Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to understanding sexualityhttp://www.smh.com.au/comment/ignorance-is-not-bliss-when-it-comes-to-understanding-sexuality-20160407-go12dt.htmlby Julia Baird | via
smh.com.auGosh, we're an ignorant lot. And one thing we seem to be particularly ignorant about is transgender. Which makes a lot of people very angry.
British novelist Ian McEwan discovered this when he gave a speech at the Royal Institution. He said that today the self, "like a consumer desirable, may be plucked from the shelves of a personal identity supermarket, a ready-to-wear little black number".
It is hugely offensive to dismiss those who struggled for decades to be who they are, as simply searching for the right frock. Comedian Eddie Izzard said: "I didn't pull anything off the shelf. I knew when I was four and I came out when I was 23, that was 31 years ago, surely we have moved on ... That's so backward looking it's like the sixties never happened to him."
I posted a comment to this (as "IsItMe?")...
Thank you Julia. A timely piece given the ignorant hate mongering and ridicule some people who should know better like to engage in. Just as women who stand up for their rights are often shouted down by entitled men, trans people speaking up for rights and acceptance are howled down by gender elitists who apparently seem to believe they will lose their cis centric and legislated gendered privilege by treating trans people with equality and respect.
