Monika: At the time of your transition, did you have any transgender role models that you followed?
Rachel: I started reading about trans people as soon as I came out and discovered many role models and trailblazers out there. I stumbled on Aleshia Brevard’s autobiography about being transgender back in the fifties and sixties. I was amazed at the strength that it took to be out in those times.
I read Jennifer Boylan’s “She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders.” I also read Helen Boyd’s two books, “My Husband Betty” and “She’s Not the Man I Married.” (It’s an interesting side note about how far we’ve come, and how quickly. “My Husband Betty” is actually about cross-dressing more than transgender people. It seemed revelatory at the time, and already seems pretty dated and inaccurate.)
As I started learning more about LGBT history in general, I discovered so many trans people who have been active since the beginning. I am glad that the contribution of people like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson is finally being recognized by the wider LGBT community. I also discovered “Stone Butch Blues” by Leslie Feinberg.
At the same time that I was reading, I joined a local support group. The group was incredibly helpful and I met many personal role models. The trans community has such an incredible diversity of people. They helped me find my way through transition and I am grateful to each and every one of them.
Monika: Are there are any transgender ladies that you admire and respect now?
Rachel: Wow. What can I say? The last ten years or so have seen such an explosion of trans people on the public scene. In 2007 you had to search the library for any reference to trans people. Media appearances were confined to interviews on shows that catered to “niche” interests. Now it seems trans people and narratives are everywhere.
I have met Mara Keisling and I admire the work that the NCTE (National Center for Transgender Equality) is doing. Actress Laverne Cox has become a gracious voice for transgender people.
I’ve watched Janet Mock, author “Redefining Realness” on several news shows talking about trans issues and I’m glad we have people like her on the national stage. And I adored Michelle Hendley in “Boy Meets Girl.”
One of the greatest joys though is watching the next generation. They are coming out so young these days and making their marks early. I remember reading an article about Jazz Jennings when she was a child. And now she has several books out. I wish I could have had that success in coming out at her age.
Monika: We all pay the highest price for the fulfillment of our dreams to be ourselves. As a result, many trans women lose their families, friends, jobs, and social positions. Did you pay such a high price as well? What was the hardest thing about your coming out?
Rachel: I have been really blessed, I have to say. I have had my personal struggles. And I had a lot of fear before I began my transition, but most of them haven’t come to pass.
I have to acknowledge my privilege in this. I am a transwoman, but I’m also a middle-class white woman. So many transwomen have it so much worse than I do. I had to pay for the bulk of my medical transition costs out of pocket, but I had the money to do that. I’ve had people say things, but I live in a neighborhood where violent crime is rare and I’ve never been attacked.
I also have to give some props to my state. Iowa is in the Midwest and to the outsider, deeply conservative. But it also has a long history of civil rights. Transgender people are included in the state's nondiscrimination laws. My work accepted my transition without batting an eye.
So, yeah, for me the hardest part was deciding to do it.
Monika: The transgender community is said to be thriving now. As Laverne Cox announced, “Trans is beautiful.” Teenage girls become models and dancers, talented ladies become writers, singers, and actresses. Those ladies with an interest in politics, science, and business become successful politicians, academics, and businesswomen. What do you think in general about the present situation of transgender women in contemporary society? Are we just scratching the surface or the change is really happening?
Rachel: We’ve definitely exploded into the public eye in the last few years. That’s the good news. The bad news is that these people are still the exception. Many trans people live in areas where there is little social acceptance and a lot of overt discrimination.
But I’ve lived through the evolution of gay and lesbian rights and especially marriage equality. There are parallels. In the early eighties, almost nobody talked about gay people at all. Then came the AIDS epidemic and there was a lot of talk, most of it negative.
But gay and lesbian people started to be more open about their lives, too. They started showing up on TV and in mainstream media. Millennials grew up seeing gay people. They grew up knowing people in their lives who were out.
And study after study shows a remarkable shift in attitudes about the issues. Millennials just don’t see it as the big deal that the older generation does. Marriage equality went from being a pipe dream to the law of the land.
 |
| Available via Amazon. |
I think the same kind of thing can happen for trans people. When this generation grows up, having seen trans people on TV their entire lives, hearing about schoolmates who transitioned, knowing trans people who are living their lives openly, they won’t even understand why it’s an issue for some people. And that’s when real change will begin.
Monika: On the other hand, the restroom war is raging on and transgender women are killed on the streets…
Rachel: The restroom war is such a crock. It's entirely made up to get conservative voters outraged and to the polls, nothing more. Iowa passed a law in 2007 stating that everyone had the right to public accommodation according to their gender identity. For ten years trans women in Iowa have been using women’s restrooms without any noticeable issue. I mean you go in, you pee, you wash your hands, and leave. Right?
So in ten years, there was no rush by perverted men to use this law to sneak into women’s restrooms. There was no huge outcry by conservatives over the law. It wasn’t until some national politicians decided to use it as a talking point that it even became an issue.
Violence against transwoman is another issue altogether. It’s gut-wrenching to hear about, to see on the news. And it’s so prevalent.
Why are transwomen so often the target of violence? Transphobia is certainly a big part, but there are many aspects to this problem that it’s hard to separate them all out.
Trans women of color are at a much higher risk of violence. Clearly, racism plays a huge part. I am heartened to see Black Lives Matter champion the death of transwomen, and of many in the trans community being willing to acknowledge the BLM movement. Together we can do far more than we can alone.
In many cases, transwomen are killed by their own partners. Domestic violence is something that affects many cisgender women as well. The difference is that too many women’s shelters use discriminatory definitions of what it means to be a woman, leaving trans women with few options to escape a violent partner.
Finally, so many LGBT youths, especially transgender youth, end up on the streets, homeless, and in harm’s way. Thanks mostly to unaccepting families.
But instead of giving up hope, the mass of interlocking issues should give us hope. They mean that there are lots of ways to attack the problem. Even little changes can help keep one trans person safe from harm. Educating homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters about trans issues and getting them to treat trans women as women could help so many people. Working with allies on broader issues around sexism can help transwomen and build bridges with mainstream feminist organizations.
And if we can manage to build a trans community that is truly open and diverse, dealing with racism, sexism, and multiple other issues along with our own LGBT issues, we can do a huge amount of good for this world.
Monika: The transgender cause is usually manifested together with the other LGBTQ communities. Being the penultimate letter in this abbreviation, is the transgender community able to promote its own cause within the LGBTQ group?
Rachel: That’s a loaded question. ;-)
I know there has been a long divisive history of conflicts within the LGBTQ community. But ultimately I think we are all in this together and we have to find ways to work together. The largest issues, those of broad social acceptance, are ones we share in common.
We all should be able to identify in ways that make us feel comfortable. We should all have the right to live our lives in peace, pursue happiness on our own terms. Politically this covers a huge amount of ground, from fighting for tougher anti-bullying programs in schools to ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act).
That said, there are issues that Trans people that LGB people don’t. There are medical aspects for those needing to transition, things like getting insurance companies to pay.
There is the bathroom issue, though one has to point out that conservatives seem incredibly bad at identifying actual trans people, and at least as many butch lesbians and even butch-looking straight women have been caught up in that as transwomen. It would be funny if it weren’t so hurtful to everyone.
On these issues, we need to hold the LGB communities feet to the fire. These things might not affect them personally. But it's definitely part of their values. You can’t argue that you should have the right to pursue happiness in your own way and then deny the next person the same rights. We just need to keep reminding them, as often as necessary, that the fight isn’t over.
And we need to keep educating them on trans issues. There is, sadly, transphobia in the LGB community. We need to keep pushing, keep educating them. We need to remind our LGB allies that acceptance is one of their values, something they fought for. They just need to broaden it to include trans people.
And trans people need to remember that when the next person comes along and wants to address racism in the trans community or ask to be more inclusive of some other minority. Hopefully, we can listen with an open mind and remember how hard it was for us to find acceptance for who we were.
 |
| Available via goodreads. |
Monika: What do you think in general about transgender news stories or characters which have been featured in films, newspapers, or books so far?
Rachel: I definitely have some thoughts on this, and it’s a big part of why I write what I write. I think in many ways we are still at the very tip of the iceberg on trans representation in media in two important ways.
The first is the way all too many books present being transgender. They are still largely confined to issues pieces about being transgender, rather than books about transgender characters.
They sit in their room, feeling bad about being transgender, struggling with their feelings, etc. The books often focus heavily on how their gender identity affects the people around them. Will their family accept or not? Will they be “allowed” to be transgender. (What a terrible question to even ask. You are transgender. You don’t need anyone’s permission. The only question is whether you will be allowed to live in peace or not.)
My first novel, Run, Clarissa, Run has a fair amount of that, too. But Clarissa also has a knack for computers and becomes a hacker. She runs away, intent on creating her own future, regardless of what everyone else thinks of her. This is what we need a lot more of. Trans characters who are heroines and heroes in their own right. Stories that have trans characters but aren’t solely about them being trans. Transgender readers need characters that do things, that are worth rooting for.
END OF PART 2
All the photos: courtesy of Rachel Eliason.
© 2017 - Monika Kowalska
No comments:
Post a Comment