TRIGGER WARNING Off Limits: My Transgender Teen's Body Is Not Up for Discussion

[Myarkstir]

Off Limits: My Transgender Teen's Body Is Not Up for Discussion

Warning, the article can be triggering to some.

By Liz Hanssen, Huffpost Gay Voice
Jan 18, 2015

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-hanssen/off-limits-my-transgender_b_6481682.html

The bodies of all my children are off limits, of course. But since my youngest came out as transgender, I've observed an unsettling phenomenon: Trans people are treated as though being trans carries with it an obligation to accept intrusive, highly personal questions about their bodies -- questions that are never posed to or asked about cisgender folk (that is, those whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth). The sense of entitlement with which these questions are asked implies that anyone and everyone has the right to know what is going on underneath a transgender person's clothing, and this includes transgender teenagers and children. Pretty messed up, right?

[suzifrommd]

I'm hoping this phenomenon starts to recede as knowledge about transgender people becomes more widespread. Right now we're sort of like zoo animals - so exotic that people's natural curiosity comes out when they encounter us. Mix that with the small but visible percentage of people whose brain-to-mouth filters are faulty, and out come inappropriate questions.