Transgender: of, relating to, or being a person whose gender
identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at
birth. (Merriam-Webster)
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Growing up, I never really knew exactly what it meant to be
transgender. No one ever talked about it so I figured it was some taboo thing
that was looked down upon. My parents have always been very open and accepting
of all different peoples, but I can’t seem to recall a time when they explained
what a transgender person really was. I guess it was kind of like a don’t ask
don’t tell type of thing. From the beginning I was taught to be kind and
respectful to everyone and everything (I wish that was the case for everyone.)
When I was about fourteen years old I started to realize
that I was attracted to girls. I never really saw it coming and it seemed that
before I had been living a lie. I used to daydream about going on dates with
boys in high school and falling in love and just being the stereotypical high
school girl.
I started to explore my sexuality towards the end of my
freshman year and I started to accept that boys were not my gig. I became apart
of a great group of friends, a majority of which who were also part of the LGBT
community, and I became much more confident and comfortable with who I was. My
friends would teach me the gay lingo and made me feel like being gay was
normal.
I started watching Rupaul’s Drag Race when I was about
sixteen years old and I fell in love with Drag culture. Hearing their stories
and watching how incredibly talented and funny they were made me a huge fan of
the show and Drag Queens in general. RuPaul’s Drag Race to me is like football
to most straight males in America.
In season three of RuPaul’s drag race there was a very
beautiful Queen named Carmen Carrera who was featured on the show. She had very
feminine features and was very compelling to watch. During the show Carmen
identified as a gay man, but after the show ended she began to transition from
male to female. Seeing her transformation was so beautiful and enlightening,
she was so confident and powerful. After she transitioned it just seemed like
she had finally become her true self. Seeing her transition didn’t make me
uncomfortable, it felt like it was always meant to happen, and I was so happy
for her.
(Carmen Carrera Before and After Transitioning)
The fashion industry is finally starting to accept
transgender women into the modeling world. They are redefining beauty and
gender on a huge platform that influences the world in significant ways. According
to the New York Times, thirty-one transgender and nonbinary models were
included in the 2017 New York Fashion week, making it an all time high. (Safronova)
Transgender men and women have fought their way to that spot and they won’t let
it go. They have faced discrimination on photoshoots and an overall wave of disapproval
from a repulsively large amount of people. In the video below you can see some
of todays most famous transgender models and hear about their stories as they
recreate iconic looks from powerful women in history.
Transgenders are also starting to be included in politics.
This year was a great breakthrough for transgender candidates as they won races
in Virginia, Minnesota, California, and Pennsylvania. Democrat Danica Roem
became Virginia’s first transgender lawmaker, she beat Republican lawmaker
Robert Marshall who drafted a “bathroom bill” that was meant to prohibit transgender
people from using the bathroom that their gender identity matched up with. When
Danica was asked about her opponent (Robert Marshall) she responded with, “I
don’t attack my constituents. Bob is my constituent now.” (Nilsen)
Minneapolis voters elected Andrea Jenkins to city council,
making her America’s first openly transgender woman of color elected to public
office. She took more than two-thirds of the vote in the city’s Eighth-Ward, which
was formerly held by a council member that Jenkins had worked for. “Transgender
people have been here forever, and black transgender people have been here
forever,” Jenkins told the Washington post. (Nilsen) She expressed her excitement
for the future of elected office and looks forward to other trans people joining
her and taking other leadership roles in society.
(Andrea Jenkins)
Although 2017 has brought some major accomplishments and
opportunities for transgenders in America, it has also brought an immense
amount of hate, violence, and death along with it. This year has been the
deadliest recorded year for transgenders in America. According to the Human
Rights Campaign, there has been at least twenty-five transgender lives lost by
violent means. (Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2017) Transgender
women of color are targeted the most and have the greatest risk of becoming
victims of hate crimes.
According to a study conducted by the American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention and the Williams Institute, 41% of transgender people
attempt suicide, as compared to the 4.6% of the general public. (Ungar) This
alarmingly high rate is due to the constant hate that transgender men and women
receive and the social isolation that comes along with it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)