This is a sidebar to the post What Drives Transphobia over at crossdreamers.com.
Humanize transgender people!
Make the others see and feel that they are real people, just like them. This may require some kind of contextualizing: “How would you feel if you were harassed for identifying with your own assigned gender?”
If you know the person, it might help to bring up areas where they have been harassed for other things, just to remind them of how it feels to be excluded.
These kinds of arguments won’t work with the truly militant transphobes, but then again, it is not your job to convince everyone.
You can reduce the damage they do in your community, though. If one of the extremists brings up anti-trans propaganda, you may, in a calm and constructive manner, present some reasonable facts. The extremist won’t be convinced, but the other listeners may.
This requires that you have facts at hand, of course, so you would have to read up on the latest research and discussions. Much of this is available online. To give you one example:
Extremist: “Trans women are perverted men who want to molest women in public bathrooms.”
You: “I have heard of no cases where trans persons have harassed trans women in a public bath room. I am not saying that this cannot happen, as there are bad seeds among all groups of people, but if it ever does happen, it is extremely rare. Trans people, like other people, go to the bath room to relieve themselves.
“I have heard of many instances of straight non-transgender men harassing women in such places, however, not to speak of all the trans women who have been sexually assaulted and beaten up in mens’ bathrooms. Remember also that you by banning trans women from women’s bathrooms, will force trans men to use women’s bath rooms. Is that truly what you want?”
The point is to make everyone see how unreasonable they are.
Remember that transphobes will argue that anything bad a trans person does can be explained by them being transgender. Anything bad a non-transgender person does will be explained by special circumstances, unique to that person,. That is: Unless they belong to some other marginalized group. African-American criminals are criminals because they are black. White, rich, criminals are criminals because they are unfortunate, mad, had a bad childhood or whatever.
It helps to unmask the hypocrisy in arguing this way.
Please add comments to this post: What Drives Transphobia?
A blogger over at tumblr asked me:
What is the best way to teach others that alienating a transgender person is wrong? How should I, even as just one person...how can I make a difference?
I answered:
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| What can you do to stop transphobic bullies? (Illustration photo: Photodisc) |
What is the best way to teach others that alienating a transgender person is wrong? How should I, even as just one person...how can I make a difference?
I answered:
Humanize transgender people!
Make the others see and feel that they are real people, just like them. This may require some kind of contextualizing: “How would you feel if you were harassed for identifying with your own assigned gender?”
If you know the person, it might help to bring up areas where they have been harassed for other things, just to remind them of how it feels to be excluded.
These kinds of arguments won’t work with the truly militant transphobes, but then again, it is not your job to convince everyone.
You can reduce the damage they do in your community, though. If one of the extremists brings up anti-trans propaganda, you may, in a calm and constructive manner, present some reasonable facts. The extremist won’t be convinced, but the other listeners may.
This requires that you have facts at hand, of course, so you would have to read up on the latest research and discussions. Much of this is available online. To give you one example:
Extremist: “Trans women are perverted men who want to molest women in public bathrooms.”
You: “I have heard of no cases where trans persons have harassed trans women in a public bath room. I am not saying that this cannot happen, as there are bad seeds among all groups of people, but if it ever does happen, it is extremely rare. Trans people, like other people, go to the bath room to relieve themselves.
“I have heard of many instances of straight non-transgender men harassing women in such places, however, not to speak of all the trans women who have been sexually assaulted and beaten up in mens’ bathrooms. Remember also that you by banning trans women from women’s bathrooms, will force trans men to use women’s bath rooms. Is that truly what you want?”
The point is to make everyone see how unreasonable they are.
Remember that transphobes will argue that anything bad a trans person does can be explained by them being transgender. Anything bad a non-transgender person does will be explained by special circumstances, unique to that person,. That is: Unless they belong to some other marginalized group. African-American criminals are criminals because they are black. White, rich, criminals are criminals because they are unfortunate, mad, had a bad childhood or whatever.
It helps to unmask the hypocrisy in arguing this way.
Please add comments to this post: What Drives Transphobia?
