The Obama administration’s appointment of Amanda Simpson, a trans woman, to the post of Senior Technical Adviser to the Department of Commerce is a major blip in the trans-history timeline that is being created as we speak for people to examine 50 or 100 years from now. But the announcement brings with it a kind [...]
Posts Tagged ‘assimilation’
Amanda Simpson and the Trans Catch-22
Posted in Commentary, News, Observations, tagged Amanda Simpson, assimilation, being out, coming out, employment, politics on January 3, 2010 | 7 Comments »
It’s Transgender Awareness Week
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged assimilation, community, International Transgender Day of Remembrance, Transgender Awareness Week on November 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Transgender Awareness Week started yesterday, and it will culminate with the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which officially takes place on November 20, although some organizations will hold memorials on different dates this week. Of course, there are two sides to Transgender Awareness Week. I certainly think it’s a good thing, but I go back [...]
Passing and Stealth: Two Words to Lose? Part Two
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged assimilation, being out, coming out, identity, passing, stealth, transition on October 22, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Stealth has always reminded me of military aircraft (stealth bombers), trailing someone at a distance, or peeking around corners, dressed in a black overcoat and sunglasses. I know the word has a long history in the trans community, and in that context, I take it to mean not being out (at least not to most [...]
Passing and Stealth: Two Words to Lose? Part One
Posted in Commentary, tagged assimilation, being out, coming out, identity, passing, stealth, transition on October 19, 2009 | 6 Comments »
While “passing” and “stealth” are commonly used words in the trans vocabulary, I kind of wish they would go away. They don’t offend me — I just question their benefits, and I think that the notions can hurt us. “Passing” seems to be used more at the beginning of transition (I used it myself) in [...]
What Makes a ‘Successful’ Transition?
Posted in Commentary, Observations, tagged assimilation, gender expectations, gender expression, retransition, transgender, transition, transsexual on July 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
He zips around town on a motorcycle and wears a suit and tie to professional functions. She artfully applies mascara and talks about finding a sundress to wear on vacation. There’s nothing wrong with either of these two scenarios, except my own occasional struggle with pronouns in my head — because when I met him, [...]
What’s Wrong with Femininity? Part Two
Posted in Commentary, tagged assimilation, femininity, gender expectations, gender expression, gender roles, trans women, transition on June 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
For me, one prong of feminism is femininity. Until we are truly ready to not only accept, but to celebrate and elevate, what our culture considers the most “female” of characteristics, we will continue to suffer sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Yesterday, I talked about the delightful custom that we see in a binary gender system [...]
What’s Wrong with Femininity? Part One
Posted in Commentary, tagged assimilation, femininity, gender expectations, gender expression, gender roles, trans women, transition on June 18, 2009 | 4 Comments »
No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure apparently features the stories of six female historical figures and one possibly mythological figure who dressed as men in order to follow their dreams and achieve their goals. I haven’t read the book and so cannot comment on it. It’s [...]
Two Sides of One Trans Coin: Heads
Posted in Information, Observations, tagged assimilation, bodies, privacy, transition on June 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When I began my transition twelve years ago, my initial desire was to assimilate into mainstream male society — “Today, I am a man.” That lasted about as long as it took me to realize that I couldn’t play sports, knew nothing about car engines, didn’t think the Three Stooges were all that funny, and [...]
Trans Suicide: The Forgotten Victims
Posted in Advice, Commentary, Observations, tagged assimilation, health, suicide, transgender, transition, transsexual on May 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
In my Memorial Day post, I wrote about remembering our trans dead, including those who have been brutally murdered just for being themselves, and those who have died, primarily through neglect, at the hands of medical professionals who have taken an oath to help and heal. An astute reader (thank you) reminded me, in the [...]
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Should We Keep Transition Regret Under Wraps?
Posted in Commentary, tagged assimilation, film, gender expression, gender roles, identity, transition on May 24, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Films like Regretters may have some trans people concerned about “airing our dirty laundry” to the public. After all, if some people “regret” transitioning, then non-trans people might see it as a mistake that should be avoided, and anti-trans factions could use the information against us — to try to make getting hormones and/or surgery [...]
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