Ask a transsexual anything

[Violet]

Given Chuckie the super troll's recent idiocy and his inability to see the irony in unjustly judging a group while simultaneously belonging to a group(bisexuals) that faces similar, unjust judgement, I have been wondering, do you often find yourself being discriminated by individuals that ought to actually sympathize with your plight?

GL(B) fought against transgender rights for quite a while, and to this day T feels tacked on and largely forgotten within GLBT groups themselves. Obviously, someone like me stands out in just about any crowd... but most of us don't.

[TaraJo]

GL(B) fought against transgender rights for quite a while, and to this day T feels tacked on and largely forgotten within GLBT groups themselves. Obviously, someone like me stands out in just about any crowd... but most of us don't.

I don't know if I would say they're exactly working against us as much as they're neglecting us. The best example I can think of is the HRC and Barney Frank who were more than willing to exclude gender identity protections from the ENDA bill in an effort to get it passed. It wasn't that they were directly hostile towards us, but they were more than willing to throw us under a bus to pass the legislation they wanted.

[RonaldReagansGhost666]

Do you inject hormones?

[TaraJo]

Do you inject hormones?

Now, yes. I started out taking pills instead of injections for the first couple of years. In some ways it was easier in that I didn't need a hypodermic needle and alcohol wipes, but the hormones had a better effect on me when injected. My boobs got a lot bigger, my skin got softer and I just generally started passing better with injections.

[RonaldReagansGhost666]

Do you inject hormones?

Now, yes. I started out taking pills instead of injections for the first couple of years. In some ways it was easier in that I didn't need a hypodermic needle and alcohol wipes, but the hormones had a better effect on me when injected. My boobs got a lot bigger, my skin got softer and I just generally started passing better with injections.

Did you receive a gender reassignment surgery?

[TaraJo]

Did you receive a gender reassignment surgery?

Not yet. Too expensive. Surgery costs would start at $12,000. Unless I could get health insurance that covered, in which case I could probably reduce that quite a bit. Since surgeons are a long way away, though, I'd have to budget in travel expenses, especially if I went to Thailand or surgery.

[Violet]

I don't know if I would say they're exactly working against us as much as they're neglecting us. The best example I can think of is the HRC and Barney Frank who were more than willing to exclude gender identity protections from the ENDA bill in an effort to get it passed. It wasn't that they were directly hostile towards us, but they were more than willing to throw us under a bus to pass the legislation they wanted.

At periods? Yes, actively working against us, and LGB groups existed historically long before T was even considered for tacking on... a process which again, was fought against.

And currently, it's generally the neglected minority child of the group.

[John V]

I don't know if I would say they're exactly working against us as much as they're neglecting us. The best example I can think of is the HRC and Barney Frank who were more than willing to exclude gender identity protections from the ENDA bill in an effort to get it passed. It wasn't that they were directly hostile towards us, but they were more than willing to throw us under a bus to pass the legislation they wanted.

At periods? Yes, actively working against us, and LGB groups existed historically long before T was even considered for tacking on... a process which again, was fought against.

And currently, it's generally the neglected minority child of the group.

LGs have historically looked down on the Bs too:
http://www.sf-hrc.org/modules/showdocume...mentid=989

[Aractus]

Next. People can be reasonably expected to differ over how they interoperate your gender. By being transsexual you would understand this to be the case. I as a non-transsexual have no ambiguity over my gender, it isn't a topic for open debate. With that said, I understand your gender identity causes a great deal of stress, anxiety, worry, conflict, and other problems. By definition alone a transsexual has a different gender identity to their biological gender. Do you expect people to agree with your gender identity?

No, people really can't be reasonably expected to differ over how they interpret my gender... "because she looks like a lady, talks like a lady, walks like a lady, and they're not wise: she's the devil in disguise

If you're gutting the current bi-gendered system, well... I'm all for it, but I'm still a woman, aractus I strike so far on the feminine side of gender that I deserve the title of 'woman' more than the majority of cisgendered women do

From your POV as a transexual you are a woman. A biologist would point out to you that gender is biological and has nothing to do with what we consider to be "feminine".

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Was there some kind of influence on you in early life?

That's an excellent question, and a rather personal one I know that Violet has already answered though (in the other thread).

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Personally, the thing that hit me the hardest was the 'pathetic transsexual' stereotype, but I have a bit of a story behind that.

Before I transitioned, like I've said before, I was a bit of a psychological mess. I was in a mental health program and one of the other participants was trans as well. However, she was the type of transsexual who does little to nothing to attempt to pass but dresses in hyper-feminine clothes. It scared me, meeting her, because I was afraid that if I transitioned I would wind up like that. Then, though, I wound up meeting more transsexuals about town and found out that she was the exception, not the rule. Most trans women put a lot of effort into passing and most of the ones I met were pretty indistinguishable from any other woman (or would be, if you had no t-dar).

Overall, though, I think a lot of the more low-brow stereotypes are the ones that hurt us the most. The drama queens on Jerry Springer or the 'they're all turning tricks' stereotype, specifically. That's the kind of stuff that makes it hard for us to find jobs simply because employers don't want to take on that extra baggage. It also means we have to work that much harder to get around those misconceptions.

OK cast your mind back 9 years. There's Something About Miriam. Miriam was an adult actor at the time and pre-op transsexual. Presently Miriam is a full-time prostitute (escort). Find any review on "Something about Miriam" and they all say the same thing, six men compete for the affects of what they think is a woman, but is really a man. That the show preys on the fear we have of it. The contestants then proceeded to litigate against the producers.

How do you think the producers found Miriam - and here's the thing, if Miriam isn't your average transsexual, how did they find her? I think they found her through her pornographic work, and simply offered her a better role than "There's Something Extra Special About Miriam" (nope I didn't make that up, that's a 2008 pornographic film starring, you guessed it, Miriam).

Now contrast that with her "confession" statement to the contestants:

• "I tried to be honest with all of you, not just some of you. Yes, I am from Mexico, I am a model, and I'm 21. But Tom, I really love spending time with you and kissing you. You see, I love men, and I love being a woman. But... shh, quiet everybody, please, quiet. But you see, Tom... I am not a woman. I was born as a man."

Interesting that her pornographic career is not mentioned isn't it? Honest indeed. Why do you think some transsexuals are willing to portray their community like that?

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One final question, since I see you talking about how T has been neglected by the GLB community. What about prostitutes P. Do you see in the future the sexual-equal-rights community becoming LGBTP, and please give reasons for or against?

[Faith No More]

WTF, Daniel?