hey. hey guys.
Jul. 7th, 2012 02:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
potato_headThis is just a reminder to my fellow trans* guys that the t-word is not ours to reclaim. A slur, at its most basic roots, is a reminder along the lines of 'I could kill you right now, and nobody would care'. Almost all (think 9 in 10 or more) trans* people killed in hate crimes are trans* women, and murderers of trans* men are much more likely to be brought to justice or at the very least acknowledged in the wider LGBT community. Murders of trans* women, especially WoC, often barely make local news.
Yes, there are people who use the t word towards trans* men. But it doesn't mean the same thing. It doesn't mean 'society would validate me for an act of violence towards you'. It is a comparison to trans* women. It generally (generally, not always) doesn't indicate that they're about to punish you for your existence through violence.
Yes, trans* men do suffer. Yes, we are sometimes the victims of hate crimes and more often the victims of discrimination due to our trans* status. And no, we do not have the same privileges as a cis man. But please remember that we do have male privilege, especially compared to trans* women, because they need all the support they can get. We cannot turn our backs on them. It is not acceptable to leave behind trans* women simply because society has deemed us more acceptable.
IDK if this really fits in here, but it's come up before when I've tried to have this conversation with certain guys I really respect but strongly disagree with on this issue. No, trans* men are not targeted less because of our invisibility. Perhaps a few decades ago that argument could have been made...but it is obvious, now, that we are being accorded some amount of male privilege. We are no longer invisible, and only a decade or so off the mark, we're being portrayed more sensitively in the media than trans* women are. If you're looking for some blatant evidence of this...trans* men in comedy movies are portrayed as sensitive and rounded characters, as well as Hollywood can do those things. Chaz Bono has been elected the 'trans* spokesperson' by cis people, despite the many trans* women who have been more than qualified to achieve fame in their own right - some of whom have, but nobody is asking them about their experiences, struggles, or views. We are not invisible, and we are gaining power while trans* women are being killed and nobody talks about it, and that isn't okay.
...I actually hadn't been planning to write that all up like, right now, but apparently it all wanted to come out. I had been planning on like. Links and stuff. Maybe I'll come back and add some. Er.
Yes, there are people who use the t word towards trans* men. But it doesn't mean the same thing. It doesn't mean 'society would validate me for an act of violence towards you'. It is a comparison to trans* women. It generally (generally, not always) doesn't indicate that they're about to punish you for your existence through violence.
Yes, trans* men do suffer. Yes, we are sometimes the victims of hate crimes and more often the victims of discrimination due to our trans* status. And no, we do not have the same privileges as a cis man. But please remember that we do have male privilege, especially compared to trans* women, because they need all the support they can get. We cannot turn our backs on them. It is not acceptable to leave behind trans* women simply because society has deemed us more acceptable.
IDK if this really fits in here, but it's come up before when I've tried to have this conversation with certain guys I really respect but strongly disagree with on this issue. No, trans* men are not targeted less because of our invisibility. Perhaps a few decades ago that argument could have been made...but it is obvious, now, that we are being accorded some amount of male privilege. We are no longer invisible, and only a decade or so off the mark, we're being portrayed more sensitively in the media than trans* women are. If you're looking for some blatant evidence of this...trans* men in comedy movies are portrayed as sensitive and rounded characters, as well as Hollywood can do those things. Chaz Bono has been elected the 'trans* spokesperson' by cis people, despite the many trans* women who have been more than qualified to achieve fame in their own right - some of whom have, but nobody is asking them about their experiences, struggles, or views. We are not invisible, and we are gaining power while trans* women are being killed and nobody talks about it, and that isn't okay.
...I actually hadn't been planning to write that all up like, right now, but apparently it all wanted to come out. I had been planning on like. Links and stuff. Maybe I'll come back and add some. Er.
