When we watched the documentary film "The Aggressives" in class last Thursday it was an interesting view into a world that I have already been exposed to. Transgendered men and women are no different to me than heterosexual men and women, lesbians, gay men, White people, people of color, etc. They are in transition, as are most people in this life. All people are transitioning from one place to the next. From one job to the next. From one love to the next. From one house to the next. From one weight to the next. From puberty to adulthood. From innocence to maturity. No matter how anyone views it, all people are living a life in transition. So why is it that so many people feel conflicted when trying to understand or accept transgendered men and women? After all, they are simply living their lives in transition. Yes, one of the transitions that these men and women experience is on a physical level, but ALL people change physically at some point or other.
The documentary gave me a new insight into the world of lesbianism and transgendered people. I have never heard of aggressive lesbians, butch-aggressive, femme-aggressive, and the like, however it was very cool to know that this category of lesbians exists. I wonder how many of my classmates were appalled, angry, confused, conflicted, uninterested, or uncomfortable because of this newfound information about the LGBTQ community.
I wonder what would happen to these women if their parents had been like the parents or David/Brenda, loving parents that concealed their gender identity from them. Would they have tried to "fix" them? Would they have paid for extravagant medical attention and genital reconstruction to fit their natural tendencies? Would they have changed their names from Flo to Frank, or Tiffany to Tim? Would aggressive-lesbianism be considered fix-able... or does the world already believe that homosexuality is a way of being broken or impaired? Even though that is not the case.
All the questions can be asked about the aggressive-lesbianism lifestyle, and to me there is a simple answer. These women are living their lives in transition. And they are changing to accommodate the lives they have been afforded and the desires they want to attain, just like you and me.
lives in transition..
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I think you make a very good point. I don't understand why people think it's so "horrible" for people to live their lives comfortably and be who they want to be. Everyone should be able to express themselves any way they want without criticism from the world.
I think it is important to think of transfolks with compassion, empathy and non-judgment. As you point out, there is a lesson that we can all learn about gender identities, and identity, more generally speaking. That is: identities are in flux, they are contingent, and, sometimes, for many of the most vulnerable of us, they are persistent.