Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
While I used to be heavily involved socially with the LGBQT social scene for several decades, I've been disconnected from it for a little over 10 years. It is however something I feel strongly about, and I think it was said here once by one of our more well known members, that her hat was off to those who've endured ridicule, resentment, isolation, depression that one goes through in a major shift in their life, and I have to agree.
One of my heroes so to speak is Christine Jorgensen. She was front page news and the leading torchbearer for transgender causes in the 50's & 60's. That woman is an absolute legend because she inspired so many others to pursue their dream of transitioning.
As brash as she was confronting the shock of her reality, it is a stark contrast to other early pioneers who transitioned in the shadows. I was reminded of this tonight when I was reading up again about Wendy Carlos, who helped invent the Moog Synthesizer. She is most famously known for her 1968 record album Switched on Bach, and she wrote the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Tron.
But I was reading about the mortal fear she faced when appearing in public early in her transition when the world still knew her as Walter Carlos. She had started HRT in the late 60s, and had recently had gender reassignment surgery in the early 70s when all of a sudden she had gotten worldwide fame. She dressed in disguise by wearing men's wigs, glued-on sideburns and large sunglasses when she appeared on the Dick Cavett Show and the BBC and she swore off public appearances after that. She turned away a long list of famous pianists who wanted to meet her from Stevie Wonder to Keith Emerson, choosing to "hide in the closet" instead.
She later came out publicly on the Art Bell Radio Show in 1979, but for over a decade she lived her life afraid of the transphobia she knew she was sure to face. Whereas Christine Jorgensen was "in your face" about her transition, the immensely talented Wendy Carlos was afraid to show hers.
I guess in thinking about today's awareness event, I wanted to highlight someone who lived in fear of the hatred she faced from others.
While I used to be heavily involved socially with the LGBQT social scene for several decades, I've been disconnected from it for a little over 10 years. It is however something I feel strongly about, and I think it was said here once by one of our more well known members, that her hat was off to those who've endured ridicule, resentment, isolation, depression that one goes through in a major shift in their life, and I have to agree.
One of my heroes so to speak is Christine Jorgensen. She was front page news and the leading torchbearer for transgender causes in the 50's & 60's. That woman is an absolute legend because she inspired so many others to pursue their dream of transitioning.
As brash as she was confronting the shock of her reality, it is a stark contrast to other early pioneers who transitioned in the shadows. I was reminded of this tonight when I was reading up again about Wendy Carlos, who helped invent the Moog Synthesizer. She is most famously known for her 1968 record album Switched on Bach, and she wrote the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Tron.
But I was reading about the mortal fear she faced when appearing in public early in her transition when the world still knew her as Walter Carlos. She had started HRT in the late 60s, and had recently had gender reassignment surgery in the early 70s when all of a sudden she had gotten worldwide fame. She dressed in disguise by wearing men's wigs, glued-on sideburns and large sunglasses when she appeared on the Dick Cavett Show and the BBC and she swore off public appearances after that. She turned away a long list of famous pianists who wanted to meet her from Stevie Wonder to Keith Emerson, choosing to "hide in the closet" instead.
She later came out publicly on the Art Bell Radio Show in 1979, but for over a decade she lived her life afraid of the transphobia she knew she was sure to face. Whereas Christine Jorgensen was "in your face" about her transition, the immensely talented Wendy Carlos was afraid to show hers.
I guess in thinking about today's awareness event, I wanted to highlight someone who lived in fear of the hatred she faced from others.
This is cool, I didn't know about a lot of this history... I've never dug up much into this old times stuff really.
There's a weird dichotomy with awareness. More aware people are, more easier it becomes to out us and be transphobic and hurt us with it. People are too aware, they know what to look for, so that clocks us way too much. I believe in cis passing and assimilation, like the old days, but there's a dilemma of transphobia in it. Am I feeding the monster by being stealth in public? Some trans scene people would say that I'm a bad person doing it like this, that I'm part of the problem or something.
Which I think is ridiculous. There's some crazy demand for us to be loud and proud, visible and openly transsex. That's not good either, its like arm bands for untermench. Like gang colours so people know how to clock us, how to other us and make absolutely sure we're never accepted nor understood. But the other end is total invisilibity, like the old days, assimilate or stay in the closet.
I want to see world change into a place where we can choose to assimilate or to be loud and proud. I want to see a world where no one has to be scared in early transition. I want to see the old lead brained bigots grow forget me nots and young people to learn to understand this part of human condition. I want to see transphobia go same way as what yesteryears homophobia did, its all the same thing anyway, just change few words and names, but the hate is the same. Nothing's different on that, except rebranding of "the enemy".
I did talk semantics on another thread, but that's important too. Language shapes culture, conveys ideas and attitudes. That's why othering language should cease. Also newspeak in the trans scene should.
My identity is not a social construct. We are not transgenders. Our transition is not an ism. We are not political chess pieces. We are not an ideology. People should understand this, its not difficult, nor complicated.
There's a weird dichotomy with awareness. More aware people are, more easier it becomes to out us and be transphobic and hurt us with it. People are too aware, they know what to look for, so that clocks us way too much. I believe in cis passing and assimilation, like the old days, but there's a dilemma of transphobia in it. Am I feeding the monster by being stealth in public? Some trans scene people would say that I'm a bad person doing it like this, that I'm part of the problem or something.
Which I think is ridiculous. There's some crazy demand for us to be loud and proud, visible and openly transsex. That's not good either, its like arm bands for untermench. Like gang colours so people know how to clock us, how to other us and make absolutely sure we're never accepted nor understood. But the other end is total invisilibity, like the old days, assimilate or stay in the closet.
I want to see world change into a place where we can choose to assimilate or to be loud and proud. I want to see a world where no one has to be scared in early transition. I want to see the old lead brained bigots grow forget me nots and young people to learn to understand this part of human condition. I want to see transphobia go same way as what yesteryears homophobia did, its all the same thing anyway, just change few words and names, but the hate is the same. Nothing's different on that, except rebranding of "the enemy".
I did talk semantics on another thread, but that's important too. Language shapes culture, conveys ideas and attitudes. That's why othering language should cease. Also newspeak in the trans scene should.
My identity is not a social construct. We are not transgenders. Our transition is not an ism. We are not political chess pieces. We are not an ideology. People should understand this, its not difficult, nor complicated.
Huge and silly conspiracy theory building Lara's point... but what if the increase in widespread trans visibility and online promotion of non-passing trans people was actually intentional on the part of somebody who has it out for the originals? like an inoculation, they utilize their (scientifically known to be) depression inducing algorithms to make broken and unproductive people that all typical people see as either pitiable or a threat, and because they take HRT they educate "normies" on how to identify markers that might give an otherwise passing trans.
Like an inoculation, they send a message of "here's your thing to hunt, here's why you should, go get em".
Is that how it really is? I'd bet heavily against it. But I wouldn't my life against it.....
Anyways, happy day. Enjoy your day.
Like an inoculation, they send a message of "here's your thing to hunt, here's why you should, go get em".
Is that how it really is? I'd bet heavily against it. But I wouldn't my life against it.....
Anyways, happy day. Enjoy your day.
Devils advocate with that for sure, but its something I have thought about... There's good, factual and realistic visibility and then there's the crazy glittery looney stuff which feels like its hurting more than helping. I think visiblity for trans issues is a double edged sword. I would rather see us get our rights to a happy life and what ever treatments we need and then be forgotten and accepted as normal. Pretty much the same way as how LGB people have had it so far, at least in Finland. Nobody bats an eye about any cis LGB people any more, so you're ok, move along is the attitude which I think is the right way.
It should become the same with transsex/gender people too, we're not freaks and weirdos really, we're not so "other" and alien. Most of us, at least old school binary trans women and men are mostly as normal and mundane as it gets. Moment people get this, transphobia will disappear as its not a thing any more.
Maybe the weird glittery pride "social construct" crowd is partially made up like that? OR bunch of useful idiots or something. Interestingly, all trans people I know in real life are really mundane and mostly very stealthy too. Just normal people.
And totally fuck transphobia and all bigotry! There's no place for hatred in a civilised world.
It should become the same with transsex/gender people too, we're not freaks and weirdos really, we're not so "other" and alien. Most of us, at least old school binary trans women and men are mostly as normal and mundane as it gets. Moment people get this, transphobia will disappear as its not a thing any more.
Maybe the weird glittery pride "social construct" crowd is partially made up like that? OR bunch of useful idiots or something. Interestingly, all trans people I know in real life are really mundane and mostly very stealthy too. Just normal people.
And totally fuck transphobia and all bigotry! There's no place for hatred in a civilised world.
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