avatarEmma Holiday

Summary

The article addresses the disappointment within the transgender community towards some feminists, gays, and lesbians who harbor biases or outright hostility towards transgender individuals, attributing this to a rigidly cisgender mindset.

Abstract

The piece titled "Feminists, Gays and Lesbians are Cisgender too!" delves into the tension between the transgender community and certain feminists, gays, and lesbians. It highlights that despite shared experiences of societal bias, some members of these groups align with societal norms by rejecting the validity of transgender identities. The author expresses frustration over this internal divide, noting that transgender individuals are often forced to legitimize their existence through legal and medical avenues. Despite this, the author remains steadfast in their identity, refusing to be invalidated by the prejudiced views of those who deny the rights and existence of transgender people. The article calls out the hypocrisy of supposed allies who perpetuate the same binary gender understanding that marginalizes transgender individuals, likening it to the sentiment "We are all equal but some are more equal than others" from George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

Opinions

  • The author believes that the anger in the trans community stems from betrayal by those who should be allies, including some feminists, gays, and lesbians.
  • A significant point made is that the rejection of transgender individuals by some in the feminist, gay, and lesbian communities is rooted in their own rigid cisgender identities and the binary understanding of gender.
  • The article acknowledges that not all feminists, gays, and lesbians hold such views; many accept and support the transgender community.
  • There is a strong sense of disappointment that transgender individuals are subjected to proving their gender identity in courts and through medical evidence.
  • The author feels that the exclusion of transgender people by certain individuals is a form of gender bigotry and aligns with broader societal prejudices.
  • Despite facing discrimination from within the LGBTQ+ community, the author remains resilient and committed to their identity, rejecting any notion of reverting to previous states of self-denial or shame.
  • The author equates the exclusionary attitudes of some feminists, gays, and lesbians to the narrow-mindedness critiqued in George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

Feminists, Gays and Lesbians are Cisgender too!

There is a lot of anger in the trans community about feminists, gays and lesbians who disregard, attack and even hate transgender people. You would expect that we would all be allies against the biases we all experience in our society. Instead some have chosen to join in society’s attack on the legitimacy of the existence of transmen and transwomen.

I believe that one answer is simply that they are as rigidly cisgender as rest of the cisgender world. Being cisgender (cisgender: denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.) brings all of the potential biases and misunderstandings that a binary understanding of gender brings.

Of course, like the rest of society, there are many feminists, gays and lesbians who also accept the legitimacy and reality of being transgender.

But, unfortunately, there some feminists, gays and lesbians who have actively join those in society who choose deny the rights, legitimacy and valid gender identification of transgender individuals.

In their minds we are a gender sham and that is tragic.

I am very disappointed that these individuals are so narrowly binary that they are excluding a whole group of people that have a right to exist and are forced to prove their right in the courts and through the need to demonstrate medical as well as scientific proof of their existence.

To steal a quote from ANIMAL Farm by George Orwell: “We are all equal but some are more equal than others.” Haven’t we finally outgrown that kind of narrowness? Fortunately, I now see them now for the gender bigots that they are and they have allied themselves with all the other gender bigots we are contending with.

It is a sad and tragic situation but I will not allow their biases and bigoted hate to stop me from recognizing who and what I am. I have struggled to far for too long to finally find me.

I am not going back.

E. Holiday

Please also read:

Justice
Humanity
Transgender
LGBTQ
Gender
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