My humble opinion is that so long as there is a differentiation between 'us' and them then discrimination will prevail. Naturally we all want to just fit into society in a transparent manner, to be treated with the same level of respect that most people enjoy without any stigma or preconceived ideologies about what or who they are. I believe this to be our ultimate goal. But we won't see it in our lifetimes. Our goals then are evolutionary. One step at a time; One battle at a time. And while a lot has changed and been accomplished over the years, make no mistake about it: we still have a long ways to go.
Now I am very mindful of not wanting to marginalize the pain felt from young people of today who traverse the minefield of social acceptance . That being said, the life experience differences are night and day. Back in 1968 I was 8 - 9 years old and was exposed before the entire community I lived in and the school I attended as a freak who liked to wear girl clothes and such. It was unimaginable to the community at large how a boy could think he was a girl. It had to be a mental disorder which in itself had a huge stigma associated with it. It had to be the work of Satan. I was bullied, harassed, beaten up relentlessly while the adults would turn their heads the other way pretending nothing was happening. They stole my school supplies, they threw human faeces at me, pelted me with urine filled balloons, spit in my food and in my face; They even killed my dog by poisoning. I attempted to reach out to the local church for spiritual strength only to be told to pray alone at home; People like me were not welcome in their church. My parents were good people but they were ignorant country folks who grew up in East Texas during the depression. Their solution when it came to this problem of mine was to sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't exist. I think society at the time taught them to be ashamed of me.
With no one showing even a single morsel of empathy for me, Sometime in mid November, 1967 I ate all the Valium (known as Diazepam) from my mother's prescription bottle. The only thing I remember after that is waking up in the hospital. Later a woman who identified herself as a paediatric psychiatrist asked what was going on with me. So I told her. I was told that wanting to be a girl was just a phase I was going through and would grow out of it. She told me she would talk to school officials about my problems at school and that things should go easier for me. Well she was half right at least. I didn't grow out of it but things got a little easier at school. At least I wasn't being persecuted like before; Instead for the next two years or so, I was in a sterile, apathetic environment with a complete and utter lack of care or concern about me. In other words there was an agenda of social shunning being waged against me orchestrated by local religious leaders. The ending of the social shunning against me led to me being forcibly raped by the time I was 12... repeatedly and then subsequently my junior high school days were filled with hearing the schools most popular girls laugh everytime I walked by their group hearing their sneering comments about how creepy and ugly it is ad nauseam. My parents were just so overwhelmed after I told them about the rape(s) they just refused to talk about it or even acknowledge it happened. I was a notorious liar after all..... The evil that men do are not interred with their bones but live on - in the memories of the people they victimized for an entire lifetime. The mindset of that era was that bullying was a normal part of growing up. I was expected to learn how to fend for myself. But I was small in size and all the other kids were much larger than I was. Even the girls would beat me up. I wish I could say that was the extent of my troubles but in reality it was only the beginning.
Aside from the world outside of the USA and the EU, the magnitude of bullying and violence appear to be more frequent but that is due to greater access to information via the news and social media on the internet and thus it would be inevitable to hear of more instances of injustice against us. But in other parts of the world our brothers and sisters face death on a daily basis. Having lived in various places around the world at some time or another, Brazil comes to mind. But even they are making small bits of progress in their struggle for social acceptance, equal justice and fear from being victims of hate crime. But their struggle continues as does ours. And while there are still serious challenges in the days ahead for us all, those challenges are inevitable as our continued progress in the struggle for transparent social acceptance, equitable justice and freedom from prejudice, bigotry and discrimination continue to evolve. If only if we continue to stand united in our cause and set future goals of one day not having any distinguishing characterization made onto those who identify themselves with the gender they were not born with, then and only then will the generations of people who live after us be able to live normal, healthy lives free of fear,discrimination and social stigma. It seems like an impossible dream. But let me tell you that back in 1967 and later the thought that people my age could set goals to transition to the gender they identify with was not even something that I could imagine would ever see the light of day. My regret besides the fact I was a girl born in the body of a boy, is that I wasn't born later in life so that I could have been afforded the opportunity to be what I really am: a girl. If only I could have transitioned when I was a pre-teen. I looked so much like a girl. It would have made all the difference in the life experience that followed. So I am thankful that some children are at least afforded through the advances of science the ability to postpone adolescence. But my heart just grieves for those children and what they are going through especially if they have parents who are not supportive.
And so the struggle continues...
Nikki
Please note that I am a coward. The real heroes and heroines are the ones who had the audacity, strength and the courage to conqueror their fears and live life as the gender they know they are. It is these folks and their courage to continue on in their never ending struggle to be what they are regardless of social pressure or stigmata that foster change and give hope to others who also struggle. What magnificent warriors you all are! I can't help but be in awe at your rebellious courage and I would not ever place myself on equal keel with you. I only wish I had your courage. Shine on! Shine on!
