Question K

I learned a lot through watching Beautiful Daughters and reading “Trans Woman Manifesto”. I think people in this country have a difficult time putting themselves in other people’s places. Cisgender individuals have freedom in making changes in their life. For example, being a heterosexual female, it is going to be openly accepted if I feel that being a “girly girl” isn’t right for me anymore and shifting into an athletic sporty type… I think that I would be openly accepted in the eyes of many either way. However, transgender individuals do not just wake up one day deciding they want to become someone else. This is a long and thought out process that I can only imagine would be extremely difficult for one to endure. This video and reading really gave me insight into what it would be like and what these people go through on a daily basis. When I try to relate to them, and think of what their reasoning process must be like, it saddens me. I imagine that they would at first go through a bit of denial and try to possibly be what is “accepted” thinking that they might be able to change themselves. I also might think that when that doesn’t work, they may question their sanity or if something is wrong with them that they feel like they are experiencing an “out of body” experience. But the thing is, they are. Imagine feeling like you are not really who you are supposed to be. That must be a terrifying feeling. I could be totally wrong, but these are some feelings I would assume that I personally would feel if this happened to me. It must also be a troubling experience telling the ones that you love, and having the courage to take a stand for what you want out of life and who you think that you’d like to be… no matter if no one stands behind you.

The article also made me think of how “unequal” our American, western society and culture is. We are so unaccepting and so afraid of anyone that is slightly different than us. I don’t believe that there are just two sexes… I believe that there are varying degrees of gender and sex and you can be closer to one than the other, but you can also be in the middle as well. I think transgender people possess many great qualities that many cisgender people do not. The courage to change your identity because you feel that it is right for you, no matter what other people think of you. They also possess wisdom and intuition to know themselves well enough to make that decision. And most of all they possess honesty, to be true to themselves and others as well while revealing and fighting for who they are. Cisgender people need to somehow form an alliance for the transgender group and protect them from other cisgender people that may ridicule the transgender group; I say this mainly because some cisgender people may discredit transgenders so if someone that is more familiar to them says something, they may listen.