Trans Activism

Gender is a performance; it is constructed and promoted through all forms of American institutions. Simultaneously masculinity is valued more significantly than femininity, creating an inequality between gender performances. This inequality keeps gender framed as a hierarchical binary, preventing us from conceiving a society where gender is fluid and ambiguous. Transgender is a difficult concept to envision because it challenges the very way I think about gender. As a result I have to constantly make a conscious effort to challenge my innate urge, which is learned and not actually innate, to construct gender binaries. This blog post is a part of my own process to reconstruct my personal understanding of gender as embodiment. I believe trans activism has an important message for all people, even those who do not identify as transgender because it’s construction of gender has the potential to promote true equality via the opportunity of choice instead of coercion.

I felt perplexed, last class, after having an enlightening discussion about Transgender as a claimable identity. After some thought, I realized my frustration is with the inability of transgender to play out as fluid and ambiguous in public forums. A person who self identifies as transgender in the media is easily reconstructed by the viewer as either masculine or feminine because all that person sees is a limited image, snapshot or quote of a persons entire fluid and constantly changing life. This only allows for those who are willing to come forward and put their identities as transgender on display in the media to come forward. Sucks, right? It is unfair to ask a person who self identifies as transgender to put themselves on display and explain themselves to everyone else. This is dangerous as it allow for spectators to turn the individual into a spectacle, giving TLC yet another show. This also forces the label of transgender to become a defining experience, which must constantly be explained. Transgender individuals unfairly become the bridge.

This is where trans activists like Juliana Serano, author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity calls for alliances to alleviate the alienation of people for their differences. Differences must be embraced and recognized for the true inclusion of all. Juliana Serano helps addresses the inability of transgender to play out in public forums by reconstructing the problem of gender binaries as a problem of gender entitlement. Gender entitlement defined as, “arrogant conviction that one’s own beliefs, perceptions and assumptions regarding gender and sexuality are more valid than those of other people” (89).

“I suggest that we turn our energies and attention away from the way that individuals “do” or “perform” their own genders and instead focus on the expectations and assumptions that those individuals project onto everybody else.” If assumptions and projections can be changed to be more encompassing and open minded then all forms of performance on the gender spectrum would be deemed acceptable, even if they happen to be hetero masculine and hetero feminine.

The feminist movement can benefit from looking to trans activist movements because unlike other movements it does not look to shatter binary systems that inevitably only result in a shift of power. Trans activist movements lose voice when grouped with LGB groups because transgender differences are often ignored in the very groups that are supposed to be all encompassing. The trans activist movement follows through with its theory by refusing to alienate anyone and recognizing the value of alliances. Alliances are important to institutionalizing transgender and changing the way gender constructions are perceived. David Valentine argues that transgender is already institutionalized but I challenge this statement. The current institutionalization of transgender is limiting because it is not easily accessible to everyone. Sure, I can take a LGBT class but as a college student I am part of an elite, just another hierarchical binary. True equality is achieved in the inclusion of everyone not just elite.