News and Events => Opinions & Editorials => Topic started by: Shana A on December 20, 2012, 06:45:37 PM Return to Full Version
Title: The Sandy Hook Tragedy, Anti-Trans Violence and Codes of Masculinity
Post by: Shana A on December 20, 2012, 06:45:37 PM
Post by: Shana A on December 20, 2012, 06:45:37 PM
Dana Beyer
Executive Director, Gender Rights Maryland
The Sandy Hook Tragedy, Anti-Trans Violence and Codes of Masculinity
Posted: 12/19/2012 9:37 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-beyer/the-sandy-hook-tragedy-anti-trans-violence-and-codes-of-masculinity_b_2317794.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-beyer/the-sandy-hook-tragedy-anti-trans-violence-and-codes-of-masculinity_b_2317794.html)
As a member of the trans and gay communities, I am not naïve about violence. In particular, trans women of color are significantly more likely to suffer a violent attack than the average citizen. Class, race and ethnicity all play a role in the increased prevalence of such violence, and the fear thereof, which in some communities is a daily fact of life. Those women, however, are not at risk from the uncommon sociopath but are caught up in subcultures of young men whose code of masculinity allows no room at all for gender variance, and the more prevalent cross-cultural code of masculinity then channels that rejection of others into violence.
I am supporting a project run by famed trans activist Riki Wilchins in D.C. that is an attempt to reach out to those subcultures and engage with them to discover the source of their intolerance of trans women and the routine use of violence as a response. A common response was, "Transgender -- that's just a longer word for 'gay.'" These young men have cut down to the bone of transphobia and homophobia: a violation of the code of how men are supposed to behave. Men do not flirt with other men, nor do they dress up like their mothers. Being associated with such a person -- walking down the same block, let alone actually speaking to one another -- is a sin punishable by ostracism from the band of brothers. And to prove that there was no sexual interest involved at all, the man whose identity is on trial can redeem it often only by acting out violently against the trans woman. Violence is the only acceptable response to a challenge of masculinity.
Executive Director, Gender Rights Maryland
The Sandy Hook Tragedy, Anti-Trans Violence and Codes of Masculinity
Posted: 12/19/2012 9:37 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-beyer/the-sandy-hook-tragedy-anti-trans-violence-and-codes-of-masculinity_b_2317794.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-beyer/the-sandy-hook-tragedy-anti-trans-violence-and-codes-of-masculinity_b_2317794.html)
As a member of the trans and gay communities, I am not naïve about violence. In particular, trans women of color are significantly more likely to suffer a violent attack than the average citizen. Class, race and ethnicity all play a role in the increased prevalence of such violence, and the fear thereof, which in some communities is a daily fact of life. Those women, however, are not at risk from the uncommon sociopath but are caught up in subcultures of young men whose code of masculinity allows no room at all for gender variance, and the more prevalent cross-cultural code of masculinity then channels that rejection of others into violence.
I am supporting a project run by famed trans activist Riki Wilchins in D.C. that is an attempt to reach out to those subcultures and engage with them to discover the source of their intolerance of trans women and the routine use of violence as a response. A common response was, "Transgender -- that's just a longer word for 'gay.'" These young men have cut down to the bone of transphobia and homophobia: a violation of the code of how men are supposed to behave. Men do not flirt with other men, nor do they dress up like their mothers. Being associated with such a person -- walking down the same block, let alone actually speaking to one another -- is a sin punishable by ostracism from the band of brothers. And to prove that there was no sexual interest involved at all, the man whose identity is on trial can redeem it often only by acting out violently against the trans woman. Violence is the only acceptable response to a challenge of masculinity.