Here's a short entry from my early years where I first came out and hadn't even transitioned yet. I used gender variant in place of transgender in some lines to ease the topic into the curriculum. I handed it in on February 11, 2002, and received a B+ loosing points only to grammar... some may remember it from when I was on the TGTS-Youth email list back then too. Some lines have been edited for better grammar.
QuoteHi! Mel again...
this is just a lil paper I did for my English class... it's supposed to be a persuasive essay based of some experience... wonder if the teach will believe it, well I just handed it in yesterday and yea I could of made it better and longer had I had the time to, but I guess this is good enough as I didn't want to be late on yet another assignment... I've failed b4 doing that, funny thought that all up till middle school when practically EVERYONE knew I was queer EXCEPT MYSELF and they took crap out on me cause of it, I was one of the best students in elementry with all A's and B's.. oh well anyways, without further ado, My report on why gender variance should be encouraged, rather than discouraged...
NOTE TO READER:
I have experienced all of the aforementioned information in this persuasive essay. However, I have refrained from using a first-person point of view due to the controversial nature of the topic. In this I also wish to keep to some degree of anonymity, therefore this is why this paper has been assembled in a factual manner, however all applies to not only myself but also people I know. Gender differences have always been a controversial issue. One of the basic fundamentals of society's social structure, gender is a key characteristic of what makes people who they are. It helps dictate what we do, wear, and act, as well as influencing other choices one makes in life. Such typing has defined how society works, and what is expected of each individual's role in society. Yet, when individuals stray from society's "norms," they are scrutinized for these choices of self-expression. Gender variance should not be discouraged, but rather encouraged, as it helps define one's individuality.
Gender Variance, otherwise associated as gender bending, is far more common than is widely thought. When someone hears of this, they usually associate this phrase with impressions of cross-gender impersonators, most commonly in the male to female form. Gender variance is also misaligned to homosexuality. While homosexuality may very well be true in some cases, variance is also common in heterosexual individuals, such as tomboys. Boys with long hair can also be counted as a more passive form of gender variance.
A vast majority of people believe that individuals should fall within set standards of living conditions. Many people find reasons to shun variance by arguing that it is more or less a sin in their religions- including interpretations from the Bible such as "one shall not disguise or impersonate thy self as a member of the opposite sex." Yet, when gender variance is used as a form of self-expression, it is even more of a sin to deny how one's self really is. Many also shun it because its perceptually odd nature contradicts traditional family values. Yet in ancient times, gender variance was considered something special- and even the makings of magical beings. These individuals would usually become shamans or spiritual leaders, as they were considered the kin of the gods. Ignorance of the situation has a part in the scrutiny that variant individuals must endure in modern times. Some are fearful of it because it is too different from what they're normally accustomed to in everyday occurrence, which makes it hard for them to understand. Most people would rather shun it from fear and not have to deal with such a controversy, rather than attempt to find logic in the situation at hand.
Many people also think negatively of gender variant people out of misconceptions that it happens because of misguidedness or an undermining in society, while others may just be too accustomed to conformity. They think that anyone that does not fit their standards is misguided. While anarchy may be the motivation behind some cases of crossing gender preferences, this is highly not true of the extent of those who really are gender variant. Another misconception that is common is that gender variance stems from some form of mental illness. This is not true, as there are no real set standards of totally male or totally female. Gender is in fact a spectrum of femininity and masculinity and no one person possesses only feminine or masculine characteristics. Others believe that variance stems from some type of perversion. While this may be true in such cases as transvestitism, this is another widespread misconception. Many cases have little or no motivation towards sexual arousal. Another misconception stems from the belief that it is just a phase that one will grow out of eventually, however gender variance is largely a life long affair. One of the most hurtful and untrue misconceptions is that one is gender variant because one is denying what one has been born with. This is not the case, as the majority of gender variant individuals are well aware of their bodies and what their situation is. They are merely trying to be how they truly are, and not just another conformant of a predominately gender-typical society.
Falling back to the fundamental principal of the US Declaration Of Independence, one must have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. One must have the right to live a life that is their own through their own forms of self-expression, for self-expression is part of a growing culture. One must have the right to liberty, to live freely, unbound by the restraints and restrictions imposed by those that wish to maintain a simplistic lifestyle that are either unwilling or unable to attempt to understand complexities of life. And finally, one must have the right to pursue happiness, for if a person so chooses to model his or her self outside of the normalcy of their outward genders for reasons that they are uncomfortable with the normalcys of their environment or whatever else may be the case, then, so be it.
Whether it be because of transgenderdness, homosexuality, or even in hedrosexual forms of the crew-cut girl or the pony tail boy, the fact of the matter is that boys that express their femininity and girls that express their masculinity should be allowed to do so. This form of self-expression can in fact be beneficial in helping a person understand one's true self, as well as the workings of the opposite gender.
