T is for Trans
There are many things that are intrinsic
to being a writer. For me, one of them is learning everything I can about the
subjects that are interesting to me. One of the subjects that is interesting to
me is the LGBTQ community, more specifically, the T in the LGBTQ acronym, which
stands for transgender, often abbreviated “trans.”
One percent of the world is transgender. Yet
over the last few years a light has shone on the transgender community as it
never had done before. In the year 2009, Chastity Bono, born the daughter of
Cher and the late Sonny Bono, underwent a transition and is now a transgender
male, Chaz Bono…
In 2014 Laverne Cox became the first
transgender individual to grace the cover of Time magazine.
In 2015 there were several shows on
television that featured transgender individuals. The first and most famous
example that comes to mind is Caitlyn Jenner. In 2015 American Gold Medal
Olympian Bruce Jenner revealed to the world that he is transgender, and was
going to undergo a transition to become a woman, which he named Caitlyn.
Before his transition, Bruce did a
groundbreaking interview with American television journalist, Diane Sawyer. In
the interview, Bruce said something that made helped me understand what being
transgender is:
“I have the soul of a
woman,”
Before I heard that comment, I did not understand what made a
person transgender. Is a transgender person someone who has had sexual
reassignment surgery? I had looked up the definition of the word transgender,
which states:
“A person who identifies with or
expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the
person’s sex at birth.”
This definition was amorphous to me. It did not make sense.
Yet Bruce’s statement made complete sense to me the moment I heard it. Bruce’s
soul is female, yet he was born into a male body. His soul was not in alignment
with his body. Bruce then made a transition in his life, changing his body to match his soul. Thus
Caitlin Jenner is the authentic version, the bodily version, of her female
soul. Her soul and body are now in alignment.
Over the summer months in 2015 the E
entertainment network aired a reality television show called “I am Cait”,
(short for Caitlyn), starring Caitlyn Jenner, in the months after her
transition. The show documented her entry into the transgender community, a
community did not yet fully understand. She then began to educate herself through
talking to others in the trans community.
There was another show on television last
year which featured a transgender person, this time a teenager. The network TLC
broadcast the show called “I am Jazz”, which featured Jazz, a transgender
female. Never before has a transgender teen been featured in a show on
television.
There was another groundbreaking reality based television show that shone a
light on the trans community last year. The show is called “Becoming Us” and
airs on the ABC Family network, which is now rebranded as the Freeform network.
The show featured three transgender individuals.
“Becoming Us” is centered around a young man named Ben and
his family and circle of friends. The show follows Ben and how he and his
family deal with a family member who has transitioned. Here is a picture of
Susie, (Ben’s Mother), Ben, and Carly:
Carly, in the red blouse, is a transgender female.
Also featured on the show was Ben’s girlfriend, Danielle, and
her parents, Sally-Dan and Mandy. Here is a picture of Danielle and Sally-Dan:
Sally-Dan is a transgender female.
Of Ben’s circle of friends on the show, a friend named Lathan
was featured. Here is a picture of Lathan:
http://www.glaad.org/sites/default/files/styles/400px/public/images/2015-06/Lathan.PNG?itok=W8C0Bk-u
Lathan is a transgender male.
“Becoming Us” is a groundbreaking show on television. Never
before has a show featured three transgender individuals.
The transgender community was not only present on television
in the past year, but in the movies as well. On New Year’s Day I went to see the
movie “The Danish Girl.” The movie stars Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander. In
the movie, Eddie Redmayne plays Einer Wegener, a painter in the 1920s in
Denmark. He transitioned and became Lili Elbe, a transgender female. Here is a
picture of Einer and Lili:
Here is a photo of Eddie Redmayne in the movie as Einer:
…and as Lili….
A book was written about Lili entitled “Man into Woman,”
which was published in 1933. She was reported to be the first person to undergo
gender reassignment surgery. She is seen as a pioneer in the transgender
community.
One percent of the world is transgender.
The opposite to being transgender is called cisgender. The definition of a cisgender person is:
“…a person whose sense of personal identity and gender
corresponds with their birth sex.”
Around ninety-nine percent of the world is cisgender, often
abbreviated “cis.”
*source: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-we-dont-know-the-size-of-the-transgender-population/
With these figures, the whole of humanity is either trans or
cis, transgender or cisgender.
I am a cisgender. I am a female. I was assigned female sex at
birth. My body is female. My soul is female. My soul is in alignment with my
physical body. Therefore, I am a cisgender female.
The television series mentioned above as well as “the Danish
Girl” film entertain as well as educate the public on the transgender
community. I feel that I understand much more about the trans community than I
ever have before. I believe that, in this way, entertainment is an incredible
tool for education and enlightenment.
For example, one thing I have learned about gender identity
is that, whether a person is transgender or cisgender, it has nothing to do
with their sexual orientation. Gender
and sexual preference are not exclusive. For example, in the movie “The Danish
Girl”, Lili is seen dating men while still married to his wife Gerda. Did
living her life as Lili mean that she was now attracted to men and
heterosexual? Lili still loved her wife Gerda. Did that love mean that she, as
Lili, was now homosexual? There is more to the spectrum than meets the eye.
Gender is not exclusive to attraction. The spectrum not only shows who we are
but what we are and who we love. There is a place on the spectrum for all of
us. (I will write about the spectrum another time.)
Another thing that I have learned about the trans community
is that there is a high suicide rate. Statistics show that 41% of the
transgender community have attempted suicide.
There is also a growing rate of hate crimes against the trans
community. The rates of violence increase for transgender people of color.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/13/transgender-homicide-victims-us-has-hit-historic-high
The transgender community has also been in the news of late. Last
Monday the International Olympic Committee made a change to their policy for
transgender athletes. The new policy states that transgender athletes no longer
need to have had gender reassignment surgery to compete in the Olympic Games.
The ruling of the Olympic Committee for those in the trans
community who have not had a sex change, or gender reassignment surgery. Many
transgender individuals have not had this surgery. For females who transition
into transgender males, there is no gender reassignment surgery.
The trans community has also been the focus of many news
stories in my state. This week in my state, Indiana, there was a bill proposed
to add the LGBT community to the list of those protected under state law; the
law would make it illegal to discriminate against a member of the LGBT
community in terms of employment, housing, adoption, etc. The law was passed,
which was a huge victory for the LGB community, for those who are Lesbian, Gay
or Bisexual. The lawmakers did not extend these protections to the transgender community.
This means it will soon be legal to discriminate against anyone who is
transgender, for any reason. The bill, SB344, now goes to the Indiana Senate.
There has also been a bill introduced into the legislature,
SB100, which is being called the “Transgender Bathroom Bill,” or the “Pay to
Pee” bill. If made law, it would stipulate that a person must use a public
restroom that correlates to that person’s sex at birth. In simpler terms, if
this law is passed, a transgender female would have to use the men’s restroom,
because they were born male. If the transgender female used the women’s
restroom, there would be a fine of $5,000 imposed, and would bring a class A
misdemeanor charge, which could mean a one year jail sentence.
Many have expressed their disgust at the bill, while others
have responded with humor. I have heard, “Who is going to check the chromosomes
at the bathroom door?” “Will we be required to lift our skirts to prove which
restroom we should be in?”
If this bill is made law, there are more civil rights at
stake than just the right to urinate. Here is a summary of the harmful items in
the bill, from Lambda Legal:
·
The religious exemptions in SB 100 are even broader than the
religious refusal law passed earlier this year that marked Indiana as a state
of intolerance. As the nation witnessed, enshrining the right to discriminate
into the law drives away business and hurts Indiana companies when trying to
attract and retain talent. …
·
SB 100 invites businesses and employers to discriminate against
LGBT people, by allowing them to create separate dress codes and restroom rules
for their LGBT employees. The bill would allow businesses to force transgender
people to use a restroom or wear clothing that doesn’t match their gender. The
bill is a big step backwards for all LGBT Hoosiers, but particularly
transgender Hoosiers.
·
SB 100 allows some businesses and other service providers the
right to refuse service to gay and lesbian couples, setting up separate, lesser
protections for gay people against discrimination.
·
SB 100 expressly authorizes tax-payer-funded social service
agencies, such as adoption or foster care agencies, to discriminate.
·
SB 100 changes current State civil rights laws to favor
defendants in all discrimination claims—not just those involving LGBT people.
The bill also creates potential punishment for victims of discrimination for
filing complaints later deemed “frivolous.”
*source: Indiana Transgender Network
Last year when the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was
passed in Indiana, lawmakers made it legal to discriminate against anyone for
any reason, under guise of religious freedom. This law sent the state careening
into the abyss. The state of Indiana became the symbol of intolerance and
hatred nationwide and worldwide. Companies refused to do business with Indiana.
Companies began to pull their work force from the state. Conventions who had
booked event space refused to come to Indiana.
Nine days later, the state passed an amendment to the law to
try to recover from the damage that had been done. The law stated that any
business could not refuse “…to offer or provide services, facilities,
use of public accommodations, goods, employment, or housing to any member or
members of the general public on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry,
age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or
United States military service.”
The damage done by having this law on the books for nine days in Indiana
equated to twelve conventions not coming to Indiana, and $60 million.
However, the Transgender community was left out of
this protection. In arguing against this amendment, one lawmaker in the Indiana
legislature compared the LGBT community to serial killers and pedophiles.
One would think that the lawmakers of Indiana would have learned the
lesson that discrimination against anyone, for any reason, should be against
the law. I am reminded of a quote about civil rights….
“…here’s the thing about rights-they’re not supposed to be
voted on.
That’s why they’re called rights.”
-Rachel Maddow
I also want to take a moment to argue against the use of a
particular word. Many lawmakers, Christians, and others make statements about the
LGBT community and how they object to their lifestyles. To use the word “lifestyle”
in reference to gender identity or sexual orientation is inaccurate at best. Gender
identities and sexual orientations are not chosen. They simply are what they are. I again will
use myself as an example. I am a cisgender, heterosexual female. I am attracted
to men. This is not a choice I made, this is my orientation. This is how I was
made. It is not my lifestyle. I did not choose to be a heterosexual. It is just
how the Lord made me.
I do not understand why some lawmakers believe one group of people are
allowed to have a certain set of civil rights, while another group of people
are allowed to have another. I may not agree with everything you believe;
however, I believe we should have equal rights, despite our disagreement.
Today, as I write
this, the Indiana legislature is looking at SB344 again. It was decided that
the bill would not be heard again. This means the legal discrimination of
transgender individuals in Indiana still stands. I do not know what the future
holds for this bill, or for SB100.
If any lawmakers
were to ever deign to listen to my views on the subject, I would tell them my
beliefs on the matter:
We as human beings all deserve the same civil rights. Who we are and who
we love should not make anyone ineligible for equal civil rights under the law.
Our lawmakers need to see the need for equal civil rights for all citizenry as
it is, as a right and not a privilege, and not through a religious filter. The
rights of all citizens need to be protected, not just those whose politics we
agree with. Regardless of your place on the spectrum, you should be given the
same rights as everyone else. That includes L G B and T.
© Esperanza Habla All Rights Reserved
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