It sounds like the class concentrates on trans a lot to talk about gender. Everyone has a gender, not just the trans, is there a way to get them to think about that?
First set of questions: Trans is a fairly widely used term but for some there is an important distinction between transgender and transsexual and they might prefer one over the other. Also some trans people do not identify as trans but as women or men. I usually give my students the "transgender is an umbrella term" spiel. I tell them that a transgender person is someone who does not identify with the gender or sex they were assigned at birth. Freshman handle this definition well and it helps avoid those debates that you mentioned. But I do tell them that there are many different ways to be and conceptualize trans. Some people firmly believe in the medical model; other think it is shit.
Second set of questions: There are a lot of people who prefer transwoman,transman, transperson but there are others that prefer FTM or MTF. From my observations it is a generational thing. Younger folks don't seem hip to the FTM or MTF but older do. Of course this is a gross generalization, not everyone would pan out that way but it does seem to be a trend. The other parts sound really good.
Famous trans or trans theorists: Judith Halberstam (imho she is a trans theorist who knows nothing about trans. She wrote Female Masculinity), Jay Prosser (wrote Second Skins: The body narratives of transsexuality. Great book!), Dean Spade,(started the Sylvia Riviera Law Project. Has some good pieces in the Transgender Studies Reader), Susan Stryker (Professor and Theorist). Calpernia Addams (actress) and my brain just pooped out but if you want more I can pull out the Transgender Studies Reader later :)
Activist issues: Access to healthcare is a huge issue. The Robert Eads Project website might be a good place to visit. The project is in memory of Robert Eads who died of cancer because he couldn't find a doctor who was willing to treat him. Bathroom access is another big one. There used to be a group in San Fran called PISSR (People in Search of Safe Restrooms) but I think that organization is defunct. There has been lots of activism at Universitys to provide trans students with restrooms. At the UofA we can use the bathroom that goes with the gender we identify with. There is also a plan to get gender neutral bathrooms in every building. Pronoun recegnition is another big one. Allies are particularly amazing in this area because they often help (at least for me) assert pronoun preferance and do corrections.
Everyone has a gender, not just the trans, is there a way to get them to think about that?
Yes, but it's going to have to be more subtle and awesome than the explanations I generally give my undergrads. These are grad students, many of whom have taken lots of women's studies classes. They're hip to gender theory. They've read Judith Butler. That hasn't necessarily led them to question their own gender.
I guess what I'm saying is, the class isn't just meant to talk about gender; it focuses on the limits of the gender binary. So I'm going to have to get them to think about how mainstream gender paradigms limit their own lives and possibilities, and to show them that a thorough consideration of trans issues implies the need to rethink their understandings of gender overall, not just to note that there are sometimes exceptions to the "rules." Does that make sense?
Re: first and second set of questions: You're probably right that it's not fair to say that transgender and transsexual have been jettisoned entirely, and that I should point out that some people with trans history do not identify as "trans" at all. I guess the impression that I get is, the increasing use of the word "trans" points to a trend whereby freedom of gender expression is more important in trans activist circles than trying to establish precise definitions of each term. Is that a fairly accurate impression?
Re: famous trans or trans theorists: We just read Halberstam in class, and I'm reluctant to identify hir as a trans activist because, as you mention, she "knows nothing about trans" (and, I'd argue, she seems to vacillate between savviness and offensive ignorance). I've got the Transgender Studies Reader-- we bought it for class, but we've only read the medical model stuff thus far, which is its own brand of problematic-- but I want to give them info that parallels but also exceeds/supplements what they get in that reader. But hey-- I'd totally forgotten about Jay Prosser and Dean Spade. Also, Patrick Califia-- which is kind of a stupid omission on my part, as I was reading him two nights ago. (^_^)
Re: activist issues: Thanks for pointing out access to healthcare. I was actually thinking about this the other day, since Feinberg talks a lot in hir book about how hir working class trans status almost killed hir, but I hadn't really thought about looking at it in a more systematic way. Also: I think PISSR is defunct, but safe2pee.org appears alive and well. (^_^)
Also, Calpernia Addams mocking '50s instructional videos totally made my night.
First set of questions: Trans is a fairly widely used term but for some there is an important distinction between transgender and transsexual and they might prefer one over the other. Also some trans people do not identify as trans but as women or men. I usually give my students the "transgender is an umbrella term" spiel. I tell them that a transgender person is someone who does not identify with the gender or sex they were assigned at birth. Freshman handle this definition well and it helps avoid those debates that you mentioned. But I do tell them that there are many different ways to be and conceptualize trans. Some people firmly believe in the medical model; other think it is shit.
Second set of questions: There are a lot of people who prefer transwoman,transman, transperson but there are others that prefer FTM or MTF. From my observations it is a generational thing. Younger folks don't seem hip to the FTM or MTF but older do. Of course this is a gross generalization, not everyone would pan out that way but it does seem to be a trend. The other parts sound really good.
Famous trans or trans theorists: Judith Halberstam (imho she is a trans theorist who knows nothing about trans. She wrote Female Masculinity), Jay Prosser (wrote Second Skins: The body narratives of transsexuality. Great book!), Dean Spade,(started the Sylvia Riviera Law Project. Has some good pieces in the Transgender Studies Reader), Susan Stryker (Professor and Theorist). Calpernia Addams (actress) and my brain just pooped out but if you want more I can pull out the Transgender Studies Reader later :)
Activist issues: Access to healthcare is a huge issue. The Robert Eads Project website might be a good place to visit. The project is in memory of Robert Eads who died of cancer because he couldn't find a doctor who was willing to treat him.
Bathroom access is another big one. There used to be a group in San Fran called PISSR (People in Search of Safe Restrooms) but I think that organization is defunct. There has been lots of activism at Universitys to provide trans students with restrooms. At the UofA we can use the bathroom that goes with the gender we identify with. There is also a plan to get gender neutral bathrooms in every building. Pronoun recegnition is another big one. Allies are particularly amazing in this area because they often help (at least for me) assert pronoun preferance and do corrections.
Calperia Addams: Bad Questions to ask a transsexual http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjqsB1huDxg
Reply
Yes, but it's going to have to be more subtle and awesome than the explanations I generally give my undergrads. These are grad students, many of whom have taken lots of women's studies classes. They're hip to gender theory. They've read Judith Butler. That hasn't necessarily led them to question their own gender.
I guess what I'm saying is, the class isn't just meant to talk about gender; it focuses on the limits of the gender binary. So I'm going to have to get them to think about how mainstream gender paradigms limit their own lives and possibilities, and to show them that a thorough consideration of trans issues implies the need to rethink their understandings of gender overall, not just to note that there are sometimes exceptions to the "rules." Does that make sense?
Re: first and second set of questions: You're probably right that it's not fair to say that transgender and transsexual have been jettisoned entirely, and that I should point out that some people with trans history do not identify as "trans" at all. I guess the impression that I get is, the increasing use of the word "trans" points to a trend whereby freedom of gender expression is more important in trans activist circles than trying to establish precise definitions of each term. Is that a fairly accurate impression?
Re: famous trans or trans theorists: We just read Halberstam in class, and I'm reluctant to identify hir as a trans activist because, as you mention, she "knows nothing about trans" (and, I'd argue, she seems to vacillate between savviness and offensive ignorance). I've got the Transgender Studies Reader-- we bought it for class, but we've only read the medical model stuff thus far, which is its own brand of problematic-- but I want to give them info that parallels but also exceeds/supplements what they get in that reader. But hey-- I'd totally forgotten about Jay Prosser and Dean Spade. Also, Patrick Califia-- which is kind of a stupid omission on my part, as I was reading him two nights ago. (^_^)
Re: activist issues: Thanks for pointing out access to healthcare. I was actually thinking about this the other day, since Feinberg talks a lot in hir book about how hir working class trans status almost killed hir, but I hadn't really thought about looking at it in a more systematic way. Also: I think PISSR is defunct, but safe2pee.org appears alive and well. (^_^)
Also, Calpernia Addams mocking '50s instructional videos totally made my night.
Reply
Leave a comment