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Constructions of Gender; Conformity and Non; Trans and Cis Experiences
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Wow, folks, how could I miss this topic until now. In fact, I fit in here so well. Non-cisgender, homosexual... ( the list of my oppressions could go on!)I will read this, all of this! But not now, I need to sleep.
Bunny wrote: "Yes, if I can strain my analogy a bit further without breaking it... :-) If its like height, people who are one and a half meters tall (five feet ish) are extremely common and people who are two me..."Bunny, that definitely is totally a thing, I'm exactly that size:)
James wrote: "I believe a person should be proud of the way he or she was born. There came a time I got confused for a female on some occasions. Even my mother made that mistake unintentionally. Just because I w..."
Your comment not only comes off as transphobic, but also interphobic. Now, I get what you want to say, but not every one of us is cisgendered, female/male.
Mod
This was the closest thread possible to what this video relates to without me starting a new thread specifically for it.
Meet the Consultant Teaching Trans Women How to Be 'Feminine'
"In a world where trans people have been denied the right to express their gender freely, a high femme cisgender woman named Monica Prata has stepped in to help. Monica hones her exceptional makeup skills, fashion savvy, and comportment knowledge to aid transgender women and men of all ages in finding and expressing their gender.
In this episode of A Day With, we meet with Monica Prata, founder of Nouveau She, a consulting business that supports transgender or transitioning individuals through any aspect of their life leading up to and, at times, beyond transition. After Monica left her promising career as a makeup artist, she worked as an assistant for world renowned San Francisco based facial feminization surgeon Douglas Ousterhout, where she became familiarized with the trans community. In NYC, where she now lives, Monica offers us an intimate glimpse into her work. We meet Chrissie, a 65 year old lawyer who is less than a few months away from living fully as a woman, as well as brother and sister Felix and Jeena who are both transitioning."
In the beginning of this video, I can say I was genuinely surprised. The reactions of people at hearing a woman was coaching trans women on how to be feminine were not at all what I was expecting. What could possibly be wrong with that?
People seemed against the idea because, in their minds, they assumed that the consultant would be coaching the trans women on how to fit the typical image of a feminine woman. Yet, I see no issue with this myself. A person, male, female, or anywhere in between, should be allowed to behave how they want or seek guidance on how to behave a certain way. That is their choice. To directly judge the consultant and say, "No way," is almost oppression towards those who wish to fulfill this typical feminine image, because at the end of the day, this consultant was chosen for a reason, right?
Those were my thoughts when I first saw how anti-consultant some of the people were. The host herself was skeptical, but she did admit someway through that she cannot understand how fitting certain images is so important to trans women because she is not one herself.
If anything, this consultant is helping to correct the limited views of femininity which the trans women has sometimes possessed. You see this when she is able to go through the closet of the trans women and she sees what type of female clothing they already own. Most garments fit a certain type of feminine ideal and do not necessarily translate into what the trans women may want or need.
Other thoughts I had while watching this were about trans men and how they could really help change the views on men in general by being who they are. An example being that, no matter what you do, you cannot change your height. Sure, you can wear platforms or heels, but your height will remain the same without shoes on. Is it weird that I think that trans men can help change the view of what is considered attractive by being shorted than the typically desired male?
Back to the original question to why I posted this.What peer reviewed study, if any, has been done to addresses what causes Transgender, genetically and/or psychologically?
Adam wrote: "Back to the original question to why I posted this.What peer reviewed study, if any, has been done to addresses what causes Transgender, genetically and/or psychologically?"
Well, that would also be a question of definition:
You can't be transsexual, transgender if you're intersex, because that's against the definition. I don't think so, although the definition is quite plausible.
Savannah wrote: "This was the closest thread possible to what this video relates to without me starting a new thread specifically for it. Meet the Consultant Teaching Trans Women How to Be 'Feminine'
"In a world..."
Thanks for linking this:) Definitely interesting, also because there's quite some criticism it being a cisgender-female who teaches them. EDIT: But then, you know, there are many ways to be feminine, and a cisgender female definitely knows at least some ways. And when she did her homework, what is it the people hold against her?
Emma wrote: "Adam wrote: "Back to the original question to why I posted this.What peer reviewed study, if any, has been done to addresses what causes Transgender, genetically and/or psychologically?"
I've do..."
Back to "Are people being put into a false dichotomy gender box?"
Men have X traits at all times.
Women have Y traits at all times.
It could be argued that some people are being, given only two societal approved choices, forced into one category.
That "National Geographic' cover of the young boy in pink: This does not mean he is female. Only that he prefers pink.
But society says: "Only women wear pink"
Logic: No.
This issue of not basing issues off of empirical evidence goes way beyond this subject alone. Granted that, as humans are, can't be 100% of the time. But when we start basing issues off of feelings alone, shit goes sideways rather fast.
Example: Russia "hacking" the US general election.
No verifiable direct evidence of Russian involvement and a significant amount of Democratic voters think that Russia directly hacked voting machines.
Transgender may well be genetically caused, but not until a peer reviewed scientific study says so.
Adam wrote: "Emma wrote: "Adam wrote: "Back to the original question to why I posted this.What peer reviewed study, if any, has been done to addresses what causes Transgender, genetically and/or psychological..."
But then, you know, do we really need to care about whether it is genetically caused or not? People should be able to be themselves, regardless of genetics.
MeerderWörter wrote: "Adam wrote: "Emma wrote: "Adam wrote: "Back to the original question to why I posted this.What peer reviewed study, if any, has been done to addresses what causes Transgender, genetically and/or ..."
Not arguing that people can't be themselves (The boy in pink for instance: Interesting history on colors http://tinyurl.com/zkhczrn ), but that what do we use to define ourselves.
*takes it far up the line*
I'm John Malkovich.
Seems to me the make up of the people involved in equal rights is not key to the primary objective which is equality; in treatment and opportunity. If we have that then however people identify themselves they will be treated with respect and as equals.
Adam wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Adam wrote: "Emma wrote: "Adam wrote: "Back to the original question to why I posted this.What peer reviewed study, if any, has been done to addresses what causes Transgende..."
Oh, I do know about the history of pink and blue. The last crown prince of Austria was dressed in pink.
I haven't figured out why entirely, but it seems like a lot of cis guys I know sort of have a complex fear. They may inherently see nothing 'wrong' with being a woman and in fact many I know are highly Feministic without any put-ons about it (re: it's not for popularity or anything), but when it comes to themselves, personally, they end up very... Unsure and uncomfortable. I think it goes down to how they're taught through culture and a massive amount of cognitive dissonance. They may be taught that women are equal and okay, for example, but they are also taught at the same time that "being a guy and being what is perceived as like-a-woman" is negative. Having an emotional conversation with a ciswoman, for example, is somehow a confusing complex thing!
I wonder, too, if many are afraid that they will be seen as "unmanly" by the woman--which is ultimately worse than being unseen as unmanly by men because the stakes are higher? I know I often find myself very nervous around other transpeople at times because with cispeople, I can go "Oh, if they call me less-manly or whatever, I don't mind as much... They probably just haven't talked with many transpeople [very often that's true]" whereas with other transpeople, if I'm considered 'wrong' in my presentation/views/etc, I'm like "Aw no, now I have absolutely zero support places." Or in other words, if a woman tells a man that they're grossly less manly, it's going to mean a lot more (sometimes) than if a man tells another man if he's less manly. So admitting to a ciswoman could be quite scary, just as for me, talking to other transpeople can be anxiety-inducing because sure, sometimes cispeople won't accept me and that's expected, but what if I'm not accepted into trans-specific spaces? Now I've really got a problem!
I think I end up being 'okay' to talk to is that I'm neither one nor the other; most people say I'm the first trans person they've talked to... Which also means they have no idea what to expect of me, and that oddly ends up safer.
It's the same with strangers. I have a massive time when out in public because people often come up to me, admit things, and walk away. Things like "I'm really afraid I'm not good enough..." and they'll go on about it, then be like "Thanks for listening." and walk away a little happier. A few of my other friends have a lot of similar experiences: we apparently read really well as "acceptable strangers to confess inner feelings to." In the long run, I'm not really bothered as it seems to do some good but it can be a little perplexing at the same time!!
Aye, yea. One of my trans friends is in the same boat (but on the masculine side). I've seen it happen, sadly, too; I've had some people be like "Well, why don't you like ____?" Even with my bravado, I still don't always do what I want as much. I'll take weeks to get up the courage to wear nail polish and as much as I love things such as dresses, I don't really wear them. Although one thing that I love is that one major store has gotten around with the message of "Yay androgyny! Yay men wearing traditionally feminine clothing! Yay women wearing traditionally masculine clothing! Anyone of any gender can wear any of our clothes!" I have really small feet and one of the problems I've had is that finding 'manly' shoes my size is suuuuper difficult. So instead, I shop at that store and buy the 'women's' shoes. They work really well, too, because I volunteer at an AZA-affiliated zoo and the company currently has a lot of fake animal prints on their shoes... It's a lot of fun (and a good way to express myself in an overly khaki uniform, lol). [As an aside to shopping, one awkward gender-based shopping story I have is that I was trying to buy a bathing suit. At the time, I appeared apparently a bit confusing to the workers because they kept directing me to different gender-based rooms. If I asked a guy worker to be let into a changing stall, he took me to the women's department stalls. If I asked a woman worker, she took me to the men's department stalls. It's not like it mattered but it was weird.]
(Also, really sorry for not replying sooner... I was a bit busy!!)