Misperceptions

As much as the "transgender" community, called transcommunity here, strives for unity, and the much-sought but never realized commonality, it suffers from that very idea in the media and with the public, and feels totally frustrated with what's going on in and around it, bite their tongue and ego, not to create dissenstion and criticism at themselves, or simply become silent. Unfortunately, that's not solving the problem.

And the problem very simple, the very thing they promote, which is diversity. But unlike other diverse groups, who have some measure of commonality among the member or the goals of the group, the transcommunity doesn't have that because all the different subgroups don't have anything in common with other groups and don't have common goals.

It's due to the people in the subgroups, which is why they have the diversity and not the commonality. Don't believe me? I say this for several reasons.

Look at any pride parade. How many different types of groups of people do you see? Look at the LGBT community and support groups. How many different types of them are there and how many different types of people are in each of them? The reality is there is very little overlap between the types and groups, and it's usually only at public events where they can present unity. Except it's not there once the event is over.

Read the different media stories on "transgender people" or "transsexuals."

Look at all the subgroups. There are drag queens, often called female impersonators or illusionists, transvestities, cross-dressers, gender-queer, pre/in-transistion people and post-transistion, or legally recognized, people. Look at how the media often lumps them together or under common terms, so the reader can't tell if the person in the story is in what type and group.

Notice how the media overlaps the characteristics of one type into the other, even when describing individuals. Usually only in longer documentaries do you get to see the distinction and differences between the person in the story and the rest of the transcommunity.

Aake a look at the LGB community (without the T). They don't need, and often don't seek or want help from the transcommunity to advance their goals. They will more often than not forget if not exclude the transpeople in their work, discussion, publicity, events, etc, unless of course there are some drag queens for the media to call transpeople.

And they will drop the T when it suits their personal or political agenda. Look how long it took to get transpeople in the hate crimes laws. Look at the efforts to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). It wouldn't and won't pass with transpeople, but they promised to include it, except in the final version, it wasn't there. No thanks to Representative Barney Franks himself.

Take a look at cross-dressers' organization. They're independent of any other groups in the transcommunity and only get involved in "transgender" events or groups to put themselves under that umberella name, when in fact they aren't transgenders, but just men who like to play dressup (ok, a few transistion but 95+% don't).

Take a look at the trans-only groups. The run the gamut in their life, views and presentations, from the totally, and often long, stealth, to the totally non-passable. They disagree about every issue relevant to the members and community, and they're often the most unwavering people in their views, because in the end, it's about identity and being trans or not.

Take a look at post-transistion men and women. Where are they? Nowhere because they're legally recognized as men and women and don't need or want the transgender label or the help of the transcommunity. They have the Civil Rights Act to protect them as men and women.

In the end, it's really about six different ingredients when mixed together produce a worse result. It's not the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, but quite the opposite, the parts are better being parts and not being in the whole. And as much as the transcommunity strives for unity and commonality, it's time they woke up and realized it's not working for everyone.

Not true you say? Like many cities, counties and states have laws protecting LGBT people now.

True, but the LGB got that on their own effort and the transpeople got their recogniztion on their own effort. I won't argue the LGBT community has achieved a lot over their history, but it hasn't come with unity and commonality in mind but political expediency in mind. Many in the LGB community supprt transpeople and vice-versa, but rarely has it worked to achieve goals for both in one effort, but in separate efforts.

But I'm not at my point, the post-transistion men and mostly women who have long left the transcommunity and only stay in the LGBT community because they are LGB people now. They're not trans-anything, which is why they don't want the label, which is because they're not seen as men and women, at the fault of the transcommunity, as well as the media.

Really? Read any story about a post-transistion woman. How many times are they described as "transgender" and not transgendered (past tense), or worse they're described as a "transsexual." This is because it sells the story. But in doing that, often with the transcommunity's help and endorsement, it's keeps them under the umbrella, to the detriment of the individual.

Ask anyone about a post-transistion woman and they'll more often thiink of any of the other groups, but not just as men and women. The Amanda Simpson stories are good examples of a woman who transistioned 10 years ago but is still considered transgender. Why? It's not who or what she is now. So why does she recognize as transgender?

Do we call ex-addicts addicts in the present tense? Do we call ex-alcoholics alcoholics in the present tense? And other ex-something the same now as they were then? We don't. So why do we call them transgender when it's their past or history and not their present and future?

And many in the public confuse them with cross-dressers, transvestites, etal, because that's their perception of the whole group of people under the umbrella. They lump their view into a one-fits-all single description, when nothing could be farther from the truth. And worse, they confuse them with gays or lesbians, confusing sexual identity and orientation with gender identity.

Any wonder the vast majority of post-transistion women leave the transcommunity and don't look back.