Monday, July 31, 2017

Knowing Us…

Research shows that if a person knows a trans person they are more likely to be pro trans, so does going stealth harm us?
Why The Focus On “Passing” Transgender People Harms The Trans Community
I belong in the women’s restroom. Not because I adhere to any societal standard for femininity, but because I am a woman.
Huffington Post
By Mandi Camille Hauwert
July 14, 2017

Transgender stories are everywhere; from news broadcasts, reality television, to Oscar-nominated films about trans people, the media cannot get enough. The trans community has never been under such a glaring spotlight. The attention comes at great risk; but, with the irresistible promise of a better tomorrow.

From this chaos has arisen a disturbing trend. With few exceptions, the transgender people being featured and profiled happen to be, what we reluctantly call, passable; a term bestowed upon trans people who ‘pass’ as cisgender. With the media’s penchant for casting attractive folks aside, the primary factor at play here is whether or not a person is readily identifiable as transgender.

The passable bias is frustrating on many levels. Giving the general public an incomplete picture of trans expression. It normalizes the cis-looking trans person, while simultaneously diminishing the validity and worth of those unable or unwilling to pass. It erases non-binary, gender queer, and gender fluid people entirely.

Furthermore, the passable bias demonizes those who cannot pass. For an example, look no further than the transgender bathroom debates igniting all across the country. As easy as it would be for me to vilify the conservative viewpoint on this matter, it is the imagery employed by both sides that trouble me.
Well it is a fact that if you can integrate into society (what the author calls passing) you will face a lot less discrimination and the opposite is true, the more you are identified as trans the more discrimination you face.

I don’t know about the author’s claim that “the passable bias demonizes those who cannot pass,” I wouldn’t say that it demonizes those who don’t pass, I would say as I did above that those who don’t “pass” face more harassment or more discrimination.
The result of this massive under-representation inherent to both sides is that it negatively reinforces the gender binary in a way that’s impossible for everyone to live up to. It tells everyone that doesn’t fit neatly into boy/girl categories that they don’t matter. It implies a very dangerous paradigm; that if you cannot or don’t care to pass as cisgender, then you have no rights. If metaphorically speaking, you wear your transgender on your sleeve; you belong in your special restroom.
Cisgender women come in all shapes and sizes, some even don’t pass for women and they also face harassment because they are outside the gender norm.

The other thing to keep in mind is that for many trans women they can’t afford electrolysis to remove their breads, nor can they afford any surgery not only Gender Confirming Surgery but also any cosmetic surgery so they stand out even more.



It is hard to find any other trans topics to write about other than Trump’s tweet so I am using stories from my backlog of articles.

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