In our society we have a knee jerk reaction against anything that is different from the established norms. The first thought that crosses our mind is that we are “superior” and they are “different”, “wrong”, “unnatural”. It’s the five second journey from ‘what is that?’ to ‘eeewwww’ that happens because the unexpected is so different.
This article entitled ‘Transphobia runs deep‘ raises an interesting point - perhaps it is the mere unfamiliarity that is the stumbling block for people. Today you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know what it means to be a homosexual. Homosexuality has taken the leap from ‘eeewwww’ to ‘I know what that is and my opinion is <insert opinion that has been thought about for more than five seconds>’. While people may strongly disagree with homosexuality for many reasons, they are not experiencing surprised disgust.
I don’t think we’ve reached this threshold yet with the transgendered. People still struggle with what it means to be transgendered, and some of the most common question asked of crossdressers is ‘Are you gay?’ But
Transphobia can be beaten
And it starts with familiarity. It starts with letting transgender become part of the societal psyche - with transgendered people being seen as people and not Jerry Springer freak shows. The wonderful thing about Thomas, the pregnant man is that he embeds the concept of transgender in our psyche. He may not be the “perfect representative for the transgender community”, but just by being open about who he is Thomas has done us a great service.
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Tags: crossdressing acceptance, homophobia, transgender in society, transphobia
April 16th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Hi Vanessa, great and useful blog you have here. I just started one of my own. I am female but write generally about all things men and women, so this a new direction for me, but I want to help raise awareness and acceptance if possible while giving some tips on how to apply lippy and to advise strongly to ditch those black fish net tights!
Opaque are in, fish nets out! Jesting aside, it’s a much misunderstood topic. Well done.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Brown fishnets are much more flattering than black. It must be true, I read it on the Internet
On a more serious note I think Jo(e) Public hasn’t quite made up its mind over transgenderism. Sometimes we’re a bit of a ‘comedy turn’, others get freaked out by it while the rest just don’t give a hoot.
There’s a chap at work who’ll give a shudder if it comes up in conversation. I tell you, the things people will tell you when they’ve no idea!
On a more positive note, my sister works in retail and she has a gent come in and buy things. She’s yet to see his wife come along. I jokingly suggested it may be for him and she shrugged and said: “Well, his money’s as good as anyone else’s!”
April 18th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Hi again Vanessa
I just had an article on crossdressing deleted from an article site as it might be too much for the community. Telling them of my lovely pal who sometimes wore a skirt too much for the community????
Meanwhile, I wondered if you could take a peep at my latest post and tell if I am on track with my thought process:
http://cross-dresser-guide.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-might-man-get-turned-on-seeing.html
Trying to understand the whole issue so the unenlightened can become less intolerant.
Thanks
Leah
ps. If mens undies were a tad less dull women might get a kick out of wearing them! Some do I am sure.