Trans — Is A Prefix Which Means ‘Across’
The trans in transgender isn’t short for ‘transition’, it refers to spanning across the gender spectrum
Why is this important?
People who think being trans is “unnatural” are just plain ignorant about science and nature.
There is transgenderism — as in genders being fluid, changing, or ranging across a spectrum — everywhere in nature. There are thousands of examples of this gender fluidity in nature in plants, fish, birds, and reptiles.
Instead of viewing trans folks as some rare anomaly or abnormality, we need to understand that being transgender is entirely natural and normal. Not one human being is born purely 100% male or 100% female.
We all have both ‘male’ and ‘female’ reproductive hormones, some people just happen to have a lot more of one than the other, and each person has a different hormonal make-up. Everybody.
Yes, even you straight, CIS folks who insist you are 100% the gender with which you identify. You’re wrong. You may be straight and CIS, but you’re not 100% anything because nobody is.
For example, testosterone (the ‘male’ hormone) helps with the growth, maintenance, and repair of reproductive tissues, such as breasts and uterine tissues. Estrogen (the ‘female’ hormone) is important for libido and erectile function, muscle and bone health, metabolism, and cardiovascular health.
Damn, those lady balls are important!
You hyper-masculine CIS men better appreciate the importance of estrogen to your fragile masculinity. You need some of those lady hormones to become big, strong boys — you need estrogen just to get it up!
Next time you get an erection, you can thank your lady hormones, boys.
Transphobia disguised as an intellectual exploration
Some academics are engaging in ridiculous fear-mongering, postulating that medical providers who support and provide gender-affirming surgeries, and other “corporate-funded lobby groups”, have a financial interest in people “becoming” transgender.
First off, in case you’re several decades behind: being transgender is not a choice. It’s who someone is.
Reductio ad absurdum
Some readers are over-simplifying my argument and reducing it the point of creating a false dichotomy. I’ve had a couple critical comments which included variations of ‘saying that trans people don’t transition minimizes their experience’.
I am open to criticism and welcome intelligent debate. The problem with comments like those, however, is they put words in my mouth. In saying the word trans is not short for transition, I am not ignoring the fact trans people do undergo various forms of personal transition.
Whether it be a spiritual, psychological, emotional, sexual, or physical transition — those are part of the trans experience, to varying degrees. Outlining existing linguistic, scientific, and philosophical differences does not automatically contradict others.
Have I made myself clear enough now?
To that end, trans folks do not have to transition in any way, shape or form, to make themselves more “acceptable” to transphobes (or to anyone).
It’s not a choice
Have you seen how trans people are treated by the majority of society? Why would anyone choose to subject themselves to such vitriol, phobia, hatred, and danger?
There are so many vocal transphobes spewing ugly, hateful shit. There are anti-trans hate groups in the U.S. and elsewhere that attend the funerals of trans people with signs saying their so-called “sins” caused their deaths.
Even light-hearted events for trans people and drag queens (and no, they’re not the same identities), something as innocuous as reading books to children incite hate-filled protests, online harassment, and death threats.
All because trans & LGBTQ2IA+ people want to exist in the world.
Trans men are men. Trans women are women. And although I do refer to the existence of a spectrum of genders existing in other species, that should not be necessary in order to validate the existence of trans people.
Variation and diversity are important in nature, and nowhere are they more important than in our human species. We need to accept, embrace, and celebrate these differences simply for their own virtues, rather than being sidetracked by arguments about their right exist in the first place.
Trans people exist. Get over it.
Trans rights are human rights
Access to proper health care is a basic human right
Trans people exist, trans lives matter, and trans people deserve access to healthcare. People have the right to gender-affirming care without being subject to harassment, hate, and death threats.
Transphobes protest against schools teaching about queer folks and relationships. These (usually white, middle-class, ignorant, privileged parents) cannot bear the thought of their children learning that different types of families and relationships exist.
How do you think this hate and ignorance are perpetuated? When kids grow up not knowing queer and trans people exist, they’re taught the existence of trans people is taboo, verboten, or “sinful”, and never actually have relationships with real queer and trans human beings.
This conceptualization of trans people as some nebulous, sub-human, non-specific entity dehumanizes trans people. It makes it “comfortable” to be phobic and hateful towards a group because they aren’t considered human, they’re just ambiguous “others”.
When we come face-to-face with human beings from marginalized and oppressed groups, we actually learn from people and see them as living, breathing, thinking, and feeling human beings. It is more difficult to hold false and hateful ideas about individuals when they have a face, a name, and family and friends who care about them.
TW: mention of suicide
**82% of trans people have considered killing themselves. Eighty-two-fucking-percent.
**It’s estimated that between 40–50% of trans people have attempted suicide.
Compared to the average population, it is estimated that approximately 12% of youth and adults have had suicidal thoughts, and approximately 3–4% have attempted suicide.
(Please note: rates are higher in other marginalized groups, these are the national averages in Canada from 2019 statistics).
Risk reduction
The most salient factors in reducing the risk of suicide in trans youth and adults are the following:
- Access to gender-affirming care
- Social support (friends and family)
- Reduced transphobia
- ID documents changed to reflect accurate gender designation
That’s it. Basic acceptance and acknowledgement. The right to exist without fear, shame, and hatred. Trans lives matter. Trans lives sure as hell matter a lot more than the comfort of ignorant bigots.
© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB
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References
Austin, A., Craig, S. L., D’Souza, S., & McInroy, L. B. (2022). Suicidality Among Transgender Youth: Elucidating the Role of Interpersonal Risk Factors. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37(5–6), NP2696–NP2718. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520915554
Bauer, G.R., Scheim, A.I., Pyne, J., Travers, R., Hammond, R. (2015). Intervenable factors associated with suicide risk in transgender persons: a respondent driven sampling study in Ontario, Canada. BMC Public Health 15, 525. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1867-2
Hammes, S.R., & Levin, E.R. (2019). Impact of estrogens in males and androgens in females. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 129(5), 1818–1826. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI125755
Hoye, B. (2023, March 3). Rally draws crowd to UWinnipeg over lecture 2SLGBTQ community members fear could spread transphobia. CBC News Manitoba. [Online]. https://cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/university-winnipeg-transgender-lecture-counter-rally-1.6767288
Padula, W. V., Heru, S., & Campbell, J. D. (2016). Societal Implications of Health Insurance Coverage for Medically Necessary Services in the U.S. Transgender Population: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Journal of general internal medicine, 31(4), 394–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-015-3529-6
Schulster, M., Bernie, A. M., & Ramasamy, R. (2016). The role of estradiol in male reproductive function. Asian journal of andrology, 18(3), 435–440. https://doi.org/10.4103/1008-682X.173932
Smith, T., & Batur, P. (2021). Prescribing testosterone and DHEA: The role of androgens in women. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 88(1), 35–43. https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.88a.20030
Statistics Canada. (2019). Suicide in Canada: Key statistics. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/suicide-canada-key-statistics-infographic.html
Tordoff, D.M., Wanta, J.W., Collin, A., Stepney, C., Inwards-Breland, D.J., Ahrens, K. (2022). Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care. JAMA Network Open, 5(2), e220978. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.0978
