What exactly is Transgender? Such a definition is hard to
come by. Is a man dressing in drag considered transgender, perhaps? To some
people it may be possible. Our generation is obsessed with labels. If a male
likes another male who was once a female but has always liked males… what is
he? Happy; he is happy.
Yet our
obsession with labels makes many people wonder what exactly a situation is. It
makes people exploit others and question random strangers on the street. It
makes us question those in media, those who have made something of themselves. I
give you the example of Beyonce’s Single Ladies music video.
After having this pointed out to
me last year in school, I became aware that one of these three females is, in
fact, not female. According to many sources on the internet, the female on
Beyonce’s right at the beginning of the music video, is actually a man in drag.
However, is this considered transgender? Is this dressing up in the opposite
sexes clothing something to be explored?
In opposition, Beyonce says that
the two dancers in her video are both female and that this debate should be
ended. It is true that the chorography was designed by a male dancer, JaQuel Knight,
leading to some of the confusion with the two dancers in the video.
Furthermore, showcasing how people’s opinions on strong looking females are, and
that there comes an intimidation with a person who may be more muscular than others. Someone
who has worked hard to look how they do.
Is she a man? Was she at one point? Will she
become one? Is Beyonce lying about them both being female? These questions have
been exploited online since the video aired back in 2010. Thus leading back to
the idea that our generation is obsessed with labels and that not everything is
what it seems. Whether she was born male
or female, whether she dressed in drag for the video, whether she will be a
male in the future, whether she will be a female in the future, is irrelevant.
Beyonce picked two extremely talented backup dancers for her music video
because they were the best for the job. The label put forth on this person’s
gender shouldn’t matter.
These labels, this obsession, have
brought us to become opinionated in matters that shouldn’t hold court in our
lives. Why should we have to know a person’s gender in order to decide if we
like something or not? Why should gender matter? Why should it matter if
someone likes a certain type of person? Why should we determine how another
person should live their life? Who are we to make these decisions?
What is
the definition of transgender and who falls into that category? Those who wish
to consider themselves as such, who consider themselves transgender. Placing someone into a label won’t help solve anything. It will not produce world peace. It will not end wars. It will
not make you rich or famous either. If a male likes a female who was once a
female trapped in a male’s body but still has male parts but identifies as
female, what is his sexuality? It doesn’t matter, because it isn’t our decision
on where they classify.
We absolutely live in a label obsessed culture. Its the way in which we organize our social environments and direct our own behavior. When used in ways that involve stereotyping and condescension (which it most often is), I agree that labeling is harmful and unnecessary. However, there is one situation in which I can imagine labeling being somewhat proactive. As we discussed in class a few weeks ago, sometimes labeling is necessary for social change. By identifying the people that fit into the category of "transgender", perhaps we can more effectively advocate for their equal rights and treatment as human beings. It may be difficult for people to understand let alone support a cause which has no boundaries. I'm NOT saying I think labeling is a good thing, I just wanted to point out that it may be unavoidable in some situations.
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