Transphobia Lives On

Recently I read a story on Facebook from a person I know who is a transgender short haul truck driver. I have been fortunate enough to have been around her since her earliest struggles with coming out during the cross dresser - transgender support group meetings I have attended on and off for years now. I have seen her tentative steps out of the closet and into the world. It turns out yesterday, she had a very traumatic experience at one of her stops where she was delivering freight.  Being as family orientated as I can, the guy checking in the delivery went off on a loud tangent to other workers on how there was a tr-nny in the office who wanted to perform some sort of sex act on him.

My friend Vennessa  definitely  took it better than I could have. She calmly finished her business and left. I am fairly sure I would have asked to talk to his boss.

It's a shame transphobia still has to exist in the world today and I know I am speaking to the choir by bringing it up in the blog. Plus, it's probably true the guy in question also had a few dresses stashed away in his closet or watches gay porn.

As I go about my life in the little cocoon I have constructed, I am so fortunate to be accepted as my true self. It's rare when I go out without my partner Liz who contributes to some sort of normalcy to the general public. It's exceedingly rare when we encounter anyone who questions my genderality. Plus the groups of people we are involved with all accept me for who I am.

Even still, I am always on guard for the time again when I will encounter the hate of gender transphobia.

Phia Menard

From France:

Phia Ménard founded the Non Nova company in 1998. The name comes from two words of a Latin quote that is her motto: “We invent nothing. We just see things differently.” Her earliest works, halfway between juggling, the discipline in which she initially trained, and dance, which she gradually embraced, were immediately open to the world. But the decisive turning point came in 2008, when the piece PPP, for Position Parallèle au Plancher (“Position Parallel to the Floor”) premiered at Subsistances in Lyon. Phia Ménard called this solo, which she performed herself, her “first work about ice and identity”. Based on the transition of a natural element (ice into water), it was an artistic bombshell. 

I love the quote! "We invent nothing, we just see things differently."

Recently, Phia was at the center of a storm of controversy when her show was cancelled to make way for tRump's main Uncle Tom, Kanye West's so called prayer service. 

On the Edge

Recently here in Cyrsti's Condo we have been discussing the ramifications of coming out as a transgender woman. Mmarsha in particular has commented on her struggles in deciding to come out or not. Obviously, there is no easy answer for attempting one of the more difficult journeys a human can attempt. While it's true the final decision may come down to transitioning or the grave (in my case), even that can turn out to be an oversimplification. After all, in many transition cases there are families and jobs to consider. At the least, it's a daunting journey for anyone to take. Perhaps the worst part is when it takes years for wins for anyone can appear. After all, any way you approach it, a gender transition is not an overnight experience. It is definitely a marathon, not a sprint.

Speaking of transgender marathons and journeys, here is Connie's take on her trip: 

"Of course, my trans journey has involved a self-sabotage to my income, through my yielding to my gender identity over taking care of my business. The stress of trying to live a balanced life between the two, with the added stress from the fear of being outed, finally became impossible. My business would have suffered a quick death, had that fear become reality, but I realized that a slower death of the business was taking place with the distraction of my dysphoria. It could have resulted in my own death, as well. Ultimately, I chose to be a woman of very modest means instead of the moderately successful businessMAN I was. I still hold hope that I may, someday, become a moderately successful businessWOMAN, however. Nevertheless, I am still a woman alive!

My congratulations, or sympathies, go out to those who are doing their balancing acts. It depends on their own aspirations as to which of those I may extend. For me, though, "Lord, I can't go back there!""

I too empathize with those doing the balancing act. Like Connie's reference to the old "R. Dean Taylor" song about Indiana and the law, I can't go back there either. 

I found my true home after crossing the gender frontier. It was far from easy but worth it in the long term. Then again, I learned I never had much of a choice. 

Bond Girl

"Back in the day", I remember distinctly looking for more information anywhere I could find it when I learned there was a transsexual woman who landed an acting job as a James Bond girl. Of course I found out her name was Caroline Cossey.  She appeared in the 1981 James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only." Following her appearance in the film, she was outed in the tabloids and ended up as the first transgender woman to pose for "Playboy" in 1991.In 1992 Caroline Cossey married Canadian David Finch and they currently live in the Atlanta, Georgia area. As far as I can tell from the information I can find.

She still has an active Twitter account which you can follow if interested. It should be remembered after Cossey was outed and lost her career, she became a true pioneer fighting for transgender rights.

Caroline Cossey

With a Little Help from my Friends

Recently, Mmarsha has been writing in with comments to a Cyrsti's Condo post from 2018. The post was called "Sink or Swim" Without going to deep into the post, it revolved around a lonely forlorn transgender woman who was coming to the support group meetings. Then Connie added her comments in also, providing other fascinating looks into life under the "transgender umbrella" which often leaks badly.

Here is one of Mmarsha's comments: "Is it possible that we are all a little different in our sexuality no matter how much we think we are like somebody else or think they are like us. In other words you just have to be you and you probably will change over time some people a little more than others. Lets celebrate our diversity and make that our strength. xoxox Mmarsha" 

For sure our sexuality is on a spectrum as broad as human existence itself. As far as my own sexuality is concerned, I experimented briefly with men before I just happened to land firmly into a group of lesbians. One of which I am still with after eight years. Even though my experimentation only went as far as heavy kissing, I often wonder what would have happened if I had ever been more deeply involved with a guy. I'm biased of course but I still feel more men could benefit from the companionship of a transgender woman. For the most part because we have been on their side of the gender fence and can understand their needs more completely. But again, that is just me.

As far as celebrating our diversity, it seems sometimes the Washington administration is trying to make it as difficult as possible to do, although in many local situations trans women and men seemingly are making strides. 

Connie's ideas as always reflected a little different look at the situation: "So much has changed in the trans community since the original post. Acceptance of diversity is not just something we are expecting from the general society, it is also expected of trans people toward each other more than it was before. Especially when considering Non-binary gender expression, things have moved far beyond the relatively simple concept of "Transer Than Thou" attitude that many of us fought in the past. Although I consider myself to be, strictly, a Binary Trans Woman, I often have to remind myself that being so is not the ultimate goal of many other trans women. I keep learning that it's not my job to "fix" anyone else, but I'm happy to give advice, when it's asked of me. I think that I still carry a bit of internalized transphobia, and, if anything or anyone needs "fixing," it's me."

Finally, Mmarsha and I discussed the idea of how difficult it is to initially come out at all: "Yes your right just get out and do it. I am just so intimidated by the prospect of coming out. Some days I don't want to some days it seems if the right chain of events took place it would happen."

It's a huge topic and one which begs for it's own blog post. 

If you would like to see all the comments, go here. As always, thanks for the comments!