Transgender lifestyle?
One of the epithets hurled at the LGBTTQQI
community is always that it is a
lifestyle choice. Nothing — I mean nothing —
could be contextually more ridiculous, and
in fact, it exposes the speaker as being either
non-supportive of humanity in general or
specifically prejudiced toward LGBT, for
whatever reason. When I am personally confronted
with such a statement, I will invariably
question the speaker as to his or her
meaning. I have yet to have anyone explain
it. In fact, they usually run from such a
request, hiding behind some doctrine that
actually has nothing to do with the subject,
or they will try to dismiss my question altogether.
For those who know me, this is probably
the worst thing they can do.
The irony of this is really quite simple. The LGB lifestyle is exactly the same as the hetero-normative lifestyle. People eat, sleep, work, go to school, socialize with friends, raise families; all quite normal, really. But, of course, the difference is in forming intimate relationships. It is still all about love, the only difference is that the love interest is for one of the same biological sex. Love is still love.
You will note that I specifically left out transgender in the preceding statement. This was quite intentional because there is a huge difference here; also one of the reasons the transgender community was "left behind" by the LGB community in their march for equality. The transgender community just doesn't fit the mold for hetero-normative anything, let alone homosexuality. However, that is discussion for a future article.
The point here is that people are people, regardless of their gender or sexuality. Their dreams and aspirations are no different. Equally, the detractors of the LGBT communities are strongly committed to their own core values and belief systems. They are entitled to these, of course. However, that entitlement does not extend to forcing those values on a much larger society; one that generally is actually quite tolerant if not accepting.
For the Lesbian, Gay and Bi-sexual communities, they can live relatively normal lives without facing adversity every moment of the day. I make this as a generalization because there are certainly very poignant exceptions — particularly in the workplace.
However, for the transgender community, this is not the case. There actually is a lifestyle choice. This is a position I hold as a basic truth that does not sit well with many in our community simply by the very concept. The explanation is quite simple. The choice is to live openly as a transgender or not. For one who has not transitioned, making that choice to live openly is to invite discrimination every minute of every day. For one who has passably transitioned, they can choose to live "stealth" and make any disclosures as they deem necessary.
It is imperative to understand that transition is a process of change from one gender (birth identified) to the opposite gender. It is not a surgical procedure. This is a time of flux for the person where physical appearances (unless you are very lucky) can be incongruous to the casual observer. It is a time of both presentation and physical change.
For an individual who chooses to not transition, this now becomes a choice of lifestyle and has double the problems attached. First, they must endure the prejudices of the hetero- normative population because their status is not known and, secondly, they face the same prejudices from the trans-radicals and often the same, from many within the LGB community. Double the pleasure and double the fun... not! It is this situation that creates a contextual lifestyle choice.
So what, exactly, are the impacts of making this choice?
As I stated earlier, the emotional adversity of living in both the hetero-normative world as well as the transgender community can be very draining from the position of prejudice.
While the need to transition is never diminished the reasons for making this choice to live a dual existence has its own demands. The first and the most important consideration is financial independence. Transition is not cheap and that is over and above the daily living expenses that everyone has to endure. Sadly, most employers will not hire openly transgender people. Here are some education and employment statistics from the Trans Pulse Survey EBulletin July 2010 to prove the point.
- 36 per cent of Ontario's transgender population has completed college or university. A further 28 per cent have some college or university education. This represents a total of 64 per cent of the transgender population having post-secondary education.
50 per cent of Ontario's transgender population earns less than $15,000 per annum.
- 37 per cent were employed full time, 20 per cent were unemployed.
- Also worthy of note is that of all employed transgender people, 45 per cent had to present in their birth gender to be (or remain) employed.
The next argument to be made is one of societal acceptance and safety. It is not lost upon the transgender population that there is a target on everyone's forehead. People shun what they don't understand. This lack of understanding often manifests itself in fear, resulting in open hostility, whether it is verbalized, implied through body language or in physical violence. Granted, the incidences of violence is generally attributed to a very small portion of our society, it is none the less very real and no less damaging than the emotional wreckage caused through verbal and covert abuse.
Physical Violence
Male to Female Transgender: 15 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 26 per cent
Sexual Harassment
Male to Female Transgender: 15 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 48 per cent
Physical Threats
Male to Female Transgender: 38 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 33 per cent
Verbal harassment
Male to Female Transgender: 59 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 69 per cent
Sexual Harassment
Male to Female Transgender: 85 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 86 per cent
Sexual Assault
Male to Female Transgender: 3 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 24 per cent
(Source: Trans Pulse Project; Phase II,Presented to WPATH International Conference 2012by Dr. Greta Bauer Phd. UWO)
Sadly, "family and friends" are often a part of the above statistics. Included in "friends" are co-workers and persons in authority within the workplace. The discrimination is often a deterrent to coming out.
In conclusion, it can hardly be argued that if there is a "Transgender Lifestyle," it is one of fear. One needs only to ask who has the greater fear: society or the transgender population within society. The conclusions are obvious both statistically and from personal experiences of this writer.
Kimberley is a Fanshawe College alumnus, a community advisor to the Fanshawe College Positive Space Program, and she operates the transgenderlondon.com website. She is involved with a number of LGBT community organizations within the London region.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
The irony of this is really quite simple. The LGB lifestyle is exactly the same as the hetero-normative lifestyle. People eat, sleep, work, go to school, socialize with friends, raise families; all quite normal, really. But, of course, the difference is in forming intimate relationships. It is still all about love, the only difference is that the love interest is for one of the same biological sex. Love is still love.
You will note that I specifically left out transgender in the preceding statement. This was quite intentional because there is a huge difference here; also one of the reasons the transgender community was "left behind" by the LGB community in their march for equality. The transgender community just doesn't fit the mold for hetero-normative anything, let alone homosexuality. However, that is discussion for a future article.
The point here is that people are people, regardless of their gender or sexuality. Their dreams and aspirations are no different. Equally, the detractors of the LGBT communities are strongly committed to their own core values and belief systems. They are entitled to these, of course. However, that entitlement does not extend to forcing those values on a much larger society; one that generally is actually quite tolerant if not accepting.
For the Lesbian, Gay and Bi-sexual communities, they can live relatively normal lives without facing adversity every moment of the day. I make this as a generalization because there are certainly very poignant exceptions — particularly in the workplace.
However, for the transgender community, this is not the case. There actually is a lifestyle choice. This is a position I hold as a basic truth that does not sit well with many in our community simply by the very concept. The explanation is quite simple. The choice is to live openly as a transgender or not. For one who has not transitioned, making that choice to live openly is to invite discrimination every minute of every day. For one who has passably transitioned, they can choose to live "stealth" and make any disclosures as they deem necessary.
It is imperative to understand that transition is a process of change from one gender (birth identified) to the opposite gender. It is not a surgical procedure. This is a time of flux for the person where physical appearances (unless you are very lucky) can be incongruous to the casual observer. It is a time of both presentation and physical change.
For an individual who chooses to not transition, this now becomes a choice of lifestyle and has double the problems attached. First, they must endure the prejudices of the hetero- normative population because their status is not known and, secondly, they face the same prejudices from the trans-radicals and often the same, from many within the LGB community. Double the pleasure and double the fun... not! It is this situation that creates a contextual lifestyle choice.
So what, exactly, are the impacts of making this choice?
As I stated earlier, the emotional adversity of living in both the hetero-normative world as well as the transgender community can be very draining from the position of prejudice.
While the need to transition is never diminished the reasons for making this choice to live a dual existence has its own demands. The first and the most important consideration is financial independence. Transition is not cheap and that is over and above the daily living expenses that everyone has to endure. Sadly, most employers will not hire openly transgender people. Here are some education and employment statistics from the Trans Pulse Survey EBulletin July 2010 to prove the point.
- 36 per cent of Ontario's transgender population has completed college or university. A further 28 per cent have some college or university education. This represents a total of 64 per cent of the transgender population having post-secondary education.
50 per cent of Ontario's transgender population earns less than $15,000 per annum.
- 37 per cent were employed full time, 20 per cent were unemployed.
- Also worthy of note is that of all employed transgender people, 45 per cent had to present in their birth gender to be (or remain) employed.
The next argument to be made is one of societal acceptance and safety. It is not lost upon the transgender population that there is a target on everyone's forehead. People shun what they don't understand. This lack of understanding often manifests itself in fear, resulting in open hostility, whether it is verbalized, implied through body language or in physical violence. Granted, the incidences of violence is generally attributed to a very small portion of our society, it is none the less very real and no less damaging than the emotional wreckage caused through verbal and covert abuse.
Physical Violence
Male to Female Transgender: 15 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 26 per cent
Sexual Harassment
Male to Female Transgender: 15 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 48 per cent
Physical Threats
Male to Female Transgender: 38 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 33 per cent
Verbal harassment
Male to Female Transgender: 59 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 69 per cent
Sexual Harassment
Male to Female Transgender: 85 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 86 per cent
Sexual Assault
Male to Female Transgender: 3 per cent
Male to Female Transgender: 24 per cent
(Source: Trans Pulse Project; Phase II,Presented to WPATH International Conference 2012by Dr. Greta Bauer Phd. UWO)
Sadly, "family and friends" are often a part of the above statistics. Included in "friends" are co-workers and persons in authority within the workplace. The discrimination is often a deterrent to coming out.
In conclusion, it can hardly be argued that if there is a "Transgender Lifestyle," it is one of fear. One needs only to ask who has the greater fear: society or the transgender population within society. The conclusions are obvious both statistically and from personal experiences of this writer.
Kimberley is a Fanshawe College alumnus, a community advisor to the Fanshawe College Positive Space Program, and she operates the transgenderlondon.com website. She is involved with a number of LGBT community organizations within the London region.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
