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Transgender issues from a 'cisgender' perspective
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A community comprised of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people encompasses a lot of different personalities, with different perspectives and experiences. Each sub-group includes different issues, but our chosen community acronym includes everyone.
In much the same way that spirituality that does not fit neatly within one of the socially defined slots of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, gets lumped into an ‘everything else’ category, the LGBT community is an amalgamation of people who deviate from narrowly defined concepts regarding gender expression and sexual orientation.
I learn a lot about the variety of perspectives while surfing the net for blog fodder and interacting with my readers. It is usually the latter that provide the greatest opportunity for insight. The topic that consistently generates response is Transgendered rights.
In the process of addressing issues faced by the Transgendered community, I have encountered some wonderful people, quick to correct my transgressions and eager to share their experiences and insight. I have been attacked by a few, who feel that my perspective is useless and pedantic, particularly in regards to male to female issues. Whereas I was not aware of this, I accept the validity of that criticism.
I have been informed, on numerous occasions, that I don’t know anything about Transgendered rights. That is true. I don’t. I have not experienced the discrimination or persecution that many within the Trans community know all too well. The more I have read about kids facing issues in the school, or people being persecuted, attacked and killed, the more interested I’ve become in the issues confronting the Trans community. I am trying to educate myself.
Whereas the gay community is likely to encounter homophobia at school, in the workplace and on the street, the Trans community is almost guaranteed to experience discrimination and persecution in a myriad of forms, on an ongoing basis, impacting every single aspect of their lives. Awareness of this has made it easy to accept the anger levied at me by a few irate women, without responding in kind.
I have added new slang to my lexicon. Evidently I am a ‘cis’ woman, which essentially means that I have never altered my gender. Initially it seemed strange to apply a word to that, but I suppose a new word is needed to define any and all dissimilarities that we possess as humans. The issue that plagues us all is that we can’t just ‘be.’ Humans seem to naturally separate, segregate, sort, define and diminish. When people assign too many labels to another person without knowing them, there is no opportunity to encounter the individual behind the smokescreen of stereotypes created by these pre-packaged boxes of identity.
An email from one reader in response to my article on the LGBT community and Trans rights echoed my sentiment regarding labeling:
I myself am MtF, married to an FtM, and with several other unusual gender variants within my close social circle (an intersexed individual, and a friend with Turner Syndrome). I have, I guess, been exposed to a pretty broad spectrum of the GBLT...Q...I... community, and have simply come to understand that there is a fair diversity amongst humans. I suppose I'm also classified as bisexual. It's a little strange even thinking in terms of homo or hetero-sexuality if your own gender is not an absolute or stable constant. Ray Blanchard used the term 'Autogynephelic' (which is largely dismissed) to describe male to female transsexuals with gender identity disorder. While not correct, it might offer better nomenclature in describing someone's sexuality as gynephelic or phalophelic. Or... androgynephelic... or 'cute-twink-dressed-in-japanese-schoolgirl-sailor-moon-costume-ophelic'. That last one might not be all that useful for... you know... actual real-world application.
I have myself puzzled over the little labeled boxes of thought, and come to chart sexuality, gender identity, gender presentation, and societal gender roles in a ... well... I suppose it'd take a hypercube to plot a point on a four-dimensional graph... wouldn't it? Anyway... a terribly complex mental construct that's probably best imagined by saying "Yeah, some folk are like that". :)
Maybe Hamlet was in the right of it: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".
In the context of these discussions, comments, tweets and emails, a few thoughts and questions have crossed my mind:
1) The issue of gay rights and transgendered rights get muddled. Many within the Trans community are sick of it. I get the impression that many feel excluded, marginalized, ostracized and forgotten by the gay community. They don’t want to be assimilated. They want to be recognized as distinct within the whole.
2) Whereas I recognize that my attempt to address these issues has fallen short, the topic needs to reach a wider audience. Whereas Transgender news and issues are most aptly addressed by individuals within the Trans community, awareness has to extend beyond the Trans population to enact change in perception and understanding. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual allies must be rallied and educated about Trans issues to achieve progress. To that end, I welcome any guest bloggers who want to address Transgender issues. Email me.
3) The Trans community has schisms as well. There seems to be some disconnect between MTF and FTM participants. I wonder if it is like the gay community, wherein gay women and gay men often exist separately, coming together politically and, occasionally, socially? Regardless, the vast majority of response and input, both positive and negative, has come from Trans women. Where is the FTM commentary (other than my friend Bo, which doesn’t count because he’s a friend)?
Comments? Input? Good story ideas? Please email me or send me a message on Twitter.
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