Tuesday, May 02, 2017

I Don’t Know If I Agree With Them

I hate lists!

I do like them because they are just a couple of people opinions, how did these five things make the list and other things didn’t and why just five things why not eleven or a dozen thing?
5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Transgender People
Despite increased awareness, there are still many misconceptions about what it means to be transgender.
Health
By Jessica Migala
May 01, 2017

The myth: There’s only one way to be transgender
People who are transgender do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. But exactly how that’s expressed can be different for everyone. It doesn't necessarily mean a transgender person has had gender reassignment surgery—although it could. When someone is transitioning, they're in the process of living according to their gender identity. This may  include asking to be called by a different name, or requesting a different set of pronouns (whether it's he/him, she/her, or they/them), officially changing their name, dressing differently, or undergoing medical procedures (such as gender reassignment surgery, or hormone therapy).

"For some people, they don’t necessarily need medical care to live fully as themselves; others find it’s incredibly important," Wu explains. They add that there are many others who would like to undergo a medical transition but are unable to do so due to financial reasons, or because they don't live near a medical provider that offers it.
Yeah, I can go along with this one, only a small number of trans people have surgery or medical intervention.
The myth: It's offensive to mess up your pronouns
If someone you've known for many years comes out as transgender, you'll probably wonder how you should refer to them. The best course of action, Wu says, is simply to ask. "This is something a lot of people feel awkward asking about, but it’s 100% okay to do so," they explain. "They’d rather you ask than make the wrong assumption." And if you do accidentally let an old pronoun slip, don’t worry—it’s understandable. Instead of apologizing too profusely (which can take over the entire conversation), Wu recommends casually saying, "Oh, I meant to say 'he,'" and then moving on.
But I know of a lot of trans people who do take offense when you misgender them. There is a name for that, microaggression and you might think it is no big deal to misgender once or twice but you might be the tenth person to do so that day.
The next one I don’t see why it is on the list,
The myth: Transgender people are trying to get attention
Is this really a problem?

Do people actually think this of us? It is a rough way to get attention, getting beat up, laugh at, and getting murdered. I can think many other ways to get attention.
The myth: Being transgender is a mental illness

At one point, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) included gender identity disorder as a psychiatric illness. But today the DSM-V lists gender dysphoria, which is when someone is experiencing extreme emotional distress about their gender identity versus assigned gender.
Yeah, some people still think this and have no idea what the DSM is or what dysphoria is. At the hearing for the non-discrimination it was fun listening to the Republican opposition talking about the DSM and they had no idea that the DSM is for billing purposes. That it is a list of symptoms with their billing numbers and things like bed wetting and hold on to your hats this horrible “mental illness”… smoking marijuana.

And here is another biggie,
The myth: Transgender people are a threat to bathroom safety
Although supporters of the controversial bills that seek to prevent transgender students from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity often point to public safety as the main concern, opponents maintain there's no correlation between anti-discrimination bills and a rise in crime.

"This is a major myth that has been debunked by sexual assault and domestic violence groups," says Wu.
The ones you have to be watching out for in the bathroom are not the trans people, but the Republicans. More Republicans legislators have been arrested in bathroom than trans people.

1 comment:

  1. Since Ms Migala used Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner, and Jazz Jennings as examples of transgender women, she could have made it more clear that, in Myth #1, most transgender people one may meet will not be like these women at all.

    A man I have known for almost 50 years, to whom I came out about five years ago, told me that my being a trans woman was "no big deal" to him, and that he "couldn't care less." Over a two-year period, he misgendered me and dead-named me 95% of the time. The last time I saw him, he actually called me Connie, then immediately said, "Uh, (dead name)....Oh, whatever." Yes, to him I was "no big deal" and he showed that he "couldn't care less" about me at all. Three years later, that still bothers me!

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