slight correction though… the term 'cisgender' refers to people whose assigned birth sex and their gender identity/expression match up. 'Cissexual' is the term for people whose genitals match up with their gender ID. In other words… one could be transgender (as in genderqueer, or even some flavor of FTM or MTF) but still be cissexual (you feel no need to alter your genitals to match your gender identity). If you do feel the need to do that, then you would be transsexual. Got that. It's complex at first. Thanks again for spreading the word!
It is sad Idaho isn't more progressive towards new and different people, thoughts, lifestyles. Could it be the ultra conservative politcal aspect or the Mormon influence?
Portland and Seattle are very good cities for TG/TS people. Active communties, out and about, but still have an occassional beating or whatever? That will always be the case by a small nucleus of paranoid males.
There is safety is numbers. Start a speakers bureau to educate the public more?
Meet with the local politicians and chief of police. Let them get to know who and what your groups are about? Acceptance requires aggressive marketing to a prejudiced public. It won't be easy.
I don't usually read articles this straightforward about issues trans people face. This was both refreshing and educating. I shared this link on my Facebook page and hope this post sees more readers because of its worth. Thank you for sharing.
ok I sit corrected I always thought the phrase "Transgender" was a blanket term for the bawd spectrum that is our community that included drag queens, drag kings ,transvestites feminine men, butch women and cross-dresser fetishists.
So if I understand this correct it means only those us who are what I call "true transsexuals " MTF & FTM
My understanding of termininolgy is:
To desire to alter one's body to conform to thier inner gender feelings is Transexualism. Pre op and post op MTF or FTM persons.
Transvestite can mean any compulsion to dress in the clothing of the opposite sex? IE: Trans = "cross" and vestite is "garments for persons"
Transgender has become perhaps a catch all term for those living as the opposite sex but retaining their natural born genitalia.
Drag queens are generally gay persons who are entertainers or for a lark.
Fetish is what it implies whatever the fetish? Feathers, feet, panties, ?????
Femininity and masculinity are personality factors which either gender can possess.
Sexuality and gender are two different things.
People don't come out of cookie cutters. Each is an individual.
Hope this helps some?
The wackiest misfits associate producers can find is what boosts ratings sells airtime on teledumbvision. Our community is consistently misrepresented on corporate media. You can bank on on seeing goofballs on the teledumbvision who make Rip Taylor look stable. With too few exceptions, that's all the mainstream viewing public is aware of regarding the transgender community. and it's entirely our fault since the transgender community lacks a direction and leadership.
Mis information runs wild.
Transgender is an umbrella term, first created to replace the term transvestite/crossdresser (within the greater tv community) it now encompasses all those society sees as not conforming to how they feel women and men should act/look/dress/live.
A person who works to correct their body(because of a brain/body differences) is a person born with transsexualism.
Drag performers as well as many others including crossdressers, transvestites, butch women, effeminate men, people with transsexualism, gender benders, bois, androgens, women who love women, men who love men, people who love both sexes and oh so many more all can/do live within the greater transgender umbrella.
If society looks upon you as not following the set"dumb" rules then you too fit.
It's what makes transgender one of the most misunderstood terms with no true set way to write up a full understanding of the word as it continues to grow since it's inception back in the late 70s.
Sorry Forgot To Add
The problem with the TDOR is that many if not most of those murdered were not murdered because of who they are but rather because of their profession as sex workers. I lost a few friends who are listed in the TDOR pages who were murdered along with other sex workers by the same individual. He murdered sex workers, it didn't matter their G.I. in his eyes he felt they should die because of what they did as a living.
This is the case with a great deal of people listed on the TDOR list. It's convenient to just say, well she transitioned and was murdered as such this is why she was killed, but there is always more to it then that. Much is the same when we look at stats of murders of any minority. A group should not need to co opt the deaths of others to attempt to make their point stronger. Sex workers have enough on their plate(with little return support from TS/TG groups) without also now having to represent and loose why they were murdered to another cause.
I also believe it's time to end having a victim celebration day, which is what TDOR has become, and start having a celebration for the lives, and deaths, of people born with transsexualism and people who are transgender. People TS or TG are in all aspects of life, in all professions. As such they do a great deal of good things in society yet instead of recognizing and showcasing that to the world it showcases that they are helpless victims.
It really is time to celebrate to greatness. You mention the gay community has pride and it uses it to do just that not cry victim hood.
Think March 20, spring and day of rebirth.
For clarification’s sake, drag queens, feminine men, butch women and cross-dresser fetishists aren’t transgender
This is somewhatincorrect, Transgender is an umbrella term that includes transsexuals, transvestites, cross dressers and pan gendered people.
Good article however some major errors.
Cindi Edwards
Transsexual Australia
Very nice article Josh. Very nice.
The whole thing is changing a lot, and has been changing a lot. When I was a kid, it was as bad as you can imagine. Over the years, it's gotten "better", but I think the biggest problem is how do you grow up with this problem?
Picture yourself, 15, you want to be pretty, you wear mom's under ware in private and imagine yourself…… You say to yourself, how does this work? I'm not attracted to boys…… (true of most M to F TS's). And you try to grow up. If you were a "cross dresser", life would be easy, it's just a costume, like Halloween.
Then somebody says you should see a therapist. So you do, and you attempt to tell the therapist what you think the therapist wants to hear. You attempt to tell yourself it's how you feel. The therapist could care less what he hears, and has NO CLUE how to guide you, so he just sits there smiling, nodding, and saying, "Uh-huh." Result, you walk out the door with more problems than when you walk in, EXCEPT you've got a note to take to a doctor who doesn't care about you, he's just a plastic surgeon with a specialty. And you go and get some surgery done.
What now? If you're really lucky, you're a eunuch, and somebody tells you that in 18 months you won't care anymore. Just patiently wait, DO NOT mess with your identity (change your name), and wait for the unpleasantness to just slowly fade away. Then you're free to live your life. AT THIS POINT THE EASIEST THING TO DO, is say to yourself there isn't much difference between being a feminine man and a masculine lady, and who cares anyway? Who'd want a man, who'd want a woman, what I want is a really nice dog, or a really nice cat.
I happen to have a really nice dog. I did screw up and mess with my identity, and my comments are coming from personal experience.