Dear reader,
I am writing this to you tonight because I want to make you
aware of a very real trans* struggle that is happening now. A transwoman has
been suspended from her job after parents complained that a transgender
individual was teaching their children. Laura Jane Klug said that she never
talked about her gender identity with the students. It is believed that she was
outed by a radical conservative parent. She is now at the mercy of a school
board, who will decide whether or not she will keep her job as a substitute
teacher in the school district.
The district met tonight in a public forum to hear on the
debate (no word on it yet, but keeping my fingers crossed). If you read the
article, you will hear a broad swath of opinions (many of which are very
problematic). First off, I would remind the reader to always refer to people by
the pronouns with which they use. If a transwoman uses “she” and “her,” use
them. Don’t refer to a transwoman as “he” and “him.” Not only is it offensive
and rude, it degrades the individual’s identity. It robs them of a power that
they themselves have a right to control. Second, never use transvestite—just
don’t do it. EVER. Third, these aren’t lifestyle choices; it’s who they are.
Fourth, parents do not like having to explain to their children what trans*
gender is. My question is, why? Why do we shy away from these topics? Why is it
so damn hard to talk about trans* people in a way that doesn’t degrade them and
doesn’t make them out to be monsters?
And then I got to thinking about my own personal struggle…
it’s because we don’t know. We are afraid.
I am a cisgender male. Growing up in a conservative and
religious world, I had never met an open trans* person until I came to college.
Even then, when I did, I was very freaked out. The idea of transgender was so
foreign to me. I didn’t know what being trans* meant. It was never talked about
back home, and now coming here I suddenly found myself in a world that was
radically different from my own. With ignorance comes darkness, with darkness,
the unknown, with the unknown, fear, and with fear, hate.
Why do we shy away from talking about sex or gender so much?
Not talking about it doesn’t make these things go away or never happen at all. Not
talking about it just makes these things get out of hand. It leads to problems.
Not teaching our children about sex means that they won’t understand its risks.
Not teaching our children about sexual identity means they won’t understand the
potential for humans to love. Not teaching our children about gender means that
they won’t understand the capacity for individuals to be human.
I am a product of these things.
I grew up not being able to accept who I was. I never knew
how or why I should protect myself when it came to having sex with others. I
could not see a person as human because their mysterious trans* identity overshadowed
everything else.
I was afraid.
I am fortunate that I have been able to come to a university
where I have been able to learn about others and myself, but the battle is far
from over. Even now, I still struggle from time to time with my old prejudices.
There are times when I have to remind myself to look at the human in someone
and not the identity. Because ultimately, we are all human, and we all deserve
to be treated with respect and dignity. Imagine a world where we did not have
to struggle with these things. It all begins with education. Self-education.
But the battle doesn’t end there.
We must be willing to talk about these things, to educate
others and constantly educate ourselves. If we stop, the entire process dies. Why
shy away from these issues and make them so much more difficult than they need
to be? If people were willing to have an upfront conversation instead of
beating around the bush, our society would be in a much better place, and there
would be one less person afraid of losing their job.
Best wishes,
~E
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