Defining Transphobia

[EnderD_503]

Transphobia is not a word that most people in Western society really understand or recognise.

I was recently reading an article about a "greeting card" Urban Outfitters put out. The card read:

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
So Jack could see Jill's fanny
Jack got a shock
And an eyeful of cock
Because Jill was a closet tranny.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...usaolp00000009

Now evidently this is transphobic, in addition to being sexist and homophobic. But while reading the comments to the article, I saw the same pattern that exists when many cis people react to anything being described as "transphobic." The inability to understand why "tranny" said by a cis person to refer to trans people in general is offensive. The inability to understand why constantly implying that trans people are out to "trick" straight cis people into bed with them. The inability to understand that being outed as a trans person in such a situation has caused the beatings and deaths of countless transwomen. Most people think that if you're not beating a trans person over the head with something, stabbing them or calling for the death of all trans people, that something isn't "transphobic." Many in the queer community believe that "transphobia" is a word trans people like to dish out to cis people to guilt them into agreeing with them. Many in the public aren't even aware of the word "transphobia," and the fact that "transphobia" is frequently omitted by the media and lgbt orgs in their discussion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia further perpetuates that ignorance.

So I guess the point of discussion here, for me, is how do we go about fully defining transphobia in a way that is understandable to people who barely have an understanding of homophobia. How do we raise awareness of what constitutes transphobia in the cis/straight mainstream as well as in our own queer/trans communities? And how do we raise awareness in our own communities? On the one hand, I'm really tired of having to define transphobia, on the other hand obviously there's a huge need for it.

On a side note, I was wondering about where to put this topic. Whether it should be in the trans section, the red zone or elsewhere. I opted to keep it out of the red zone, because I feel when trans topics or other sensitive topics are placed there, there is always one person who decides to come in and use that as incentive to insult trans people under the auspices of "freedom of speech." So for personal reasons I decided to keep the topic here, basically for my own sanity so I hope others don't see it as trying to stifle discussion.

[Gráinne]

I think "transphobia" is like "porn"-hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

Example #1-way before I came out, one of my professors in university transitioned MtF. Some turned her into a butt of jokes, and one of her best friends ended the friendship . I think about her a lot, ever since I came out years later.

Example #2-when I worked at the grocery, one of my regular customers was MtF. I knew immediately. While on break, some of my coworkers asked about her, if I knew she was "tranny", and did this make me uncomfortable? I replied that she had great ideas for preparing vegetables and her money was as green as mine .

I've wondered about movies such as Some Like It Hot, in which Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis disguise themselves as women to avoid a mob hit. But to me, that's not about transsexuality; that's cross-dressing, a different animal altogether. Both of them play otherwise straight men forced into a ridiculous situation for a comedy.

We fear what we don't understand, so transphobia to me is fear of someone "different", and the ways that fear is expressed, through jokes, shunning, or gossip.

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by guihong

I think "transphobia" is like "porn"-hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

Example #1-way before I came out, one of my professors in university transitioned MtF. Some turned her into a butt of jokes, and one of her best friends ended the friendship . I think about her a lot, ever since I came out years later.

Example #2-when I worked at the grocery, one of my regular customers was MtF. I knew immediately. While on break, some of my coworkers asked about her, if I knew she was "tranny", and did this make me uncomfortable? I replied that she had great ideas for preparing vegetables and her money was as green as mine .

I've wondered about movies such as Some Like It Hot, in which Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis disguise themselves as women to avoid a mob hit. But to me, that's not about transsexuality; that's cross-dressing, a different animal altogether. Both of them play otherwise straight men forced into a ridiculous situation for a comedy.

We fear what we don't understand, so transphobia to me is fear of someone "different", and the ways that fear is expressed, through jokes, shunning, or gossip.

Thanks for posting, guihong. The bolded part of your post really highlights what I'm trying to get at here, which is that most people really don't know transphobia when they see it or when they are making a transophobic/insensitive comment, unfortunately. So how to raise awareness about its existence in the mainstream, and to deal with attitudes that try to erase it as a real form of discrimination?

Personally, I would still say that movies like those that you mentioned are transphobic even if they don't deal visibly with transsexuality (since trans can also encompass crossdressing). Many in the mainstream public don't see the difference between transsexuality and crossdressing to begin with. It's another display of the fact that "humour" for mainstream society often takes on the form of ridiculing groups like trans people, queer people, poc, physical disability, mental health issues etc.

Anyways, what do you think about methods to raise awareness so that transphobia is at least recognised on par with homophobia instead of as an afterthought of homophobia?

[weatherboi]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

Anyways, what do you think about methods to raise awareness so that transphobia is at least recognised on par with homophobia instead of as an afterthought of homophobia?

Genderism is the main root of transphobia. I think bringing awareness to genderism and its impact on the trans community would be a great start. I think it should be treated just like any other ism but it is so ambiguous that sometimes people don't even realize that it is unfair treatment. There are so many types of transphobia to address. It can be a personal, systemic, intentional, or unintentional experience, so pinpointing methods to raise awareness can get complicated because of large amounts of diverse people that need to be educated. Some people don't even know or haven't heard of transphobia, much less genderism.

Here is where I see the problem getting harder. How do we get our community LGBT to get behind educating people about genderism when many people within our own community support this ideal?

Genderism is the belief that there are and only should be two genders and that gender is tied to ones biological sex.

[girl_dee]

i feel most *phobias* come from having learned that from someone/somewhere along the way. Maybe as generations evolve we will have much more tolerance and acceptance along the way. That's my hope anyway, NOT that we should have to wait that long!

[Quintease]

I think a lot of transphobia is a lack of understanding about what transsexuals are. Is a transwoman a woman if she doesn't look like a woman to you? Is a transman a man if you know he was once a lesbian? Is a transman straight if he's dating a woman? What about a transwoman dating a man? People don't know where to put their eyes and their pronouns. They're not sure where transpeople fit in as all they've ever known is Male/Female, Gay/Straight.

But then there are the Angry People. The people who (usually) not only hate trans people, but immigrants, people of colour, the unemployed, teenage mothers, gays, sluts and men. You can't win against those people. They have the belief of their own entitlement stuck so far up their behind, you'd never be able to reach in far enough to pull it out.

[princessbelle]

I agree. The more knowledgeable the people are the more acceptance will be found. Of those that are transphobic, i believe a lot of it equates to the "unknown" and the total misunderstanding of our people.

I remember when the whole "Chas" stuff first came out. Now i know there are many that didn't approve of how he did it and what he stands for. But. It started some conversations, even if not in a positive way. It was at least some awareness. My little southern baptist republican momma watched the show. She asked me many questions to include..."Does that mean he felt that he was born in the wrong body?" To my disbelief she actually "got it" and more than that, understood.

If that show had not been aired, i doubt that conversation or that learning experience would have ever come up. So, the more exposure the better. The more education out there the better. More shows. More documentaries. More trans-friendly movies. Just more exposure to everyone, i believe, will have a positive outcome, even if it is just discussion around the water cooler.

It has to start somewhere.

[SelfMadeMan]

IMHO, I think the terms homophobia and transphobia are perhaps an under exaggeration of what's really going on in this country. I don't think it's a fear of anything, as much as deliberate oppression and violence against the LGBTQ communities. I think what's going on politically and socially is insidious and it goes WAY beyond any phobias.

[aishah]

i agree that i don't think it's fear so much as hatred and oppression that is the problem. i do know some people who genuinely don't know, but i know more people who, even when they are educated, still persist in being hateful just because they can.

one really big problem i see is the fact that many people think it should be up to them to define other people. and i still haven't figured out how to deal with that kind of belligerence. i meet so many people who, on top of thinking that they know everything, think that they are the ones who get to define what other people are and that if someone's identity is actually different than what's being pushed on them, they are now owed an explanation/justification, if that makes any sense. i've seen this happen with things like race, ability, etc. too. i think the inability to accept what someone tells you about themselves and how they identify is a big problem. like...if someone tells you they identify as a man, why should they owe you all kinds of explanations about their transition, their birth name, their life history, etc. in order to be accepted by you? it's none of your business. (edited to add: i mean this idea that people have to PROVE their basic identity is hella fucked up. i was looking for the word prove earlier and couldn't find it, hehe.)