I just have to say

[aidan83]

 
I am so tired of all of this bullshit hype about Thomas Beattie and how he is messing everything up for trans men.  For the record, he is not the first trans man to do so.  I don't know if he brought this media circus on himself or not, but I do know that he is not the first trans man to get pregnant.  In any case, now all kinds of people are all

Comments

[new2life]

It's not my body and not my life and therefore not my decision. If the trans community would harness all the energy that's being put toward hating this guy and target the real sources of our oppression, maybe we would actually get somewhere.

True that. I agree whole heartedly.

I also woke up this morning realizing this might make a great case for getting hysterectomies covered by insurance in the treatment for GID.

[ezraisabear]

"a great case for getting hystos..."

I actually think that this might work against us. If Thomas has no issues identifying as a man (I'm not questioning his identity, just bear with me and the crazy insurance logic) and having a uterus, then obviously its not NECESSARY that hystos are preformed for GID. This is the line, btw, that my own insurance company gave me (not in relation to Thomas, but in relation to my internal organs not connoting my identity...).

[eriktrips]

I recommend special filters and judicious scrolling when the filters fail to catch something.

oh and I agree with this post. if the civil rights movement was like the trans rights movement, they'd have gotten all upset with Rosa Parks for not going quietly to the back to avoid controversy.

not that Mr. Beattie is necessarily our Rosa Parks, but we're not going to be treated equitably if we stay in our houses and don't say anything.

[hrolleif]

In that movement they had financial leverage. We can't boycott a bus system to make a powerful statement about our rights. I don't know what we can do to do that, do you?

[eriktrips]

we're not alone. alliances are possible. the right is only too happy to see us fighting with not only each other, but with gender-variant people of all sorts who could be allies if we don't succumb to the temptation reject the LGB community as a whole because of the actions of the HRC. just as a for instance.

there could be others to ally ourselves with as well. putting our paranoia aside and finding and forging those alliances could be a great thing, but we're going to have to start with our own.

[mckennl]

"I look white enough that I have been sitting the front of the bus all this time! Now with Rosa Parks making trouble, I'm going to get more scrutinized and shoved to the back. I heard she doesn't even need to take the bus. What a selfish bitch."

[hrolleif]

If the trans community would harness all the energy that's being put toward hating this guy and target the real sources of our oppression, maybe we would actually get somewhere.

We are a minority. We don't have power so all we can do is beg for the same rights others in society enjoy. We can put our full energy into getting these things changed, but until the society sees us as having some kind of power, they will continue to laugh at us and/or tell us to fuck off.

That means that our best shot at making transition happen and moving on with our lives is to take advantage of the loopholes others have been taking advantage of (including Thomas Beatie). When people spoil that after they've already got theirs, there's a lot for many of us to lose, so yeah people get pretty pissed.

Now if you have some brilliant plan to change the way things are currently, let us know, because I'm not seeing it myself.

[aidan83]

It is true that we are a minority and it is true that this brings all sorts of things into the mix. It is true that we often lack power and it is true that we lack rights. I guess we may differ on how to approach this, and that's fair. We get to do things our own way. I just don't know that I agree that the best way to make transition happen and move on with my own life is to take advantage of the loopholes others have been taking advantage of. That doesn't mean you can't, and it doesn't mean that I never do. I just don't think it's the best way.

and no, I don't have a brillant plan. I guess I just think that if we spent the time (like the time I'm spending right now, so I'm a hypocrite) talking about what that brillant plan might be, we would have a better shot of coming up with one than we do as things stand.

[aidan83]

Also, I guess I think a start on a brilliant plan would be to read "Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity" and "That's Revolting: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation" by Matt aka Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore and think about how/if to implement some of those strategies into our own lives.

[nikolche]

Might I point out that those transguys who don't WANT to reject the rules of gender (read: those who identify within the binary) aren't exactly going to see eye to eye with Bernstein?

Re: kind of ironic

[aidan83]

okay, touche. I am, of course, part of the problem and I do spend my time and energy in ways that are not necessarily most effective. However,I also chose to put my time, money, and energy into getting my master's so I can be a therapist who doesn't make anyone jump through hoops or play the game to get access to hormones. I also go out into the community and educate and I also choose to be a visible trans man to further the agenda that I've decided is important. It's not fair for me to judge anyone else's agenda, and sometimes I do it anyway, which makes me a hypocrite. And I recognize that I have all kinds of privilege which influence my space in the world and the way I negotiate the world. But I'm not saying anyone else has to do things my way, or at least I'm recognizing that it's not fair when I do say that. I am saying that I'm tired of infighting and gender policing in this and other cases

Re: kind of ironic

[daddysambiguity]

Then again, I stand by my belief that every time minorites spend time and energy tearing each other down instead of creating alliances, it is time and energy that could have been better spent.

I read an article for my multicultural seminar recently about this. One reason the dominant group is able to stay in power is they are able to keep the oppressed fighting among themselves. We live in fear, in anger, lashing out at eachother -- instead of at the system that keeps us angry and afraid.

[sebastian_bound]

the same thing happend to Drake when he got arrested for using the men's room at Grand Central.

"Well, obviously he wasn't passing well enough."
"He's just making it harder on the rest of us."

I stopped reading the debates myself. There's a book out there called "Freaks Talk Back" and it's about the drag queens, transexuals, and freaks going on talk shows, and how, ultimately, it brings visibility and exposes the audience to something new. It leads to change.

[dogboi]

I had a couple of friends go on Springer like 10 years ago. They went on their to try to actually smash a few stereotypes that tend to get perpetuated on the show, gave some great speeches about trans-feminism and such, but they all get edited out. Go figure. They said Springer was total ass, wouldn't even shake their hand. Not like i'm surprised, but it was interesting to hear the extremes of suckiness of that particular experience!

[daddysambiguity]

Springer is a prick. He always makes fun of folks in his closing statements, too. I agree that we have to get out there and talk back, but I do disagree Springer is the way to do it. :)