Before we get into the nitty gritty, I want to start out this week's discussion by thanking you all for participating in the group reading thus far. I have been trying get this off the ground for a while and it's nice to finally see it take off and more specifically see it be used for educational purposes following a community-wide struggle session on trans issues. I never would have anticipated such immense pushback from the community on such a minor issue; I saw a lot of misconceptions, hate, and outright refusal to listen to and understand those affected by the matter.
Seeing it all unfold in real-time was very surreal and alienating and I suspect a lot of other trans people here felt that way too. But like your stereotypical Christian who turns to the Bible in times of confliction and confusion, I looked to comrade Leslie Feinberg for guidance and found a few little passages that really stood out to me on the matter of the struggle sessions:
- "Together, I believe we can forge a coalition that can fight on behalf of your oppression as well as mine. Together, we can raise each other's grievances and win the kind of significant change we all long for. But the foundation of unity is understanding." (pg. 6)
- "Misconceptions have been a barrier between our communities. In order to have any real dialogue, it means we must all listen carefully to each other." (pg. 22)
- "None of us can ever be free while others are still in chains. That's the truth underlying the need for solidarity. Trans liberation is inextricably linked to other movements for equality and justice." (pg. 48)
- "Revealing the need for solidarity takes patient education." (pg. 50)
While the response was alienating, seeing cis folks participating has been very reassuring that there are people here willing to listen to the struggles of trans people, challenge their own misconceptions on trans issues, and strive to be better allies to help fight on our behalf. And I'm grateful for the trans folks who are willing to participate in this and have a dialogue with anyone who is seeking to better understand our lived experiences. I truly appreciate everyone involved with this educational session. You're all based as fuck. O7
Now that all the mushy gushy shit is outta the way, drop as many quotes, thoughts, comments, concerns, ah-ha moments as you like in the comments and shoot to be actively commenting on other people's notes throughout the day as well.
This thread will be featured for 24 hours then will remain pinned in !transenby_liberation for the remainder of the week until next Saturday. Rinse and repeat.
Section 3, "Living Our True Spirit" had a take on "two spirit" that I was unaware of. I'd just taken it for granted that the phrase "two spirit" worked generally well as a description for trans/nb Native Americans . Didn't know the phrase was also used by some tribes to mean, mixed blood.
Nothing specifically quote worthy to add that hasn't already been added except for page 51:
So far, the book is a pretty aspirational read, light on tactics but high on motivation.
My brain has problems remembering who is speaking though, so I find myself having to jump back to the beginning of a section to try to figure out who the speaker is. Also, wouldn't mind knowing the date of the speech. I commented on the first mega thread about this book about the use of the word "transexual". And while reading I have to constantly remind myself that the book was published 22 years ago, with speakers who were alive and active in LGBTQ+ activism and speaking about events that happened 20 ~30 + years prior to the books publishing.
Literally don't care. Put your own take on the quote if it has already been brought up by someone else. Free range of discussion.
The crazy thing is that while the book was published 22 years ago and language has been developed upon to better define our struggles, a lot of trans people still face a ton of hatred and discrimination. Living in the Bible Belt, I have been in several situations where I thought, "Uh, if this person or these people realize I'm trans, I'm probably going to die tonight" and that's a horrifying thing to feel, and those experiences have drastically shaped my world view in the 3 years I've been transitioning. 22 years have passed and I still feel like I have to make peace with myself every time I walk out the door.
I'm actually not surprised at all by this. Shit, I'm almost 40. I've been to the other side of the planet and back. Was curious enough about sex during the early days of the internet that I took some time to poke around the dark reaches just to see "what was out there"and thought I had a decent handle on what was out there. And it wasn't until a few years ago I figured out that the meaning of words "transvestite" and "transgender" were not the same thing.
Without a basic primer for gender expression in the early days of a person's education, just stumbling through life picking up bits and pieces its damned confusing and intimidating as an adult. (points to the pronouns struggle session from a bit ago as an example.) And leaves the only "education" people receive whomever their cultural leaders are. So there's the chuds painting anything other than "man/woman" as "scary and dangerous" and everybody else not directly a part of the trans community playing catch up as to what they are supposed to know.