Thursday, February 18, 2016

Transgender children being treated differently

I recently came across this blog on the Huffington post on parents talking about their transgender children. In my favorite one (link below), the mother is talking about how, all of a sudden, her child's body is not THE topic of discussion. She talks about how her child's very personal body is all people talk about and all people want to ask this child about. They want to know what this child has gone through and what "parts" they have. To me, I cannot stop thinking about what we have been talking about in class this past week... privilege. As a female, I am never questioned my sexuality or gender. Is this because I "dress like a girl?" Why, in 2016, is it anyones business who I like? Why is it anyones business if I decide to identify as a female or male? What if I am both? Why is this so far from the norm? Why would I be looked at as different?

I cannot lie, I am guilty of looking at people who are different than me in a different light. But that does not mean I judge them or make automatic assumptions about them. I wish that society would look at people who are different and think to themselves how they feel. I want people to see people who are not the norm as being THE NORM. It's so sad to me that people are not accepted. I do believe, though, that one day all people will be accepted. The topics we bring up in class are very serious topics that need to be addressed not only by our class but by the whole world.


Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-hanssen/off-limits-my-transgender_b_6481682.html

2 comments:

  1. As I was reading this article, I have to say I began to cringe and felt likewise annoyed and mad along with the mother writing this article. I felt this way because I am also a mother and I think I would lose it if my daughters were questioned about their sexuality just because another person is "curious". With as many resources out there and the simplicity of using something so simple as google or even youtube, there is no reason for anybody to make another person feel uncomfortable just to satisfy their curiosity and especially if that person is a stranger whom know nothing about the person they are being intriguing about. As a matter of fact with the amount of time we spend on social media or technology it seems fairly unusual for you not to be able to simply use it and do a bit of research I know I do it all the time if I come across something unusual for me and for which I am curious to learn more about. I also agree that heterosexual people are very priviledged in terms of not having to explain or give reasoning as to their body parts or anything because it falls within societies "norm". That stinks because why should you have to be looked weird at or different just because you were born different to what you identify yourself as. That is just not fair and why should we even care? I think we should follow the saying our parents most likely told us growing up, "mind your own business", and I am not going to say I haven't looked because that would be lying but I will say I haven't judged because that is simply not my "business" nor does it concern me. I mean, would you like to be questioned about why you dress the way you do or why you have the body parts you do? I highly doubt it.

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  2. I love the Janet Mock interview that's linked in the article! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISsdSvJhniQ

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