Comment on "Trans gressions"

[ng_moonmoth]

I wanted to comment further on an article and subsequent commentary in ysabetwordsmith's "Trans gressions" post. By the time I finished, I had something more than twice as large as an LJ comment accepts, so I'm posting over here and linking to it.

This post is contextually in response to the linked comment, so "you" outside quoted passages refers to ysabetwordsmithYou said

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>To the author's credit, she's at least talking with transgender people, and presenting their viewpoints. The thing is, she wound up attempting to characterize a number of controversial topics in ways that disregard or completely deny the range of opinions regarding the topic.<<

Oversimplification is a common logical fallacy. In gender studies, it is very widespread because the field is just SO diverse -- everyone's experience is unique, even though there are many commonalities.

>> For years, trans women have effectively had no voice in MWMF. <<

*groan* *facepalm* That is one of the iconic examples of transphobia by ... now how did they put it? ... "wimmin-born-wimmin" I think it was. And that crap still crops up in Pagan festivals and sites, especially Dianic or Artemesian ones that are largely or entirely focused on feminine energy. It is a problem.

>> I didn't experience it as a man. I experienced it as a woman who was presumed to be a man, and was treated like a man. ... )

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Someone for whom community is more important to their well-being than it is to me (I'm perfectly happy if my relationship with a community is more like being recognized as "one of us"; the increased admiration and attention being regarded as an exemplary member often brings does very little for me, and can be stressful) will probably seek a more convincing physical transition than will suffice for me. <<

Or conversely they might seek a more tolerant community and that might lower the amount of physical change they need in order to feel happy. Some transfolk are okay as long as people grant them the social role of their identified gender, and they don't feel compelled toward surgery and/or hormones. That's kind of what I did with Maryam Smith in The Steamsmith; she is genderqueer, uses female pronouns, but dresses and behaves like a man. Aside from some stuffy quibbling, most people treat her accordingly. And that mattersIntolerance and rejection take a massive toll on trans health and survival. That's a leading cause of