(In response to the article Transsexuals should cut it out)
I am a twenty-nine year old university student,
writer and editor, and I am transgendered. There are a number of situations
that fall under that category, but in my case it means that I am male, but
happened to be born physically female. There was never a moment when it “occurred”
to me that I was male; I always knew it. I was confused for a long time about
why I wasn’t treated like the other boys as a child, and around sixteen there
was the realisation that I wasn’t the only person to experience this, but that’s
probably the closest I’ve come to any sort of “revelation”. For the past eleven
years, I’ve undergone HRT, surgery, and jumped through every single hoop that’s
been placed in front of me with an acceptance, strength and grace that most
people never have to discover they possess. You, Ms Burchill, I’m sure have
never had to discover the depths of those traits in yourself, because if you
had, you would know how to present yourself better.
The language in your article is beyond
inappropriate, and displays a level of ignorance, bigotry and unprofessionalism
that anyone speaking in a public forum should be ashamed to exhibit.
The term “tranny” is not just “wrong”; it is a
derogatory term at the same level as calling someone a “fag”, “nigger”, or any
other slur meant to demean and degrade a particular group. The term “cis” is an
abbreviation for “cisgendered”, which means a person’s self-perceived gender
identity matches their sex. “Cis” itself comes from Latin and means “on the
same side”.
Transwomen are not “imagined” women. They aren’t
less than any other woman (or man), and the problems they face are certainly
not any less trivial. The sheer amount of strength and bravery it takes a
transwoman to walk out her door every day and live her life knowing full well
that every day she does that may be the day someone ridicules her, assaults
her, or even kills her is something that should be commended and respected. Could
you be that brave? Every. Single. Day. For the rest of your life. Quite
possibly without your family or a strong support network to stand behind you.
Knowing that if something does happen, and you report it, there’s a good chance
the authorities won’t even take you seriously. Could you do that?
I come from a working class background, raised by
a single mother in an area of the United States where the career prospects were
Wal-Mart, telemarketing or working at the sawmill. I have been discriminated
against for being female, for being male, for being transgendered and my
sexuality by men, women, gay, straight, employers, healthcare providers,
police, bartenders – the list goes on. I had one family member ask me to
pretend I had a twin sister so she wouldn’t have to explain what transgendered
means to her children. I had two police officers laugh in my face the night my
ex almost killed me because, while they could just barely hold a straight face
for a domestic between two “fags” (and yes, they used that word), there was no
way they could take a fag and a tranny seriously. I had one employer who tried
to refuse to hire me on the basis that he perceived I was gay; I had the Human
Resources manager at another employer refuse to recognise the name and gender
of another transgendered employee, even though legally it’s required. The first
person I spoke to about being transgendered called me a demon. One of my ex’s
parents referred to me simply as “it” and “that thing”. I have lost friends
because they couldn’t accept it. I have been belittled, discriminated against,
rejected, harassed and abused solely because of something I was born with. I have
had to fight tooth and nail every step of the way just so I can walk out my
door every day and have a “normal” life. In the United States, insurance
companies can – and do – deny me health coverage because I have a “pre-existing
condition”; here in the UK, I’ve been on a waiting list for three years to
treat a hormonal imbalance that should
be simple to solve with access to an endocrinologist because gender clinics don’t
have enough funding and GPs don’t have enough experience. I’ve experienced a
lifetime of PMT and sexual harassment to boot, so look me in the eye and tell
me I don’t know what it is to struggle.
I’ll tell you – all of that – I’m one of the lucky
ones. I’ve had it easy, by comparison. I’m androgynous enough that most people
have no idea that I’m transgendered. I haven’t been disowned by (most) of my
family. I haven’t been raped. I haven’t been beaten beyond recognition. I haven’t
been killed. I haven’t killed myself. I walk out my door every day knowing
exactly the risks I face – that day might be the day the wrong person finally cops
on, and anything could happen. But I do it, and I don’t ask for anything more
than any other person in the world – to be treated with respect. I don’t resort
to name-calling when confronted with people I don’t agree with, or people I just don’t
understand. I treat other people the way I expect to be treated. Maybe you
should try it.
Next time you want to speak about a group of
people, educate yourself first, and then try to act like an adult.
