Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Why It's Important To Claim The 'Trans' Label
posted by Monica Roberts at 12:00 PM

http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-its-important-to-claim-trans-label.html

While surfing the Web Sunday night was involved in a FB discussion which started when a person made this comment.

        I do not publically identify as transsexual as the entire point, for me anyway, is to be perceived as what I am: female. Nothing more, nothing less.

To which I immediately responded to that person

        Running away from the trans label is like me trying to deny I'm Black.   

"The sooner we stop feeling guilty about being trans and being ashamed of the label, the sooner we can get cis people to see that trans= human.   That light bulb moment with cis people will get us to the day that transwomen are considered women only, nothing more, nothing less."

I have to say, I quite agree with her on this.

Also, I have to say that when we reject being "trans" we inadvertently or indirectly suggest, or at the very least support the suggestion, that being trans makes you less of a man or less of a woman than being cis.

Quote from: Miniar on December 01, 2010, 12:40:36 PM
"The sooner we stop feeling guilty about being trans and being ashamed of the label, the sooner we can get cis people to see that trans= human.   That light bulb moment with cis people will get us to the day that transwomen are considered women only, nothing more, nothing less."

I have to say, I quite agree with her on this.

Also, I have to say that when we reject being "trans" we inadvertently or indirectly suggest, or at the very least support the suggestion, that being trans makes you less of a man or less of a woman than being cis.

I must agree 100% with this sentiment.
I am open and out. Maybe not loud but definatly proud.

I agree.   it is OK to be transsexual which everyone knows is a person who changes sex.

Quote from: Miniar on December 01, 2010, 12:40:36 PM
I have to say that when we reject being "trans" we inadvertently or indirectly suggest, or at the very least support the suggestion, that being trans makes you less of a man or less of a woman than being cis.

I agree. I for some time thought that by being trans I was less of a woman if not only for the fact that I had only been one for few years. Today I believe, however, that being transgendered means that I'm an extraordinary woman with a unique past and a much wider experience and view on life. My experience leaves me with two complete college educations in a few years. Why shouldn't I be proud of that rather than ashamed?

I have two mottos that I live by:
1. You must be able to look yourself in the eyes no matter how deep you look.
2. We are human first and foremost. Gendered beings secondarily.

and I agree with Christine Burnes:
"Transsexual remains a second-class label unless it is applied to first rate people!".



Tippe

I wrote I'm happy to be seen as transsexual its trans-woman I don't like.

because im so young and having to deal with the horrors of highschool, i am still somewhat ashamed of it. i feel like a lot of people dont understand, and I dream of leaving this town, this state, maybe even the damn country so I can live my life as the biological male i should of been born as.
But who knows, maybe i'll change the way i think about myself. Maybe after T and Surgery I'll feel...complete. and proud. and I'd want the world to know what i've gone thru to get to where i [will evenetually be at}

I am not ashamed that I have a sex. I am not ashamed I am changing the outside configuration. I do not even particularly care if someone thinks I am some kind of pervert. I am above those worries.

Quote from: Dee_pntx on December 01, 2010, 06:27:05 PM
I live in Bigotville.  Half the population is KKK the other half is nazis.

I'm not telling anyone anything around here, no way, no how.

see now that makes a ton of sense.....

My thoughts.
Im male, that's what matters. But I'm not going to go to over-extencive means to hide my past, and if you ask, I generally don't mind telling

...unless you're just trying to be a pest, in which case I fight fire with fire.

It varies from person to person. for me, I just want to be seen and accepted as male. if people see me as only a transsexual, and not the gender i am, then the purpose of my transition is lost.
If i get caught on it, i'd admit it. but it's not something i want to flaunt to all.

but if you want to represent yourself as trans, that's ok too.

Accepting and claiming the trans prefix =/= announcing or introducing yourself as trans to others.

There's a difference between;
I live in Bigotville.  Half the population is KKK the other half is nazis.
I'm not telling anyone anything around here, no way, no how.
and totally rejecting the trans label.

One is a matter of self-preservation that I quite support. I mean, I'm not gonna go seek out a bigot and tell him I'm one of the people he hates the most.

But when we start saying that we are women and men and "not trans anything" then we imply that being trans really means being less than a man or a woman.
That's the part I object to and will continue to object to.

Quote from: Miniar on December 02, 2010, 07:36:19 AM
when we start saying that we are women and men and "not trans anything" then we imply that being trans really means being less than a man or a woman.
That's the part I object to and will continue to object to.

I am fullfilling a boy dream of becomming a woman, and I am proud I've had the strength to do it. In any setting how many people succeeded in fullfilling their childhood dreams? And not only that, but surviving the prejudice surrounding ->-bleeped-<- is certainly an accomplishment.

What I reject is the convention of normality. The norms surely prevented me from being who I am for at least a decade. Curiously, if more people rejected gender policing variation would no longer be considered abnormal.



Tippe

No one's saying that one should bemoan one's fate either.

What I'm saying, quite simply, is that we shouldn't reject the trans label because it retracts from our validity as ourselves, because in doing so, we are retracting from the validity of ourselves.

I was born with girl parts.
I refuse to be ashamed of that.
I refuse to allow anyone, trans or cis, to use that to make me less of a man.

Quote from: Miniar on December 02, 2010, 12:22:06 PM
No one's saying that one should bemoan one's fate either.

What I'm saying, quite simply, is that we shouldn't reject the trans label because it retracts from our validity as ourselves, because in doing so, we are retracting from the validity of ourselves.

I was born with girl parts.
I refuse to be ashamed of that.
I refuse to allow anyone, trans or cis, to use that to make me less of a man.

*****Cheers Miniar on!*****
THIS!

Just my thoughts..  When somebody claims the label, they help give the community a little visibility, which, with enough, can lead to more social acceptance, after the inevitable backlash of course.  So I'm personally thankful for anybody that is out, especially if they carry themselves with integrity, etc.

However, I wouldn't be one to tell anybody that they should live a certain way or make certain decisions with their life.  I don't like the idea of making anybody feel like being out and proud is an obligation.

I'm not telling anyone to be out and proud either.
What I am against is the suggestion that being a woman or a man requires you to make a point out of rejecting the trans label or more..
There's those that have told me that I "have to" get rid of every proof of my youth, every photo, every human tie, etc, etc, etc, and totally reject the trans label in every way, in order to live as a "real" man.
Sorry, but I'm already "living" as a "real" man, what with being a bloke of flesh and blood and being alive. I have to do a couple more things who will vastly improve the quality of my life, indeed make it worth living, but having friends and family who know of my past, having photos of my grade-school graduation and a couple old pieces of paper laying around does not make me less of a man.

Nor does the term "trans".

It's not about out v.s. stealth, it's about the "rejection" of trans, the suggestion that acknowledging the facts of our birth, even to each other, Heck! even to ourselves!, somehow makes us less "ourselves",... there's something intensely wrong about that to me.

Quote from: Zythyra on December 01, 2010, 12:12:57 PM
To which I immediately responded to that person

        Running away from the trans label is like me trying to deny I'm Black.   

I agree,
and I just saw the movie "Imitation of life" with lana Turner
The girl in the movie hides and denies she has a black mother, and the movie showes the conscequences of hiding the truth about your background. It really reminded my of our situation.

You can watch the entire film on youtube: