Subject: Empowerment for TS's
Date: 29 Jan 94 17:59:40 

Here's an article I recently wrote for the 'Melbourne Star Observer'. I thought
I'd share it with the other inhabitants of the queer planet in the hope it may
be of some interest or help.

Best wishes,
JL.
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TRANSSEXUAL POWER

In our society transsexuals have a long way to go. Although the
understanding and acceptance of some individuals smooths the way for many
trannys, the law, the media and the wider community treat trannys as a
class of untouchables.  I am transsexual, and have come to realise that
the widely held myths about trannys, and the prejudices against them are
without foundation.  I have also seen that many of the difficulties I
faced in making my new life were based in low self esteem because of
internalising the common perceptions of trannys, most of which are
derogatory and false.

In this article I will not specifically address the needs of
female-to-male transsexuals. This is because I am not sufficiently
familiar with their concerns and needs to lay any claim to speak for them.
My call for fair treatment and respect is for all trannys.

Unfortunately there is a strong image of m-to-f transsexuals in the
Lesbian/Gay community.  This image holds them to be ultra homophobic gay
men, political anathema to the lesbian community and disposable tinsel to
gay men. The straight community tends to believe all trannys are
prostitutes or showgirls or both.  In a society that treats women as
inferior, trannys are seen as second rate women.  

Both straights and gays also tend to believe that the overwhelming
majority of m-to-f trannys are sexually attracted to men.  This is not so.
Depending on who you get your figures from, somewhere between 40% and 60%
identify as lesbian and/or form relationships with women (some of whom are
other trannys).  According to my, somewhat biased, experience the figure
would be around 85%.  One of the big lessons of transsexuality is that
one's identity and one's sexual preference, are quite different things.
The journey we make as transsexuals is to bring our body and our way of
life into harmony with our identity, along the way our sexual preference
is unaltered. In this case we find the usual gay/straight ratio reversed.

In fact a sizeable proportion of trannys are prostitutes and/or showgirls,
and there are a number of reasons that conspire to make this so.  Firstly
the prevailing attitudes toward transsexuals, mean that employers consider
it the kiss of death to hire a tranny.  In many cases when an employed
tranny 'changes over', the boss reaches for the eject button.  With no
equal opportunity legislation covering trannys, there is nothing to stop
trannys being fired for being transsexual, but don't tell your boss that.

So many trannys start their new life with high hopes and empty pockets.
Never fear, there is always that traditional employment for trannys,
prostitution. If you're still pre-op so much the better!  Being a tranny
doesn't prevent you from internalising the tranny stereotype. As a tranny,
you know that prostitution is a possibility, and many people expect it of
you. Given the discrimination so commonly experienced by trannys in other
work, many must make the "obvious" choice. For many this choice says "I
have no choice."

Shortly after my change, and still eminently springable, I stood outside a
restaurant on Chapel Street waiting for my dinner companion.  In the five
minutes I waited, I was berated for soliciting by one man, and another
wanted to know how much.  In a more embarrassing incident, while walking
out to dinner with my father, a nasty young hetero couple began harassing
me, taking me for a prostitute and my father for the client.

At the core is a crisis of self-esteem.  Changing gender generally means
that for some time you bare your soul and best kept secrets to a lot of
people, your boss, your family, your workmates, the greengrocer, the
schoolkids walking down the street, everybody. A lot of these people
disapprove, and a lot of them say so. In this delicate time you often hear
yourself put down, unless you are very sure of your own self-worth you may
start to believe some of this crap.

I believe that much as it is no longer OK for the rest of society to hold
us up for ridicule, and exploit, beat, rape and sack us, it is also no
longer OK for us just to be hapless victims.  We need to remember that in
spite of the difficulties of our situation, we still enjoy some rights, we
still possess the same talents and abilities as we did before, and we are
entitled to our fair go in life.  I believe that the way we must put our
psychological affairs in order, to effect a successful change, makes being
transsexual a kind of blessing.  Accordingly, some of my tranny friends
are among the most together, psychologically and emotionally healthy
people I have ever met!  

Many trannys whose achievements have been stifled by their internal
conflicts before their change have gone on to achieve highly afterwards.
Most of the trannys I know are highly educated, either hold or are about
to gain university degrees.  Others hold professional jobs and are quite
senior within their organisations.  It is possible for trannys to hold out
and stay with the careers we have worked long years to build. It may not
be easy but it is worth doing.

We belong in the Queer Community because we too are sexual dissidents.
Trannys like myself support and celebrate the advances gays and lesbians
are making toward genuine rights and recognition of their equality as
human beings. At the same time trannys like me look on in dismay as our
concerns are used as the sacrificial bargaining chips of the Queer
community.  When the time comes to compromise, our issues are quickly
jettisoned. The Queer community cannot credibly claim equality while
denying it to a subset of their own.

We belong in the Australian community because we are Australians. We have
the same obligations as every other Australian, but are still denied
rights that other Australians enjoy.  We can't claim that every tranny
will always be a model citizen, no community could make that claim.
Although it should not be necessary prove ourselves perfect citizens, it
will be much harder to win our entitlements while we are still seen mostly
as sex-toys. Harder still if we see ourselves as somehow less than worthy.
Above all other considerations, we are human - human rights are our
entitlement.

We must remember that being transsexual simply means we are transsexual.
It does not mean that we are other peoples disposable sex objects, that we
are automatically transformed into vacuous stupid bimbos, that we deserve
whatever mistreatment we get, that we are unlovable or weak.  Above all we
are still people, with rights like everyone else. And those rights that
have been wrongly stripped from us when we changed, we must win back.

Let us insist on the rights and respect due to the worthy, lovable, smart,
fun and precious people that we are. We must make sure that we do have a
choice!

-- 
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If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
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