Transgender Individuals Have the Freedom to be who they want to be

Sunday, November 24, 2013

The Trans Spectrum

Should transgender individuals change the way they behave just because they are not fully accepted into society? Of course not. Transgender individuals are free from choosing the way they want to perform in society. They are free to be who they want to be.

We may thing that being a transgender is a birth defect in which their brain and their bodies don’t match up. That is not the case though. Transgender individuals identify themselves with the gender sex they were born with and gravitate toward femininity or masculinity as they begin to explore their own identity. They become curious about their gender, their femininity, their masculinity and are driven to perform their gender expression as a natural way.

In the transgender spectrum, people are culturally marked and excluded in which they are perceived as different individuals who are not part of the gender norms. Because of their specific gender transgression- that is changing their gender expression and becoming either more feminine or masculine- transgender people are discriminated and stigmatized for altering their bodies and navigating into a different gender.

Many transgender individuals don’t have the same benefits as we do; they rather lose many life chances that other individuals receive in our society. They face many challenges from issues such as health-care benefits to brutally comments from individuals in the street. Transgender people face a wide variety of discriminating barriers to full equality. I have come to witness how many transgender people are discriminated in our own world and they are told by others how they are a disgrace in which they should be shameful for what they are doing. It is hard for to us to accept transgender people because we see them as out of the normal, as people who are not part of our gender norms. Our society picks on them because of their gender appearance, and transgender people tend to be discriminated worse off as it is easier for us to accept a gay or lesbian person. Anything outside of the traditional gender binary is discriminated and people discriminate transgender people- from outing them to ridiculing them. According to the Transgender Europe’s Transgender Murder Project, 238 transgender individuals were murdered worldwide. It is no doubt that many are brutally harassed and some are even murdered.

Related Video: Transgender Woman Found Murdered in Detroit

Transgender people are seen as issue to society and violent crimes are playing in the transgender community as society projects their hate upon them. Transgender people are harshly discriminated and for them to be murdered has become a tragic reminder of that reality. Our society tends to stigmatize transwomen more than transmen as they are the ones who are mainly receive the harsh comments from society. We have come think that they are demonized and have the fascination to be part of the femininity community. We see them as artificial and unnatural in which they are trying to mimic a gender identity to which they do not belong to. Transgender people are not seen as part of the gender norm and our society tends to target them because of their specific gender transformation as they unveil their feminine gender expression.

Many transgender individuals are reluctant to identify themselves as transgender because of fear of discrimination and harsh comments. Some transgender individuals hide from their own transformation as to not suffer and be oppressed by our own society.

Society relies on rigorously maintained concepts of gender and gender expression and it creates a challenge for the transgender community. We are not open-minded and it is difficult for us to accept decisions that are not part of the heternormative. However, we should not judge or view transgender individuals as abnormal, instead we should try to understand their transformation and give them the opportunity to express their own gender identity. No one is perfect, and each individual has the freedom to choose whether they want to be masculine or feminine.

Transgender people should not be afraid to express themselves, and as a society, we shouldn’t deprive their want to become more feminine or masculine. Transgender people are completely independent of one another and in essence, we all have the choice to choose who we want to be.

Sources:

Meyers, Jamie Ann. “We Matter! Transgender Day of Remembrance 2013.” HuffingtonPost. 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

Ring Trudy. “Transgender Woman Found Murdered in Detroit.” Advocate. 18 Nov. 13. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

The Issue of Pronoun among Transgender People

What pronoun would you prefer? It’s a strange question to ask individuals, but it is an issue that transgender individuals often have to face. It’s a pronoun mistake we often don’t wish to commit and we may feel guilty for offending transgender individuals. It is an example of oppressive language and of cissexist in which it all hurts transgender people.

I won’t argue, but it is difficult figuring out which preferred pronoun a person wishes to use. We are accustomed to use “he” for male and “she” for female, however, we cannot always distinguish between transgender individuals and we must be mindful as to which pronoun they prefer so as to not disrespect them. If we do ask transgender individuals what prefer pronoun they would like to use, we should be kind and intentional about the way we ask. It is a question that hurts transgender people and it is completely our fault if we get such pronoun wrong after knowing which pronoun the person whishes to use.

We should never assume which pronouns we should use based on someone’s appearance. We may think that because a transwoman dresses more feminine that is reasonable to use the pronoun “she” but that is not always the case. Some transwoman may just prefer to use “he” to avoid any linguistic violence. I have witnessed such situation in which some transwoman prefer to use “he” instead of “she” and it has made me understand that transgender people differ from person to person.

In certain situations I have come to witness how some individuals are perplexed as to which pronoun to use amongst transgender individuals and this happens all the time! We don’t know whether we should refer to them as “he” or “she” and we think that it may be easier to refer to transgender people as “it” as it won’t cause any problem to them. However, referring to them as “it” is inhumane, as we are pushing transgender people away from the social body and perceiving them as artificial in society.

I have been in situations in which I didn’t know how to refer to a transgender person. I didn’t want to offend or make them think that I was teasing their gender transformation. I found it difficult, but the only way I was able to know which pronoun transgender people preferred was to ask in a subtle way that wouldn’t offend them.

In circumstances, it even becomes difficult to know for children which preferred pronoun their transgender parent would want to use. At a young age, it is confusing to distinguish whether they should use “he” or “she” for their transgender parent. It is a barrier that they have to confront and it makes it no easier if society keeps draining transgender people with the misuse of pronouns.

The use of pronouns among transgender people becomes even more difficult in school settings. They tend to be furthered teased by students because of their transgression. However, it also challenges other students and even teachers as they don't know how they should refer to them. Some schools have adopted a non-gender language in which they try to eliminate gender-specific pronouns. It makes it easier for transgender people to integrate into a community where pronoun use isn’t a challenge.

I do think that a lot of the misuse of pronoun among transgender individuals is unintentional. But there is a difference in being unintentional and intentional and those who do it intentionally are shaming the transgender community. If you know what preferred pronoun a trans* would like to use, a simple “I’m sorry” won’t work if you continue to harass transgender people. We commit such language violence that builds our ignorance about transgender people. We must become aware that if we get their pronoun right it makes it easier for transgender people to live a better life.

Sources:

Battaglino, Stephanie. “Trans Parent: How I Came out to My Son.” HuffpostLive Highlights. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

Conlin, Jennifer. “The Freedom to Choose Your Pronoun.” The New York Times. 30 Sep. 11. Web. 26 Nov. 2013

Transwomen and their moment of Transmisogyny

Julia Serano who is a writer and transgender rights activist has mentioned that transgender individuals—particularly transwomen—often face “transmisogyny”.

Transmisogyny specifically targets transgender expressions of femaleness and femininity in which it ranges from negative attitudes and feelings toward transgender people based on their gender expression. In our society, transwomen are seen as artificial because they dress too hyperfeminely and wear too much makeup, thus, perceived as caricatures of real women. We view transwomen as out of the natural because they take in a role that is more feminine of a real woman.

Because of their changing gender role, transwomen are continually criticized and harassed by people in the street. They are harshly judged by our society in which most believe that transwomen are only trying to mimic a real woman. In the society we live in, we revolve around negative and inferior connotations about transwomen and our society often oppresses and excludes them, regarding transwomen as a disturbing matter to humanity and a disrespect for women.

It is no surprise that transwomen are brutally harassed because they don’t fit into our gender norm. They become victims of hate crimes as they are viciously attacked for performing more feminine. Teasing, hurting, and murdering transwomen has become an act that has trending over years and it has become a challenge to transwomen as many now have the fear of being seen as feminine in public view. It is shocking to know that 238 trans people were murdered worldwide in the past year; however, it is not shocking to understand that the large number is due to the mistreatment that society places on these trans people.

It is unbelievable how many transwomen are involved in hate crime scenes such as Vivian Diego. They are brutally attacked in public and the only causes for these scenes are for transwomen showing their femininity in public. We find it hard to accept transwomen in our culture and many individuals believe that the only way to solve this issue is by viciously assaulting transwomen.

In part of transmisogyny, transwomen face negative attitudes when it comes to sex-segregated facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms. Sex-segregated facilities are a great challenge for them as they are teased and bulked with harsh comments about their gender appearance and performance. In situations like these, transwomen prefer to use none to avoid any transphobia.

Because transwomen alter their bodies and alter their appearance, they are often criticized by school communities and it becomes hard for schools to accept these individuals. They are denied rights and not given the same equality as others in our society. They are judged for the way they appear to society and that holds a barrier to transwomen as they are perceived different from normal women and men.

Tansmisogyny is a global epidemic that has a crucial effect on transwomen as they challenge heterosexism. Their is still much to be done to have people treat transwomen with respect. We shouldn’t see transwomen and their femme gender expression as a form of drag performance, but rather as performance in which they are trying to fit into society.

Sources:

Brydum, Sunnivie. “Watch: Trans Women Attacked in Hollywood Hat Crime Speaks Out, Cops Offer Reward.” Advocate. 19 Jun.13. Web. 26 Nov. 2013

Constantine, Sandra. “Transwomen Often Face ‘Transmisogyny’.” MassLive. 25 Apr. 13. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

Feder, Lester J. “238 Transpeople Murdered Worldwide in The Past Year.” Buzzfeed. 13 Nov. 13. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

Serano, Julia. “Reclaiming Femininity.” Transfeminist Perspectives in and Beyond Transgender and Gender Studies. 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

An Interview with a Transwomen: Micale Haddick in Pursuit of her Identity

It is no doubt that many transgender individuals face various challenges to become who they want to be. It is difficult for them to show their feminine or masculine identity when our society keeps threatening, harassing, or murdering the transgender community.

Micale Haddick who is a student at a community college in Burbank, California mentions that she often had great difficulty identifying and gravitating toward her preferred gender identity for the reason that she was afraid how society would accept her. She was afraid to receive harassments and be pointed at when walking in public streets.

Haddick states, “I was scare to be seen in public once I moved into the transgender community. I was concern about the reaction from the people around me.” Her concern, however, didn’t stop her from wanting to be a transwoman.

We live in a society that shuns differences, in a society that finds it difficult to accept people who are not part of the gender norms. We are surrounded in a culture that is obsessed with conformity and belonging and society excludes those individuals who don’t belong to our society either by verbally abusing them or by brutally attacking. Haddick has lived through the harassments of people and has been rigorously criticized for her gender transition. Because society finds it hard to accept transgender people as normal humans, it becomes fairly easy for society to hate them and be aggressive amongst transgender people.

People in our society are afraid of the unknown and they attack anything that is different or out of the norm. Haddick has been personally attacked both verbally and physically and has been told that she doesn’t belong in society.

In this personal interview with Micale Haddick, I question her identity as a transwoman.

The Interview

Andrea: I understand that many individuals identify their gender identity different. What does gender identity mean to you?

Haddick: Well to me, gender identity is the way you express yourself to the world. It is the way you perform in society and the way you appear to society. It is the way I express my feminine gender expression.

A: Tell me about your gender transition and at what age did you consider yourself a transwoman?

H: When I was growing up everything seemed normal, but I did grow up different than normal boys. I was fascinated with barbies and dolls and I would often play with my older sister rather than with my younger brother. My parents were very supportive, they never pushed me away and they were always by my side. As I grew older, I became more and more curious about my gender and my appearance. It wasn’t until I turned 16 that I decided to become more feminine and be part of the transgender community. I struggled much, especially throughout my high school years. Everyone would always call out my differences.

A: Why did you choose to be a transwoman?

H: I was trapped, confused, and isolated. I wasn’t comfortable being a man. I wanted something different and I wanted to explore femininity. It was something I always wanted to do. Makeup, dresses, and handbags always attracted me, and I wanted to experience femininity by appearing more feminine to society even though I knew it would be a great challenge.

A: What difficulties have you had or do you currently face in society for being a transgender?

H: Seen as an outcast has been something I have always faced. I face name callings from people in the street, and I am regularly criticized by people when I’m in public. I have been attacked by both students in high school and in college. The oppression from society is something I have to regularly cope with as our society refuses to accept people who are different.

A: Why do you think our society denies the acceptance of transgender people?

H: I believe that there is nothing wrong with being a transgender. Bottom line, the issue is not with transgender people, but an issue with people in society. People in society are uncomfortable with others who do not share the same ideals and they believe it is right to harass us. We are all people, and society should allow transgender people to pursue the life they feel is meant for them. As long as I’m happy as a transwomen that is what matters.