Another article on Transgender-a bit contentious!

[Elizabeth]

It appears to me that whatever we do (as transgender people)there well always people who think the opposite causing heartache, anger and such. The dispute around the legality of the use of toilets by the appropriate gender as in the bible belt states of the USA. I guess what I’m trying to say is that whatever we do,say or present ourselves as there will always opposing views, bigotry and damn hatred against us. If I dressed in a frock or present as a woman I use the female toilets (in my case the disabled. Why can’t we be left alone and be accepted as part of humanity? It’s because of ignorance, hatred and just plain bigotry. I am building a passion for advocacy in our community, one step behind the prevention of suicide.
In one sense I agree with the opponents to transgender rights. We are, like it or not, males. Surgery doesn’t suddenly make a female out of a male. We like as a community to think it does, but I for one whilst passionately supporting any transgender person agree with the opposites. It’s a thorny subject and I’m probably wrong. But we don’t change after surgery, we have the identical brains with our life experiences intact; we are still the same people. And does it really matter? I think much of the question of happiness and contentment, we still love the same people as before surgery, we have the same life and in many cases the same jobs, the same tastes in food and alcohol.
I wonder what others think? Please don’t flog me with a Cat O’Nine Tails as I’m fragile, just consider my point of view.

[Anonymous]

Liz , I agree wholeheartedly with most of your thoughts. There is a tendency for some Trans folk to claim greater authenticity based on degree of ” dysphoria” ( not so much on TGr ) which I think is a nonsense. In the end it is about how you feel personally rather than any rational , measurable , gatekeeper decided degree of Transness. Where I digress from your post is in my belief that male and female are different to man and woman ( yes, I am banging the old drum!!) Man and woman are social constructs.
In the past we had a heated debate about choice in being Trans and it appears to me that some folk prefer a ” victim” model where we are to see ourselves as having no power over how we feel, we are mere pawns in what fate has dealt us and can’t help that we feel a certain way. To me that equals” poor me!” I say bollocks to that!
The fact that some people spend their entire lives in the closet and do not reveal to anyone shows that they are making a choice. I did it for years, I choose now to do otherwise.
So if woman is a social construct then I choose NOW to construct myself as a woman. For me that means I AM a woman. I am not , however , a female. I see no issue with that. I am not dysphoric but believe that I am as genuinely Trans as the next …?
On the matter of urination, if it came down to me choosing to use a given toilet while in a dress, to avoid embarrassment I would choose a disabled toilet. Not because I am admitting to be disabled but as it is a convenient ( no pun intended!) ,third option. The fault lies not with Trans folk but with the people who put up the toilet signs! If they put MAN/WOMAN/ OTHER rather than male / female/ disabled ,then there would be no problem. As they opt for the usual designations then we must pee where we can.
For either side of the Trans debate to die in a ditch about where we are pissing is pure madness IMO. The practical issues, however, with going in where dickheads may abuse you or assault you or where young girls may be shocked and scared is another matter. We must be sensitive to other people’s feelings but we must also pee.