Privilege
Everyone has his own row to hoe, and among the hard feelings of privilege, that uniqueness of every person gets lost in the shuffle. -Sama
Howard County Council - In support of CB-54-2011: Gender Identity and Expression
Delivered 11/21/2011
When I was little they said it is not what’s outside, but what is inside, that counts. I, transgender, am the same—except for how immediately at risk I become when people aren’t comfortable with the outside of me. Terrible things happen, and they don’t have to. Social criticism on the morality or validity of gender identity does not rule out the fact that discrimination and violence happen, or that I’ve insufficient legal recourse when it does.
I don’t make the best looking fella, but if you stick me in a dress and heels, you won’t find me any easier on the eyes. But I’m still here, a contributing taxpayer and denizen of the county. I’m a pretty good person. I need my county to be a safe place for me when in so many places human decency isn’t enough. Putting a law in place sets an example that violence is not necessary, nor is discrimination.
When the average person uses a public restroom they may get self-conscious about the sound of their bodily functions. When a transgender person uses a public restroom they may get self-conscious about the idea of being beaten, stripped, videotaped and cast on the Internet. When I go to a public restroom, I use the other one. I become afraid that something terrible will happen, when I am really going there for relief. I think about skipping washing my hands, just so no one has extra time to assess me as I slink out the door. That’s not what I should be spending time on; it’s not funny, and it’s not fair that I should think that way. Using the other bathroom is extra frightening because I have a disability; it would be hard to escape or defend myself, and the damage could be irreparable, or deadly. I am not on turf where I can consider myself a safe and equal human being: I need protection, just because I’m using the other restroom. Which restroom I was talking about is irrelevant; one is as scary as the other.
If something on the books said I won’t get beaten up for relieving myself, then I would be doubly relieved. It’s appropriate for our legislators to say, “I recognize on paper that violence happens, and that it’s wrong.”
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes chronic and unpredictable joint dislocations among other things. Nobody blames me for having been born this way, or beats me up for walking funny when my hips are dislocated and I can’t get them back into their sockets. Nobody will beat me up for wearing splints, even though they look different and may make some people uncomfortable. They think twice because there’s a law to protect me, and the law sets an example that violence is not necessary.
My genetic makeup is a mismatch for most things I need functional body parts to accomplish in this lifetime, be it to carry children or carry groceries, but society has caught up to its own stigma about disability, and the law set the stage for immeasurable progress in that regard.
My government can protect my right to live as I accept and understand myself, independently of my genetic make-up. In too many cases, that regard has cost me time, money and blood, and it doesn’t need to. A law sets an example that such measures are not necessary in order for me to exist.
My genetics are a private matter, as are my privates. But in the public forum I must have the same right to exist, with the legal protections that protect my dignity as every other protected citizen in Howard County.
If you feel curiously unable to relate, I invite you to consider your inherent protection from such dangers, protections I don’t get. I ask you to remember the core values that brought you into public service. I challenge you to break through any mental blocks you have against protecting my gender identity, and urge you to support the protections in this bill with an open heart.
You can make a difference, and I will be all too glad to thank you for it. Thank you for listening; I look forward to your support. You got my vote, and now I need yours.
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Genetics class - Videos to help with studies
I’ll do my best to keep updating this as I find videos that may be helpful.
DNA Plasmids - how they work, how they’re prepared
Genetics class - Response to Transgender Discussion
Disclaimer: This may not be the feelings that everyone who is trans has, but it’s a general overview of what I was able to impart at the time.
Greetings,
I’d like to respond to today’s class discussion. Someone asked a question about the genetics of transgender people, which brought up much giggling and one eruption of “gross!” This is the second time I have felt all alone in class, so if you’ll indulge me, I think this message will be helpful for all of us. Please contact me with any questions or further discussion. We’re in school, that’s the right environment to learn about one another, to help our generation and future generations. :)
It’s actually quite beautiful to be transgender, to be such a strong individual that social gender boundaries are not in the way of who one really is. I am transgender, female-to-male.
Briefly, here’s how we see things:
1. sex = genetics
2. gender = social idea of “girl things” and “boy things”
3. sex and gender do not always match, and do not need to match.
4. gender identity is not sexual orientation. Gender identity = how you see yourself; sexual orientation = who you’re attracted to
Life as a trans man is a mixture of modifying behaviours and physical traits to match what feels more natural to me than the social structures that are imposed upon me because of my genes. What’s between my legs is only relevant to my wife and my doctor. I raised in an androgynous way and my body produces excess testosterone/androgens. But whether it’s nature or nuture is irrelevant, because here I am.
Every Thursday I host a spot on a collaborative YouTube channel, TrannystarGalactica, an assembly of trans discussion group members on the web. It’s a good place to go for a diverse look into the issues surrounding gender and genetic sex. The first two videos below should give you an overview, and hopefully refute that “gross” idea.
Pre-med students: People are murdered every year because they are gender-variant, and some commit suicide because they’d rather not suffer at the hands of someone else. Medical attention is heinously behind in helping trans people, and lives can be made better with medicine, surgical interaction, and good ol’-fashioned regard. :)
This should explain it…
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica#p/u/188/vQ52f3HPLnY What’s the big deal? Gender, genetics and the law (start at 1:30)
http://www.youtube.com/user/EqualityMaryland#p/u/13/i1c-EPJ9PgY
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Other videos of potential interest:
Have a laugh
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica#p/u/134/yEM7AfzWqFY
Introduction
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica#p/u/3/uDUoXiFFuuc
What do you see when you look in the mirror?
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica#p/u/32/4ligknXPEG0
Defeating the gender-binary concept
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica#p/u/54/KWcNVU326PA
Gender Terminology
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica#p/u/115/6B8KzaBCU1g
Be well,
Sama
I wish we didn’t need prisons at all, but if we have them, perhaps access to proper medical care will acually put trans people in a good place to get their lives sorted after serving time. I’m all for making use of time in prison. Else, what is the recompense? No one is useless, but by choice.
Let Them Talk, Give Them a Listen
My first voluntary foray into blues has me inspired all over again. The listener is no impostor, but a visitor to a place and time that surpasses politic.
For several seasons of “House, M.D.” Hugh Laurie has been an inspiration and a nemesis for me as a pre-med student with a disability. I have daydreamed that beneath my crusty, vulgar outer shell is the tender hospital-ity of an ooey-gooey genius. But what makes a genius? Hard work and year after year of effort? Born that way? Suppose one day I need medication that gets in the way of elevated brain function? Don’t let’s count our eggs before they hatch.
The most high geniuses seem to burn out rather quickly, don’t they. I’m happy to trade a few IQ points for a little rest, a little extra humanity. Balance is what makes a genius survive. Is it hubris to consider myself a genius? Absolutely. I say it in jest. But where credit is due, I am aware of my creative and intuitive talents, and I accept the responsibility of putting them to good use for as long as I am able. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t go for med school.
Wait, isn’t this post about a blues album? Yes. It’s about the escape and gathering of people who exist at odds with the reality of daily life. From what I gather, Blues music is a genre born of the chronically over-sympathetic, pouring tears into their drinks and money down the drain, society out the window. I’m all for the latter two. Hold the beer. Listen to this album!
