Trans*: The Shape of Things to Come

A thought provoking article in the Huffington Post by Laura Jacobs, a Trans* and GenderQueer-identified psychotherapist in the NYC area working with sexual/gender minority populations.

Our history is one of oppression. It is a history of being directed how we were to live: that it was necessary we dress a particular way or that we were unable dress a particular way, that we were required to use certain bathrooms or were forbidden from using certain bathrooms, that we were compelled to assume specific, predefined identities or that we were prohibited from taking on other identities. It is a history of the mainstream insisting we set aside our needs so as to maintain the social order. And it is a history of being assaulted and murdered for having the audacity to insist our presence be recognized. Ours is a history of pain.

Refering to a trans-teen support group she is involved with.

Still, what I find most inspiring is their eagerness to explore far outside male/female dichotomies or traditional conceptualizations of gender. They are questioning gender in ways undoable even five years ago and certainly impossible when I transitioned, outside norms, outside boundaries. They speak with sophistication and have nuanced understandings of their selves, as some identify in traditional ways and others with terms like genderqueer, gender nonconforming, genderfluid, bigendered, demigendered, agendered, gender expansive, gender diverse, two spirit and countless more. Some even call themselves 'gender unicorns' -- rare, fantastical, almost mythical creatures that defy explanation. They deconstruct gender and destabilize our most basic interpretations of what gender actually is. They, and their progeny, will be expanding the meanings of gender and human identity in ways we are unable to even conceptualize.

... and her conclusion

Right now our community is in the awkward, liminal space where we move from past to future, from disempowerment to autonomy. We have endured decades of conflict. We have risen to the challenge of persecution and respect the countless martyrs who sacrificed to ensure we were no longer marginalized. Our struggles are finally showing signs of victory. These adolescents are at the forefront of that revolution. They have the freedom to surpass our wildest imaginations.

Link

In one of the recent transgender threads on ATS someone said that it takes time for society to learn and change its thinking. I have two problems with this. 1)you need people who are receptive to education. 2) nowhere in this claim does it mention the right to self-determination.

22 Trans/Gender were found murdered in 2015 in the US (up from 12 in 2014) according to this article which states

These murders aren’t isolated incidents, but part of a bigger system of structural discrimination. We see repeated instances of police refusing to classify these crimes as hate crimes. Broadly’s Diana Tourjee reported multiple instances of police refusing to classify homicides of trans women as hate crimes, despite ample contrary evidence she uncovered. We see widespread misgendering, a major thread in the bigger narrative of trans murders, as in the case of Papi Edwards, whose misgendering led to the police’s refusal to classify her murder as a hate crime. (Lamia Beard, Ty Underwood, Taja Gabrielle DeJesus, Tamara Dominquez, Elisha Walker, were among other murdered trans women who were misgendered by the police and/or press, at least initially, as well.) We see this structural disparity even in cases of intimate-partner violence, since, as Waters contends, such disputes are often more complicated than a lovers’ spat that goes too far. “We know working with trans survivors that oftentimes their trans identities are used against them by their abusers, to obviously belittle them and their experiences,” she says. Even when there aren’t immediately apparent signs of hatred in the crimes—no name-calling, no reported reference to gender identity by the attackers—the system can contribute to these crimes in ways that aren’t necessarily visible by the general, cisgender public.

Link

Worldwide Statistics

The TMM IDAHOT 2015 report outlines an alarming total of 1,731 cases of reported killings of transgender and gender-diverse people around the globe from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2014. While the circumstances around many of the killings are unknown due to lack of proper investigation, many “involve[d] an extreme degree of aggression, including torture and mutilation.”

Link

When I was younger I disliked gay activists until one day a friend said to me "If it wasn't for those activists you would not be living the free life you have today". We need activists to fight for the rights of transgender adults and children. They are not asking for special rights, just the same rights as everyone else and yet in their fight to attain these rights they have the PC victim card thrown at them. I cherish the free life I have and will fight using education, rather than a mirrored intolerance, for this same right for all transgender people.

a reply to: deliberator

Great post! You will probably get some weird knee jerk reactions to it, but it is a thoughtful and well-done post.

originally posted by: deliberator
A thought provoking article in the Huffington Post by Laura Jacobs, a Trans* and GenderQueer-identified psychotherapist in the NYC area working with sexual/gender minority populations.

Our history is one of oppression. It is a history of being directed how we were to live: that it was necessary we dress a particular way or that we were unable dress a particular way, that we were required to use certain bathrooms or were forbidden from using certain bathrooms, that we were compelled to assume specific, predefined identities or that we were prohibited from taking on other identities. It is a history of the mainstream insisting we set aside our needs so as to maintain the social order. And it is a history of being assaulted and murdered for having the audacity to insist our presence be recognized. Ours is a history of pain.

Refering to a trans-teen support group she is involved with.

Still, what I find most inspiring is their eagerness to explore far outside male/female dichotomies or traditional conceptualizations of gender. They are questioning gender in ways undoable even five years ago and certainly impossible when I transitioned, outside norms, outside boundaries. They speak with sophistication and have nuanced understandings of their selves, as some identify in traditional ways and others with terms like genderqueer, gender nonconforming, genderfluid, bigendered, demigendered, agendered, gender expansive, gender diverse, two spirit and countless more. Some even call themselves 'gender unicorns' -- rare, fantastical, almost mythical creatures that defy explanation. They deconstruct gender and destabilize our most basic interpretations of what gender actually is. They, and their progeny, will be expanding the meanings of gender and human identity in ways we are unable to even conceptualize.

... and her conclusion

Right now our community is in the awkward, liminal space where we move from past to future, from disempowerment to autonomy. We have endured decades of conflict. We have risen to the challenge of persecution and respect the countless martyrs who sacrificed to ensure we were no longer marginalized. Our struggles are finally showing signs of victory. These adolescents are at the forefront of that revolution. They have the freedom to surpass our wildest imaginations.

Link

In one of the recent transgender threads on ATS someone said that it takes time for society to learn and change its thinking. I have two problems with this. 1)you need people who are receptive to education. 2) nowhere in this claim does it mention the right to self-determination.

22 Trans/Gender were found murdered in 2015 in the US (up from 12 in 2014) according to this article which states

These murders aren’t isolated incidents, but part of a bigger system of structural discrimination. We see repeated instances of police refusing to classify these crimes as hate crimes. Broadly’s Diana Tourjee reported multiple instances of police refusing to classify homicides of trans women as hate crimes, despite ample contrary evidence she uncovered. We see widespread misgendering, a major thread in the bigger narrative of trans murders, as in the case of Papi Edwards, whose misgendering led to the police’s refusal to classify her murder as a hate crime. (Lamia Beard, Ty Underwood, Taja Gabrielle DeJesus, Tamara Dominquez, Elisha Walker, were among other murdered trans women who were misgendered by the police and/or press, at least initially, as well.) We see this structural disparity even in cases of intimate-partner violence, since, as Waters contends, such disputes are often more complicated than a lovers’ spat that goes too far. “We know working with trans survivors that oftentimes their trans identities are used against them by their abusers, to obviously belittle them and their experiences,” she says. Even when there aren’t immediately apparent signs of hatred in the crimes—no name-calling, no reported reference to gender identity by the attackers—the system can contribute to these crimes in ways that aren’t necessarily visible by the general, cisgender public.

Link

Worldwide Statistics

The TMM IDAHOT 2015 report outlines an alarming total of 1,731 cases of reported killings of transgender and gender-diverse people around the globe from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2014. While the circumstances around many of the killings are unknown due to lack of proper investigation, many “involve[d] an extreme degree of aggression, including torture and mutilation.”

Link

When I was younger I disliked gay activists until one day a friend said to me "If it wasn't for those activists you would not be living the free life you have today". We need activists to fight for the rights of transgender adults and children. They are not asking for special rights, just the same rights as everyone else and yet in their fight to attain these rights they have the PC victim card thrown at them. I cherish the free life I have and will fight using education, rather than a mirrored intolerance, for this same right for all transgender people.

originally posted by: deliberator
"If it wasn't for those activists you would not be living the free life you have today". We need activists to fight for the rights of transgender adults and children. They are not asking for special rights, just the same rights as everyone else and yet in their fight to attain these rights they have the PC victim card thrown at them. I cherish the free life I have and will fight using education, rather than a mirrored intolerance, for this same right for all transgender people.

Definition of REALITY.

~ The state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

So what we have now are scientists with an agenda to explore ideas that have no basis in reality.

The future then becomes an indoctrination of ideas steeped in just that….ideas…. delusions….. belief….. fantasy and imagination.

If these delusions are encouraged, then the future could be very dangerous.

A “right” is just the legal entitlement to be able to do something. It does not indicate a good thing.

If my right was to be able to slap you in the face, I am sure you would not agree. However if I had the ability along with others to think of ideas that would be ideas not steeped in reality. Then I could argue that you need a slap in the face. A pointless delusion that is obviously not steeped in reality. However, if we go down that path of delusion, then delusion is the path of which will follow for the human race.

I am sure the future of the human race that follows this path, involves people who think they are bananas and believe they have a right to grow on trees.

a reply to: deliberator

It is a history of the mainstream insisting we set aside our needs so as to maintain the social order. And it is a history of being assaulted and murdered for having the audacity to insist our presence be recognized. Ours is a history of pain

Then there are the suicides...truly heartbreaking.

My husbands cousin is transgender, transitioning from male to female. She grew up in a small town and was bullied, laughed at and harassed her whole life. She persevered and continued to be true to herself, even risking expulsion from school for dressing as a female. How her dressing female and living her life as a female impacts outsiders lives negatively is beyond me, she's not hurting anyone. It's her life to live and its inspiring to see how positive she is, even wading knee deep in all the hate.

It's unfortunate everyone is not able to celebrate our differences, learn from them, embrace them and let each other live in peace.

Thanks for sharing this with us, if we look at history us humans are very slow at evolving how we perceived right from wrong.

Geez. This is one persons perspective. People cross dress all the time for the f of it, arent gay, have never been victims, and don't use this language. Come off it.

a reply to: Debunkology

~ The state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

Reality is bigger than this. Reality consists not only of what is in a state of realization but also as a state of potential. The potential for human transformation is real.

So what we have now are scientists with an agenda to explore ideas that have no basis in reality.

The scientists agenda is to explore not only reality as it is currently realized but also to explore the as yet unrealized potential. This IS reality. To think that these ideas and potentials have no basis in reality is just myopic.

originally posted by: deliberator
They deconstruct gender and destabilize our most basic interpretations of what gender actually is. They, and their progeny, will be expanding the meanings of gender and human identity in ways we are unable to even conceptualize.

...These adolescents are at the forefront of that revolution. They have the freedom to surpass our wildest imaginations.

Indeed, nice post, deliberator!

I offer comments on the above quotes hoping to proactively diffuse any outrage or concern that the world is going to hell in a handbasket or the moral decline of civilization is immanent. Don't worry, the traditional masculine/feminine gender binary will remain intact, pervasive and isn't going anywhere.

What is changing is the awareness that sex and gender are not necessarily always congruent and that the nature of gender itself is a spectrum or continuum that includes shades of gray between the two black and white extremes. With this awareness has come the courage for some to stand up, step outside of the prescribed boxes and live their lives more truly to their own nature, proudly and without shame for just being who they are.

The choice of using the words "deconstruct and destabilize" is somewhat unfortunate as this sounds threatening to some suggesting their own world, perceptions and values are at risk when this simply isn't the case. What does get called into question is the notion everyone neatly fits into boy/girl or m/f boxes and that the expression of human behavior is any less varied and diverse as are all other things in nature. As we advance as a society and as a culture, fear and confusion about those different from ourselves in their expression will diminish as knowledge and information grows and as a few stand up strongly for their acceptance however they are.

Yes, this makes some uncomfortable but everyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation (which is something completely different) needs to be treated as a human being with dignity and respect and as equals in all aspects.

a reply to: Debunkology

So what we have now are scientists with an agenda to explore ideas that have no basis in reality.

Quite a bold statement. Have you any evidence of this so called agenda? Have you reviewed all the research that has been undertaken and analysed the data to come to this conclusion?

If these delusions are encouraged, then the future could be very dangerous.

They are not delusions and there is plenty of scientific evidence to show this.

A “right” is just the legal entitlement to be able to do something. It does not indicate a good thing.

International Human Rights law has been ratified in the majority of countries. Can you show me one of these human rights which you believe is not a good thing?

I am sure the future of the human race that follows this path, involves people who think they are bananas and believe they have a right to grow on trees.

So you are suggesting that transgenderism is comparable to to some form of delusional disorder? Are you referring to a specific psychiatric illness or all psychiatric illnesses with delusions as a symptom?

There are plenty of successful transgender individuals in all aspects of society (I am not talking celebrities). Are you equating these individuals to someone who is bananas and wants the right to grow on trees?

a reply to: breakingbs

You are referring to either a fetish of heterosexual men or performers that dress up as female. Neither infers transgenderism.

There was a case in 1967 at a hospital in Baltimore where surgeons performed sex reassignment surgery, at the request of the parents, due to a botched circumcision. The boy was brought up as a girl and had a twin which provided medical study. In his teens the boy rejected the female role and consequently lived as a man.

There is a lot of evidence that this is nature as opposed to nurture.

a reply to: deliberator

Not a good story man, the dude killed himself. Bummer, man atw.


Reply to your edit he was friggin CASTRATED. (Can we move on..)

"The shape of things to come" is, obviously, no shape at all, amorphous. If one group decides that they can redefine reality, give things new names and say that things do not exist as they actually do exist, who holds the authority to say where that redefinition stops?

We live in a world where a person with XY gonosomes decides he's a woman and he gets the woman of the year award and the world applaudes his bravery.

Then a 52 year old man decides that he can don a pinafore, re-brand himself and live as a six-year-old girl and the world applaudes his honesty.

Where is it going to stop? Better yet, who will have the moral authority to say that it stops "here?" And where the hell is "here?"

The answer: Nobody has that moral authority and it will never stop until it self-destructs. And it will self-destruct.

There was a man in Germany in the 1930s who decided that there were no absolutes. He made himself the absolute. The result was the death of millions upon millions.

There is ultimately no difference here. The Übermensch is the ultimate manifestation of self-expression. The Übermensch bears freely "an earthly head, which creates a meaning for the earth.” The problem is that that meaning is arbitrarily defined. Those who would define it arbitrarily will not brook anyone else holding a definition contrary the one they have arbitrarily set. They will be tyrants.

Those who have gone before - you will say - were tyrants in their own right by requiring others to adhere to their definition of reality. You would be wrong.

Reality is a tyrant. It brooks no redefinition. If we continue on this line of reasoning and one day I decide to take your estate and call it my own because I self-identify as the owner of everything that you hold as yours, who has the right to define my reality, to tell me that I can't do that? Where did the line forbidding me to redefine that little slice of your reality get laid down, and who laid it down and by what authority?

(You scoff at that analogy as overly-simplistic. The joke is on your. Exactly this was done by the Übermensch of the past, estates, money, riches, valuable artwork having been seized by the Übermensch of the day, redefined as no longer belonging to those who had possessed it but not belonging to those who had taken on the right to redefine reality by virtue of having more guns.)

The jar is open and the evils are escaping. Hope is the only thing left in the jar. Once the evils have played themselves out, wrought destruction on all those who sought their release, I can only hope that Hope itself will be let out once again.

This insanity carries within itself the seed of its own destruction.

I'll sit back and watch. Should be in interesting show.

You individuals know alot about getting yourselves surrounded by women in a total non sexual context, and then proceed from there to have what- conversations???



Why??

Oops! Double post.

a reply to: breakingbs

Why is it not a good story? The BBC had a documentary about it. It was a botched circumcision and his testicles being removed was part of the surgery. His twin committed suicide first and there is evidence that suicide has a genetic link. he must have had a dysfunctional relationship with his parents.

I think the story is relevant as it shows evidence of nature as opposed to nurture.

a reply to: incoserv

Bit of a dip into histrionics and hyperbole there, don't you think? Equating Hitler and invalidation of contract law (property rights) to the evils of trans* children and the pending destruction/self-destruction of your perception of reality seems rather melodramatic and apocalyptic. How does what anybody else does as far as how they dress or act even have any effect on you?

As you watch this interesting show, don't forget the popcorn.

a reply to: breakingbs

You individuals know alot about getting yourselves surrounded by women in a total non sexual context, and then proceed from there to have what- conversations???

Are we talking about gay or transgender individuals?

a reply to: deliberator


Whats your sex or gender? Ive like, gotta know.