Cynical and southern: Trans – The forbidden topic
November 17, 2010 at 3:35 pm by Jeremy Gloff
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/11/17/cynical-and-southern-trans-the-forbidden-topic/ (http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/11/17/cynical-and-southern-trans-the-forbidden-topic/)
How about a trans joke to get things rolling? Just kidding. As far as touchy subjects go, the topic of trans may rank near the top of the list. I have been the person who used the wrong pronoun and dealt with the backlash. I've been in the presence of trans people and I was so self conscious that I might say the wrong thing that I just kept my mouth shut. But discomfort is often an indication for the need of dialogue. I am from a small town in Western New York. I come from a background that was sometimes simple and narrow. I am 35 now and I wish to not be simple and narrow. At the risk of opening up Pandora's box, I would like to sort through my feelings on my transgendered brothers and sisters.
Throughout the years, I've written much about my life as a gay male. Among the comments on my pieces, quite often a trangendered person would chime in with, "What about me?" My initial impulse was to be dismissive. I'm a gay male and I'm writing about my experience as a gay male. I had always subconsciously relegated transgendered people to a separate group from myself, with separate issues and experiences. My mind was closed to those "pesky trans commentators," who were angry that I wouldn't open my umbrella further and include them in a discussion that I felt didn't concern them. In my hasty indifference I did not take the time to pause and consider that voice asking, "What about me?"