jennyemily
in
tguk
My day at Sparkle in Manchester
The Sparkle event today in Manchester was actually really quite interesting. I went to it with an open mind, even though I had heard many mixed opinions on it. Actually the talks I went and sat and listened to were extremely informative, and well worth while. It was a credit to see complex issues dealt with thoroughly and proffessionally in a way that was very informative. It was very interesting to hear Russell Reid's points of view across a wide range of issues, and the fact that people were free to put a variety of interesting questions to him. I also fould the talk by the parents of Nikki Reid (no relation to Uncle Russ !) very informative too.
On the subject of the 'beauty competition' (well, actually billed as a 'femmininity contest') I could understand why some people have been frowning and waving their fingers at this. However I would like to ramble and put across my views on some of these subjects (the contest(s) and also other things raised in the talks). I've put them behind an LJ cut because I tend to ramble at length:
I could see the points of what some had said on a contest on femmininity, regardless of whether it might have turned into a straight out beauty contest or not. By doing this it could potentially have been said to be reinforcing the gender stereotypes that a lot of people have been trying very hard to get well away from. After all, it was a point raised in the talk with Russell Reid that perhaps less people would be driven to feel they need to transition if society was more open to the concept of gender rôles being largely irrelevent and that people could just freely be who they are. Instead society tries to 'pigeon hole' people into a very bipolar system, which might work for most people, but does not for a significant minority. There might also be a risk (especially with press being present) that such a contest in a high-profile trans event would only serve to reinforce society's misconceptions and rather extreme stereotype images of just what transpeople (transvestite, transsexual and gender queer to name three of the principle groups) are like and do. Our image in the media has sadly been distorted by selective reporting over a great many years, and would such contests in the full glare of the media actually work against the education of society that we are trying to undertake? On the other hand on a simplistic level, a lot of people had a lot of fun in those contests, and perhaps it would be wrong to attempt to deny them that. After all it was a bit of fun? On the other hand maybe Sparkle was not the best venue to do this, as it lumps many aspects of the trans communities under one umbrella by the time the reports have been filtered through the selective reportings of the hacks and journos. I know from having worked in the media that editors in newspapers, television and radio are guilty at such selective reporting, because sensationalism sells. Hard truth here people - editors are devoid of ethics and morality when it comes to engineering a story to sell or glean viewing figures. Hence the images of the trans community we unfortunately so often see in the media. We should consider carefully how we let them report us.
On a different tack, I was interested in a lot of what Russell Reid had to say on the way that treatment for gender issues works in other countries. It was interesting to hear about the enlightened approach of countries such as Holland where instead of a bipolar view of gender, and a belief that if you are not male, then you have to be female (or vice versa for ftm), they adopt a more flexible approach. People can transition to a point on the 'gender scale' (for want of a better expression) until they feel they have reached a point most comfortable for them. This does not necessarrily mean surgery, and indeed their rates of surgery are actually much lower, as transpeople are under far less pressure to be either male or female. On this subject I think there is a lot that can be learnt and implememented here in the UK (and in other countries too). The idea of at the very least a third gender (like that which I was told can be found in Australia) enshrined and recognised in law may well allow a lot of people experiencing gender issues to find their happy point on the gender scale without feeling that it is an all-or-nothing approach that leads them to either be unable to address the issues (stay as their birth gender) or to transition all the way. A lot of this possibly boils down to how society perceives the gender rôles, and just who 'should' be doing what by societies conventions. It is scary to consider that even as late as the early 1980s it was possible to be 'sectioned' (forcibly detained in a mental hospital) for even saying that you felt your birth gender was mismatched with your gender identity to your GP, should they not have been so understanding.
We have come a long way in re-educating society, and in many ways I feel that we are following a trail that other 'minorities' have trodden before us. I personally see many parallels with the LGB movement, because they faced the struggles for acceptence back in the 60s and 70s that transpeople are contending with now. Change will come, but we must work to make it happen - it will not come just by waiting. That is why media exposure needs to be thought of carefully, as this generally is the only way that society at large can learn that we are real people just like them. Acceptance will come, but we can speed this process. The consultation commitee that people like Russell Reid, the parents of Nikki Reid, and Emma from Transyouth sit on is a good step, but it must be handled with much care and thought to how the views and issues of the trans community are got across (and I am certain that given the high calibre of the people on this committe that they will do extremely well).
All in all I thought the Sparkle event was on balance an excellent idea, and was extremely helpful and informative to those who attended. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and felt that as long as the media could be handled such that the press generated was that which broke down the stereotypes rather than enforced them. It was also good for networking, and meeting and talking to people who have before only been known as people in passing in Dr Reid's waiting room, names in publications, or personas from online. I only wish I had had more time.
Just my personal thoughts on the event and some of the things it raised in my mind.
On another note, didn't see the ftm spectrum so widely represented there - where were you guys?
On the subject of the 'beauty competition' (well, actually billed as a 'femmininity contest') I could understand why some people have been frowning and waving their fingers at this. However I would like to ramble and put across my views on some of these subjects (the contest(s) and also other things raised in the talks). I've put them behind an LJ cut because I tend to ramble at length:
I could see the points of what some had said on a contest on femmininity, regardless of whether it might have turned into a straight out beauty contest or not. By doing this it could potentially have been said to be reinforcing the gender stereotypes that a lot of people have been trying very hard to get well away from. After all, it was a point raised in the talk with Russell Reid that perhaps less people would be driven to feel they need to transition if society was more open to the concept of gender rôles being largely irrelevent and that people could just freely be who they are. Instead society tries to 'pigeon hole' people into a very bipolar system, which might work for most people, but does not for a significant minority. There might also be a risk (especially with press being present) that such a contest in a high-profile trans event would only serve to reinforce society's misconceptions and rather extreme stereotype images of just what transpeople (transvestite, transsexual and gender queer to name three of the principle groups) are like and do. Our image in the media has sadly been distorted by selective reporting over a great many years, and would such contests in the full glare of the media actually work against the education of society that we are trying to undertake? On the other hand on a simplistic level, a lot of people had a lot of fun in those contests, and perhaps it would be wrong to attempt to deny them that. After all it was a bit of fun? On the other hand maybe Sparkle was not the best venue to do this, as it lumps many aspects of the trans communities under one umbrella by the time the reports have been filtered through the selective reportings of the hacks and journos. I know from having worked in the media that editors in newspapers, television and radio are guilty at such selective reporting, because sensationalism sells. Hard truth here people - editors are devoid of ethics and morality when it comes to engineering a story to sell or glean viewing figures. Hence the images of the trans community we unfortunately so often see in the media. We should consider carefully how we let them report us.
On a different tack, I was interested in a lot of what Russell Reid had to say on the way that treatment for gender issues works in other countries. It was interesting to hear about the enlightened approach of countries such as Holland where instead of a bipolar view of gender, and a belief that if you are not male, then you have to be female (or vice versa for ftm), they adopt a more flexible approach. People can transition to a point on the 'gender scale' (for want of a better expression) until they feel they have reached a point most comfortable for them. This does not necessarrily mean surgery, and indeed their rates of surgery are actually much lower, as transpeople are under far less pressure to be either male or female. On this subject I think there is a lot that can be learnt and implememented here in the UK (and in other countries too). The idea of at the very least a third gender (like that which I was told can be found in Australia) enshrined and recognised in law may well allow a lot of people experiencing gender issues to find their happy point on the gender scale without feeling that it is an all-or-nothing approach that leads them to either be unable to address the issues (stay as their birth gender) or to transition all the way. A lot of this possibly boils down to how society perceives the gender rôles, and just who 'should' be doing what by societies conventions. It is scary to consider that even as late as the early 1980s it was possible to be 'sectioned' (forcibly detained in a mental hospital) for even saying that you felt your birth gender was mismatched with your gender identity to your GP, should they not have been so understanding.
We have come a long way in re-educating society, and in many ways I feel that we are following a trail that other 'minorities' have trodden before us. I personally see many parallels with the LGB movement, because they faced the struggles for acceptence back in the 60s and 70s that transpeople are contending with now. Change will come, but we must work to make it happen - it will not come just by waiting. That is why media exposure needs to be thought of carefully, as this generally is the only way that society at large can learn that we are real people just like them. Acceptance will come, but we can speed this process. The consultation commitee that people like Russell Reid, the parents of Nikki Reid, and Emma from Transyouth sit on is a good step, but it must be handled with much care and thought to how the views and issues of the trans community are got across (and I am certain that given the high calibre of the people on this committe that they will do extremely well).
All in all I thought the Sparkle event was on balance an excellent idea, and was extremely helpful and informative to those who attended. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and felt that as long as the media could be handled such that the press generated was that which broke down the stereotypes rather than enforced them. It was also good for networking, and meeting and talking to people who have before only been known as people in passing in Dr Reid's waiting room, names in publications, or personas from online. I only wish I had had more time.
Just my personal thoughts on the event and some of the things it raised in my mind.
On another note, didn't see the ftm spectrum so widely represented there - where were you guys?