Realizing the humanity and experience of trans people is a needed step for equal

[Butterfly]

Realizing the humanity and experience of trans people is a needed step for equality
Metro Weekly
by Jos Truitt
07 July, 2010


http://www.metroweekly.com/news/opinion/?ak=5406


As a transgender woman writing at Feministing.com, I regularly cover trans-related stories. I also critique the almost-always poor coverage from mainstream and even LGBT publications. Far too often these stories are about violence against trans folks and the failure of news sources to report accurately and respectfully. In these stories, trans folks -- overwhelmingly trans women of color -- are reduced to victims of violence or simply dead bodies. What's missing are the stories of these people's lives rather than of just their deaths.

My favorite trans-related piece I've written isn't about violence or death or media fails or anything particularly newsworthy. It's about Disney's The Little Mermaid. I didn't have the language or concepts to understand this, but growing up I viewed the movie as a trans fairy tale. I wrote, "I identified with [Ariel] instantly. Her problems made so much sense. Her whole world was wrong - she knew where she belonged, but no one could understand. And she didn't care, she went for it anyway, became the person she knew she should be in the world where she knew she belonged.