Women As A Tool To Justify Transphobia

A beautifully logical argument offered up on Womans Musings


http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/04/women-as-tool-to-justify-transphobia.html#

I have been closely following the conversation about bathroom politics, as in state after state the trans community fights for the right to use the bathroom that most closely reflects the gender identity to which they publicly express. The right wing fundies have fought hard to create a panic about this issue often citing that it would increase incidents of sexual abuse in the bathrooms.

New England is currently working on House Bill 1728 which bans discrimination based on gender identity or expression in the areas of employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and public education. In order to defeat this bill opponents have chosen once again to raise the supposed dreaded spectre of “men in womens bathrooms”.

For instance, at an April 8 lobby day sponsored by the anti-gay Massachusetts Family Institute at the State House, former Fall River school superintendent Joseph Martins addressed attendees and painted a nightmarish scenario in which school officials would be powerless to stop hordes of teenage boys from charging into the girls’ locker rooms to get a peek at their female classmates.
"It is difficult enough to control student behaviour, prevent discrimination of all students, and ensure the safety of all students without having to distinguish between truth and a lie of some student claiming, at will, a gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behaviour other than that assigned sex at birth, simply to gain access to the opposite-at-birth-sex locker-rooms, showers, or lavatory facilities," Martins told the crowd.

Shall we look at this little piece of nonsense. It is absolutely ridiculous to deny transpeople the right to use the correct bathroom because cisgendered people in the above quote have been constructed as deviant. They’re afraid that some hopped on hormones teenage boy would use that as an excuse to violate the rights of women. How nice and convenient. Why is it that people only seem to be concerned about stemming the violence against women when it involves curtailing the rights of another? In this case womanhood is nothing more than a tool.

They need not worry, as with the amount of transphobia in this society the likely hood of a teenage boy owning a trans identity falsely is very slim. A simple look at the ways in which those who are gender variant are treated socially is more than enough to discourage such behaviour. According to the Bay window, in the twelve states in which this has become law falsely posing as a trans person has yet to happen.

"Due to this wording, any man can legally gain access to facilities reserved for women and girls simply by indicating, verbally or non-verbally, that he inwardly feels female at the moment. There is no way to distinguish between someone suffering from ’Gender Identity Disorder’ and a sexual predator looking to exploit this law. This is the dangerous reality of this bill," wrote MFI.

In almost every single rejection that I have seen, never have I witnessed a discussion of trans men in the men or womens bathrooms. Where is their concern that if the trans community is not allowed to use the bathroom of the gender to which they identify and express, that this allows men in the womens bathroom and or change rooms? Stop and think about this for a moment, by their thinking it is acceptable to have someone who not only identifies as male but in some cases but presents as male (beard and all), using the same facilities as women. OOOH I think I get it, this is not about protecting women, this is about denying rights.

Women are constantly used as a tool to justify social wrongs. The US government did not care about the brutality that women lived under when the Taliban ran Afghanistan but suddenly after the invasion it was about “protecting women”. The presence of real men (read trans men) are ignored to protect us against trans women. Can we just deal with the fact that people need to pee period. A trans person in the bathroom of their gender identity is not a threat to anyone and this framing of women in need of protection is not only highly transphobic but sexist. How long are we going to be subject to this wilting flower ideology?

“Transgender Bathrooms” and other such nonsense

This is a response to GOPMOM and her wacky blog on hate crime legislation. I've decided to edit it down to a manageable side. She was so traumatized after our responses she deleted my comments and blocked me at my domain.

http://www.gopmom.com/2009/07/transgender-bathrooms-and-other-such-nonsense/comment-page-1/#comment-19628

Hi GOPMOM,

I must admit , as provoking as I found your statements I also found myself chuckling from time to time at how massively uninformed you are . I hope you are up to a debate and are as willing to bring clarity to your statements as you are to push them on the public. I will try not to stereotype your position but to be honest your words seem no more original than the talking points most neocons use. A Goldwater republican myself I find the word "republican" used far too often when the term "hardcore religious terrorist " often applies. Lets start shall we ?

" propose that civil rights and hate crimes legislation does little to change people’s minds, if anything and might just possibly increase prejudice because of perceived preference."-GOPMOM

And !

"Everyone has the right .... All citizens already have the right to live safely and peacefully, without threat of harassment or injury. ""-GOPMOM

Well no they don't ! Women, blacks and gays had to fight for the vote and for laws against violence (and as you may note gay people still can't marry ). The idea that this came without legislation is down right knee slapping ! These changes just happened on their own did they ? Just a quote from MLK:

" It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. "
Martin Luther King, Jr.

On your hiding your hate for transgender people so poorly:

"I do not hate transgender people but I also do not want to have to explain to my thankfully blissfully innocent 10 year old what a transgender person is and how they achieve “congruity”. " -GOPMOM

Why are you so lazy ? How do we explain to our kids you let these disgusting priests hurt children ? We have to explain to our kids why you Catholic cultists worship a nonexistent Santa Claus in the sky that supposedly gives virgins "messiah" babies ! ! Never mind the wacky " burn in hell " baloney you spread to mentally torture underage children with ! That is the definition of child abuse is it not ? To terrorize children with lies ? Lets be honest shall we, that's pretty stupid and immature for a grown up adult to be telling kids idiotic things like that . You really should be ashamed.

No one cares about what you and your Catholic cult believe . It's fascinating the chronic apathy you get from catholics when the church admits that no less than 5000 priests have molested children , that none were prosecuted, that the church moved them around , that the church wrote a secret doctrine to intimidate and threaten the children with excommunication for speaking of it ! Yet you are so terribly fascinated with the nonexistent fantasy crimes of a child who has a gender schism ! So how many crimes have these transgender children committed ? Oh wait , NONE ! There isn't one single "bathroom " crime that I know of ! Yet you worship these catholic men in dresses and jeweled women's hats that molest your own children ?!!! YET YOU GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE "POSSIBILITY " OF SOME GENDER CONFUSED KID POSSIBLY CAUSING THE FIRST CASE OF MOLESTATION OF THIS SORT EVER ??! I am in AWE of such a blatantly illogical assumption.

98% of all child molesters self identify as "heterosexual" , even in the case of same sex molestation yet you good "republicans" don't do any more about that then you do the fondling of your children by your "good men of the cloth ". I am firmly committed to the need to license parents as the majority of you are hopelessly confused about reality. Picking on some poor little kid because they don't see the world your way , how incredibly immature .

"Being surrounded by these people today, I realized that these are some of the saddest souls I will ever encounter. Giving them some false sense of hope or acceptance with crappy legislation will not change the fact that their lives are profoundly different than most of us, that they will suffer horribly."-GOPMOM

Lol ! Oh really ?! The lady you are talking to Debra ( a lawyer with Navy service I might add ) is one of three of us in our building , all of us self sufficient and self supporting and NOT ON WELFARE DESPITE LIVING WITH BIGOTS LIKE YOURSELF ! In fact all the transgender people I know are doctors , lawyers , programmers , professors , artists , entertainers and just as happy as we are . Even after having to deal with the occasional ritualized ignorance from your cults . Of out of 400 or so of my friends , about 80 are transsexual and I hear no more whining from them then I do the average person. That you know no transgender people is obvious from your statements but take heart because rather than judge you tit for tat as a pedophiliac child abuser ( from my limited experience with catholics ) I'll give you the benefit of the doubt .

"I do not have to condone a lifestyle/way of living/way of correcting/whatever you want to call it to see the need for some sort of protection"

Condone a "lifestyle" ? Is this like your now defunct stance on global warming where we have to wait for your ignorance to be slapped out of you by facts ?(wasn't it hilarious when Bush had to admit publicly global warming was real after all his work to say it wasn't ? I laughed and laughed ! ) Who cares if you approve anything. We would rather you just stop lying about things you haven't a clue about. Your lack of knowledge about the subjects you are speaking on is obvious even to casual observers and rather than furthering the debate becomes some hilarious sideshow where people are laughing at your crippled argument limp around publicly and making is all feel sorry for your family.

"Lifestyle " . If the best you can do is mimic the ignorance of the crowd I suggest you consult real experts who offer more than your one line musings on the transgendered . You are clearly out of your depth .


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“Wow, Darlie, you’re a nut, aren’t you?”-GOPMOM

So, that was your best response GOPMOM ? One line ? I’m sorry , you are doing nothing to dispel the imagery of a raving religious crazy who believes in some wacky 2000 year old , fake , invisible god , one who is just fine and content to let her cults crossdressing leaders molest her children while persecuting a child who just because she does not see the world in just your closed minded way . I’m nuts ? At least before I speak on a subject I research and I have a clue what I am talking about while you apparently revel in your lack of information !

Oh I know , you all hate that word “proof” and prefer to live life factless but I must insist you try. You have spoken in front of our government claiming some divine insight into “the problem ” yet I see nothing but a farcical pretense at common sense (and common is a vast understatement , rather pedestrian ).

“I’m reminded of the wisdom of my father when he says “the reason the criminals are always one step ahead of us is because we don’t think like the criminals.” -GOPMOM

Oh but you do ! Over and over and over !

“Our schools should not be used as vehicles to further the political agenda of a statistically insignificant group of people who seek to flaunt the traditions and mores of our society.”-GOPMOM

You spout condemnation of people you know nothing about, you attack parents who have suffered trying to deal with the self doubt and guilt that comes with having a transgender child qnd you attack children that do not have an adults ability to respond to the disgusting evil your sick mind can dream up . You are the same people that support reparative therapy for gays and transgenders because you are just too darn lazy to research ! Oh forget the suicides it causes , the destruction of lives, GOPMOM enjoys being thick because she cannot face anything that doesn’t fit in her world of “virgin births”. How proud you must be..

Oh yes dear I’m a nut ! A 30 year animator who’s enjoyed a 6 figure income and NEVER TAKEN A DIME FROM OUR GOVERNMENT EVER ! I’ve paid more in one years income tax than you have probably made in a year. I paid for my education, I paid for my gender correction so you don’t have the right to call me “sad and unhappy “. Your ignorance is a threat to all humanity and the fact you wear it with such pride only points to how lost you are . Try “listening” to one of the families you are talking about and learn something rather than babbling ridiculous hypotheticals based on even more ridiculous factless theories. There is no way on earth this bill could be as bad as the argument you have just fabricated .




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FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009

And the GOPMOM censors and locks the thread.
These responses were deleted before GOPMOM gave herself the last word and in an act of cowardice locked the thread. Knowing that no christian terrorist can stand opposition for more than mere moments I archived my responses.

July 17, 2009 at 7:51 pm

“I never invoked my church, you did. “-GOPMOM

Funny, this was in your opening statement .

” as a white woman, as a stay-home mom, as a Christian Catholic, as a conservative and Republican”-GOPMOM

” I never accused anyone of committing any crime”-GOPMOM

Oh really ?

“Must we now be subjected to guessing whether or not one of the other patrons in the restroom is a disguised maniac waiting to attack? “-GOPMOM

You created the fear of a crime yet to occur. Perhaps you could dwell on the thousands of victims your catholic cult hurts.

” Actually, he’s( her husband ) not a citizen”-GOPMOM

Ah, an illegal alien living off our taxes. Oh don’t you love foreigners who have opinions on something they haven’t the guts to join. Was he an overseas bride because no one here would have you ?

“And just so that we’re clear - I strongly believe that many of the priests/church members who stood by and did nothing, or committed horrific crimes against children or women themselves, are in Hell”

Would that happen to include the pope ?

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/esp_vatican40.htm


” What purpose does it serve to have a bad laws on the books, that will be overturned at the first sign of controversy. ”-GOPMOM


You have done as little research on this law as you have ion the transgendered. It wont be overturned because if it could be you would let it through. A badly written , easily squashable law would serve your purpose and you know it isn’t.

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GOPMOM blocked, censored and deleted comments that proved her and her arguements false till finally she blocked me completely. This is the end of any one sided tyrants arguments. The light of truth hurts too much.



"As I said to Darlie, I’m sorry you’ve been offended by my “benign” position."


If it was "benign" I would accept it in a moment. Unfortunately it was an uneducated, un-researched activist stance that traded on fear mongering and said nothing about the actual bill. Did you contest the terminology, the way the law was to be interpreted or perhaps provide proof by example that the law is already working to protect the transgender against the 16 times normal incidence of murder and violence ? No, you talk about how you feel sorry about them yet don't accept their" lifestyle" . You and your friends discriminate, keep them jobless , make them uninsurable and then flaunt your child like her safety is some how compromised by some little kid wearing a dress. How can you claim to be a parent and yet be so full of ice ? Pray to your fake god that you never have a TG child because that would be incredibly tragic for the child because as a mother you aren't worth a dime.

It's about....

Often I get letters asking me if a person should transition. Here is one reply.


Dear ****.


Quite a letter ! I'm reading a lot of "sex" , "masturbation", " aroused", "fantasy" ... much of your letter seem to be centered around it. Being transsexual is not really about those things and I fear for you if that is entirely your basis my love . You need to be sure about your feelings so what you need is to talk to a professional who can help you explore them . Boobs, a vagina , or even female clothes. While these are things you may get during your journey they are not the journey. The journey is to love who you are , regardless of your gender. Everything else is totally insignificant.

Full transition is brutal, expensive and long. It is not for the weak of heart so it is essential you have no doubts . You must be prepared to live without sexuality if you have SRS and things don't go well . If you have even the slightest doubt don't do it because the hardest part is not living female but what your living female will do to others. Family , friends , loved ones . We can tolerate the indignities that we suffer but it is the cruelty they are treated with that is the hardest to bare. For me ? There was no transition. I felt no change . I am no different as a person really, just happy for once in my life. Sex is not even a factor. I feel .... like I have lived in a prison my entire life and for this last part I was set free. People ask if it was painful but all I feel is a joy that is so soul deep it is not describable.

Now to your question.

"So, the question Im asking is would you recommend me to transgender into a female during the present? "

That is something no one but you can answer because my desires have nothing to do with your life. Just know that testosterone damage ( brow ridges, male jaw and bone structure ) increases with time and it is a hard road back. If you are truly transsexual the earlier you can transition the more you can save yourself some truly horrid and expensive surgery. The one question you need to ask yourself is " How do I see myself when I am old " ?

Hugs

Dars

This was written to a young animation student who was examining religion and god.

Peter, when I was young I was forced to go to church and indoctrinated in Christianity. Part of me still believes or wishes that it were all true to some degree because my brain was too young to dispute it. It is like Santa, a childhood fantasy that colors my thoughts still. They discovered if you do not indoctrinate children by 16 years old that the chances of getting them to buy Christ was virtually gone. We visit this cruelty on our children and expect them to come out normal. Amazing.

We are taught by religion to hate and to dismiss important things like science , reality and this plane of existence for some fantasy afterlife. Now say you are god and a microbe is us ( not as smart, large or powerful as we are ) , would you as a god want that microbe to worship you ? Really ? Of course not. We are not alone but it is not god who is with us, it's our friends , our family and the entire world filled with people like us . Just like you and me.

It's high time we started treating each other better. That we stop trying to pretend we are smarter or more powerful than we are. We are fragile little bags of water and our life spans are incredibly tiny in comparison to the universe. Do we really think there is a any good time for war or hate ? No, of course not . If we were anywhere as intelligent as we thought we were war would have ceased to exist. We must face the facts that our perspectives are warped and twisted by political ambition, greed and religions need to keep the population as ignorant.

If someone said "Well there is this guy that lives in the sky , gives virgins babies who get tortured and murdered to take on our sins ", sin being a form of shame that this guy in the sky came up with , would you really believe them ? Would you ? Now suppose that the person telling you this is wearing a jeweled dress and a big jeweled crown and who's order had a history of child molestation ? On any other planet we would consider this person a complete mental case and have them put away for their own good yet here we not only let them roam free, we put them in the same category as a doctor , lawyer or some other figure of trust . How is that possible ? We are damaged and we need to reassess. Believe in whatever you need to but make it your belief and not some cults dogma. If you have a relationship with your creator make it your relationship and not a version of some fake prophets pulpit speech. We are here to find and explore life, not to explain it. Have fun.

DG