It has been brought to my attention that the great majority of people have no interest in the theological understanding of how the nature of crossing gender boundaries reveals our continuous common humanity, leading us beyond convention to a deep connection with the underlying spiritual lessons which have been revealed in human wisdom across time and across cultures.
Instead, all they want is an easier way to be transgender and happy in the world, effectively cutting a space for themselves using the simplest and most effective explanations possible.
That’s why nobody comes back to read this blog, why the audience absconds; I’m just doing it all wrong!
What’s the easy way to do trans?
1) Join the groupthink! Find a bunch of people who explain how to be politically correct using flip charts and egalitarian process and do what they embrace. An army of self-referential doctrinaires cannot fail! Anyone not doing it your way is doing it the wrong way and deserves whatever they get!
2) Wrap yourself in flags. Play to prejudices. “They” are indeed the enemy! To the holy go the kudos. You are on the side of the patriots and the angels, against the kooks and the blasphemous. Find whatever flags you can to wrap yourself in, spin by pushing buttons of goodness and create shared enemies to gloss over differences. When in doubt, pull out a cliché, because old chestnuts are always digestible.
3) Be abject. Losers don’t threaten anyone. As long as you surrender your power in the world, people will have no reason to slap you, every reason to pity you. You are the vulnerable and broken one, powerless and abused, so you deserve all the consideration the world can muster.
4) Compartmentalize, compartmentalize, compartmentalize. If something is confusing or creates ambiguity that might open questions on your story, lock it away, far away. Seal off what you don’t want to engage or admit and be sure that it is hidden away from everyone, always. Mental separations are what gives life authority and stability. By denying your connection to other people, you can keep parts of yourself away from challenging your assertion of self. What you keep in the dark keeps everyone in the dark, so go for it!
5) Attack, attack, attack. Anyone who challenges you must be silenced. To silence a critic is to defeat them. Let your story override theirs, and if that doesn’t work, challenge their credibility to speak. After all, anyone who challenges you must be a wrong headed enemy who just has internalized issues over anyone who is like you and in your group. Transphobic asshole! Call them out, call them out, call them out, scream and yell, make their life hell until they are shamed into surrendering their voice or have been beautifully silenced!
6) Stick to your story. Never admit defeat. ‘Twas ever thus. You were always this way, no matter what your history or those who knew you when have to say. They are blind, because the knowledge and understanding you have today is true and pure and holy and will never, ever change, ever. You have no obligation to change or grow; you are done!
7) Say what works today. Consistency is over rated. (But never admit that you changed!) This is one area in which compartmentalization is your absolute best tool. You know what will work in this context and that’s what works, because situational belief is completely justifiable to people like you.
8) Be earnest and flatfooted. Nuance and ambiguity is not your friend. Wit is a tool of the questioners. More is achieved through bellowing than through shimmering, so never let them see you sparkle. Be unimaginative and pedestrian, first to show how sincere you are, but more than that to stop any creativity that might show you are special, unique and magical.
9) When in doubt, rant. Carry people on a cloud of emotion that feels real to them as it carries them over the gaps in your story. Let the roller coaster move them away from actually looking at the integrity and implications of your claims.
10) You are the centre of the world. Whatever works for you in demanding that your needs be satisfied is the most important thing. You have been kept down too long, so fuck those who demand your responsibility to anything but groupthink! They have no standing to oppress you any more; if they don’t let you be yourself, you will die! How will they like being responsible for killing you? It’s your damn turn; your way or no way!
Follow these simple rules and you too can do tranz the EZ way!
Callan 