This month’s issue I want to focus on how the Trans movement
needs to find more of a face in its involvement. This is a huge issue of the coming
months and years but when it comes to stepping up we tend to shoot ourselves in
the foot instead.
Let’s touch on a few issues brought up in the special report
I did two months ago as well as an update.
The issue discussed in the special was based on the concept
that Hollywood would hire no Transgender actors/actresses to play transgender
roles. The reason for the action was based on Jarred Leto’s character in Dallas
Buyers club (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvMPU0WaPcc
) where last month he was awarded an Oscar for his role in the film. In the
film he portrayed a fictional (yes the character was completely fictional) and
poorly stereotyped trans-woman. Many LGBT sites and groups called out claiming
that this portrayal of Transgender people in film was akin to Black face actors
and actresses of early film or the quote Mammy-ification of the roles (noted as
such for the portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ7r2OVu1ss
). In many ways the trans movement is further then the issues that plagued the African
American lives throughout the past, but at the same time issues such as trans violence,
unemployment and even housing issues are very similar if not worse in
percentages based on population then it was for just African Americans from the
1870’s to 1970’s. The problem here can be led to one issue in general. While
there are many trans-people coming to the public view. There are a very small
amount of Trans-people that are taking a positive stand.
Let us look at one of the more visible voices that is not a person of film/reality show and TV fame. Janet Mock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1NR8rHlvXA )( http://janetmock.com/) Janet is a transgender activist and a skilled journalist and writer. A positive role model of the trans movement whether you agree with her opinions and politics or not Janet always is holding a strong role for the trans community to step out and present itself in the public light. She is in many ways a strong image for the trans movement, but is she a leader of the trans movement.
Well to answer this let’s look at what other civil rights
leaders had dealt with in the past and see what it takes to become a leader.
The first civil rights movement of all time was long before
America was even discovered. To look at this movement it’s a good idea to look
at the records of both Egyptian and the biblical record at the first movement
being the Exodus of Moses and the Jews from Egypt’s control (though widely
still debated on the authenticity of such a story). While we don’t know about
Moses’s death we do know about his life and the fact that he was (even if you don’t
believe the religious mysticism end) able to free the Jewish slaves from the
current Pharaoh (The pharaoh was yet to be named outside of Hollywood) at the time of the land. Much of his actions
to achieve these goals where done through actions of prophecy and mysticism. That
was able to frighten a heavily religious sect of people like the Pharaoh and
his followers would be. Thus Moses won
freedom by playing into the fears and hearts of the people at the time.
 |
| Malcolm X's style of activism was a fiery and forceful one built on fear and aggression |
 |
| Martian Luther King's way of Activism was the peaceful Christ like style to gain followers. |
More recently you have figures like Gandhi, Martian Luther King, Malcolm X, Susan B. Anthony and Harvey Milk. Each in their actions of becoming a face for their movement would choose ways to lead their movement against those that oppressed them.
Let’s look at the vastly different ways two members of the
African American movement of the 1960’s and
1970’s played out with Malcolm X and Martian Luther King. Malcolm X,
tried intimidation and fear much in the same ways the Moses brought fear into
the Egyptian leaders for their freedom. While Martian Luther King did a
completely different way of standing up, by taking the more Jesus Christ method
of standing up for what was right but be willing to be punished under the law
of the land to help change hearts and minds. In many ways both where
successful, but it was Martian Luther King’s, actions that truly helped the
cause greater. Why?
This is because instead of causing the world to fear the
black man, he showed that we are no different from one another and must stand
next to each other work alongside each other and helping each other as we go.
When you look at the movements King lead verses the ones Malcolm X led you see
a clear difference in who is listening to the words of the man at the front.
Malcolm X had a more radicalized almost all black male following. While King
had a more diverse following which brought in scores of numbers to his side of
Black, White rich and poor, male and female. Both men preached God’s word in their
movement but only one lived by God’s word and with it he found a way to win
over the hearts and minds of people in a greater way.
So how does this fit with Janet Mock. Well in Janet’s case
so far she is proving to carry a mostly positive attitude towards her few
public appearances. Being a general likable personality, however
she does at times come off a bit militant about people needing to accept the
concept of transgender people in society. But in many ways this is the key
issue of people who take on the title of activist’s. Most activist people take
on a far more aggressive role like that of Malcolm X and Moses. Less the peaceful
Jesus Christ like role such as Gandhi and King. Thus we make the road to acceptance a bit
harder and longer than one would like to see. When one sows the seed of equal
rights we need to understand its better to till the soil first with building a
stronger relationship with our communities and neighbors before we expect to
harvest the rewards of our work in acceptance and tolerance. Activism is more a
like breaking down the door to the grocery store to get the same fruits while
upsetting the roles of others that had worked so long to receive them in their own
lives.
This is seen no greater than in the numbers of transgender
people in and around the African American community. These numbers (http://transequality.org/PDFs/BlackTransFactsheetFINAL_090811.pdf
) such as the discrimination poor, education, and absolutely horrid employment
and housing numbers for the Trans African American group, you have 15%
employment and nearly ½ of them cannot even read. Mainly due to poor upbringing
and constant discrimination within their own race as the most advent and anti-trans
people aren’t as the media would like to hold the Southern white redneck, but instead
is the African American community that has fallen into a system of self-decay
in many parts of the country. Given the
African American community isn’t the only group that does harm to transgender
people. No you have many groups including Westboro Baptist [warning this video
is part of their hate, but its important you know what real hate looks like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI2PL1pMDcg
](not a real church just a family of
lawyers looking to get rich on the law suits when they get attacked by the provocation
they create.) which just recently lost its leader Fred Phelps this past week,
that also takes an activist role against transgender people along with pretty
much everyone else.
So what do we need to do to stand up and gain the rights we
need. Well for this we need to start looking to both be activists in our
personal lives but at the same time take a more peaceful route with our activist
ways. Getting transgender people into more civic minded roles of charity,
support and assistant areas of the world will help win over the minds of people
that are suffering. Finding ways to stand with someone and not against someone
is the role we need to take. And its
finding someone to stand in both those fields that will cause a true positive
leadership role in down the line for transgender people to become more accepted
into the
community at large.
community at large.
On a Personal Note:
Two years ago I promoted an idea at an anti-trans violence
meeting held locally in my hometown of Richmond Va. While many there wanted to
point out the issue at hand few offered reasons to bring a halt to trans-violence
without finding a way to lift up the community from its problems of
unemployment, education and housing issues. These are the real problem we face
down the line. It doesn’t matter how many gender neutral bathrooms, or how
often you get treated by having someone address you by the right gender if you
cannot meet the basic needs of yourself in the world on fair ground as the next
person. And while many would jump and state it’s an issue of discrimination, I
would point out that it’s more an issue within the problem itself “education”.
It’s far too easy to meet people uninformed on what and how much understanding
on what transgender people go through without people learning about the issues
a transgender person really faces. No I
am not suggesting that schools start teaching about transgender people in a
course for grade K-12 (although having Transgender studies in college may
help). But having times where one can offer true awareness of what it means to
be trans other than the white wash term of “They are a man trapped in the body
of a woman” or vice versa. We need to explain that the mental state of
trans people is strongest and most secure when they become both excepting of
themselves in the forms they see fit and the way others can see them as such as
well. The issue of Transgenderism while isn’t a mental disease as it was
previously label for so long (along with being Gay, Autistic, Physically
handicapped, and epileptic all where at one time declared a mental disease) but
it is a social one. Take this as an example. If we had no concept of difference
in the world would we truly be accepting of all? Or would we have an issue like
Butch Hartman wrote in his cartoon series Fairly Odd Parents episode “The Same Game” (https://archive.org/details/TheFairlyOddparents-TheSameGame)
where the world is change to make everyone the same yet they still hold
discrimination in the world despite the fact that everyone is the same. Personally I feel we need to be open to all
even those that disrespect and demean us. We need to be willing to show them
the error in their ways but becoming a better person in their eyes and not
forcing them to make such decisions on their beliefs without them coming to the
decision on their own. We need to take the same path of Dr. Martian Luther King
and be a passive activist not an aggressive one and soon one person will stand
out as the voice of civility for our kind.
This month’s homework:
Become active in helping out your community and neighbors in
some way. If you’re a transgender person or not the act of charity starts at
home with helping your friends, neighbors and community out but taking action
through acts of good. This doesn’t mean you have to spend your money or
dedicate your life to a project. It just mean lending hand and helping out on
things when others need you to. The more you help people the more you win them
over to accepting you into their society so help out. And in turn when you’re
in need you may just find others willing to help you out in turn.
As always I want to thank you all for reading the blog, feel
free to share your opinions, views and comments below or if you wish to do so privately
then you can email me at brittanydodson@imbriaarts.com.
Next Month’s Topic:
Well for the last few posts I have discussed the topic about
issues that face transgender people but next month I will discuss what a trans-person
goes through and how medicine is supposed to look at transgender people to
diagnose them as such.
Trans in the News:
This week an issue has become that president Obama is going
to allow Transgender people into the military. In many ways trans-people have
served in the past but the issue was and currently still is that once their transgender
nature comes to light they are discharged from the service. Even after the lift
of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” which was put into place by the Clinton administration
after cases such as Barry Winchell’s murder in 1998 where the man was brutally
beaten to death by his fellow soldiers after his relation with transgender
performer, Calpernia
Adams, became known. It is important to note that in that case Calpernia, herself
was a discharged former member of the navy. You can read more about this in my earlier
Paths guide chapter 6. http://www.imbriaarts.com/path/chapter6.pdf
