One Thing To Say
February 25, 2008
Reply to a list post:
What’s my one message about trans that I would like to get out?
This:
Every time you see someone express transgender, they are expressing something they know to be true about themselves in the best way they know how to do it.
No matter how dramatic or cartoony or contradictory or ambiguous or factually false someone’s trans expression may seem to you, no matter how that expression is laced with shame, self-loathing, and defensive rationalizations, it is an expression that comes from deep inside of them. And only by being affirmed in that expression can they find deeper meanings, become more mature in their self knowledge & expression. If they feel repressed, they will remain clouded and confused in their understanding and their choices.
Every time you see someone express transgender, they are expressing something they know to be true about themselves in the best way they know how to do it.
That’s the one thing I want people to know.
March 1, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Being true to myself has certainly been the essence and the goal of my journey. After having transitioned to full time just last May, I often surprise myself by how comfortable I feel with people knowing that I am trans. But it didn’t take me long to realize that that comfort comes from knowing that I didn’t work this hard for so many years to learn who I am to now hide part of that truth. I may not always feel 100% comfortable in living my truth, but the peace of knowing that I am being true to myself more than makes up for it.
March 6, 2008 at 12:01 pm
[...] I need to point out that when I first wrote it, in response to the original comment, I had this entry from the incomparable Callan very much in mind:] Every time you see someone express transgender, [...]
March 6, 2008 at 12:07 pm
And I need to point out that when I wrote my piece, I had this entry very much in mind:
The one thing. . .
Thanks for the kind words, GQ!
December 3, 2008 at 8:06 am
[...] We are always telling who we are, even as we may think we are trying to hide it. The one thing I want to people to know about transpeople is that we are working to tell the truth about ourselves, however twisted that [...]