After thinking about it for a while, I do not have transgender rage. However, very clearly, I do have Black rage. Because of that, I do understand the concept but it hasn’t manifested itself in any recognizable way.
I think society, in general, still lags greatly in their understanding of trans people and also gay people, for that matter. People are stuck in the thought process that we “become” rather than we “are”. In truth, people don’t wake up one day and say that they are transgender or gay. Rather, it is a process of discovery, often over an extended period of time. Currently there are no hard answers as to why we are as we are, but it will be an important step when it happens. SOONER rather than later, I hope.
Passing is a tricky subject. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. But for many trans women, it is a bridge too far, and that generates a lot of internalized strife. As a moderator on a transgender forum, I often remind our members that the majority of those who were AFAB DO NOT look like Janelle Monae, Ann Hathaway, Penelope Cruz or Priyanka Chopra. It is just something to be dealt with and hopefully something that people will be able to make peace with. All we can do is make the best of what we have to work with.
This article also highlights something that doesn’t get mentioned very often. On average, trans people tend to be better educated than the general population. I think that is an important factor. While people like to point at our oft-mentioned instability and unreliability, they skip over that fact that these are a result and not a symptom. For many, our inherent intelligence helps us to cope with the harassment, discrimination and potential violence and allows us to move forward in spite of our circumstances.
Reading this essay (thanks for an excellent piece of writing) brought to mind the vampire movie Bit, when a coven of Queer feminist vampires recruit/turn Laurel (trans actor Nicole Maines) into one of them. I really liked it because so little of it focused on her being trans, the only reference that I can think of is when she asks them (because of their we only turn women, no men allowed) she asks 'even girls like me?', both because of the monster reference and the Carmilla fanfic reference in the essay.
I highly recommend it (available on Prime Video), and it has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
After thinking about it for a while, I do not have transgender rage. However, very clearly, I do have Black rage. Because of that, I do understand the concept but it hasn’t manifested itself in any recognizable way.
I think society, in general, still lags greatly in their understanding of trans people and also gay people, for that matter. People are stuck in the thought process that we “become” rather than we “are”. In truth, people don’t wake up one day and say that they are transgender or gay. Rather, it is a process of discovery, often over an extended period of time. Currently there are no hard answers as to why we are as we are, but it will be an important step when it happens. SOONER rather than later, I hope.
Passing is a tricky subject. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. But for many trans women, it is a bridge too far, and that generates a lot of internalized strife. As a moderator on a transgender forum, I often remind our members that the majority of those who were AFAB DO NOT look like Janelle Monae, Ann Hathaway, Penelope Cruz or Priyanka Chopra. It is just something to be dealt with and hopefully something that people will be able to make peace with. All we can do is make the best of what we have to work with.
This article also highlights something that doesn’t get mentioned very often. On average, trans people tend to be better educated than the general population. I think that is an important factor. While people like to point at our oft-mentioned instability and unreliability, they skip over that fact that these are a result and not a symptom. For many, our inherent intelligence helps us to cope with the harassment, discrimination and potential violence and allows us to move forward in spite of our circumstances.
Interesting thoughts, thanks for sharing!
Reading this essay (thanks for an excellent piece of writing) brought to mind the vampire movie Bit, when a coven of Queer feminist vampires recruit/turn Laurel (trans actor Nicole Maines) into one of them. I really liked it because so little of it focused on her being trans, the only reference that I can think of is when she asks them (because of their we only turn women, no men allowed) she asks 'even girls like me?', both because of the monster reference and the Carmilla fanfic reference in the essay.
I highly recommend it (available on Prime Video), and it has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I've seen that one! Interesting connection.