Transgender Day of Visibility – living with joy, not fear
For Trans Day of Visibility, Aitch writes about the complexities and spectrum of gender identity and the joy of living as your authentic self.
“These sinister people are not to be trusted. Their affliction is evidence of criminal deviancy, and should not be permitted to take root. The first sign of this aberrant behaviour must be driven from the child.”
This was the prevailing attitude from the Middle Ages until the Victorian era towards people who were left-handed. Anyone who deviated from the socially accepted norm of being right-handed was punished for their transgression and children were forced to write with their right hand.
Modern society may mock our ancestors for believing that being left-handed made someone more likely to be a criminal. But to them, their fear was real, their concerns were legitimate. A fear based on misinformation is no less frightening.
Gender identity is a lot more complex than which hand someone writes with, but it does remind us that humans exist on a spectrum. Even something as simple and binary as which hand is dominant is more complex than it appears. Some people are ambidextrous, which means they can use either hand equally well. Some people experience slight ambidexterity, allowing them to use either hand, but still having a dominant hand.
It also reminds us that our fears are often fuelled by a lack of understanding and cautions us against making assumptions about a group based on one shared characteristic.
It shows us how people are willing to repress their natural instincts in order to fit in - there wasn't a sudden spike of left-handed people born in the 60s and 70s, schools just stopped punishing children for using their left hand. Just as there aren't more Trans people around today, there are just more Trans people coming out openly.
You might wonder why someone would risk alienating their family and friends, losing their job, being attacked in the street, or any of the other dangers facing Trans+ people in our society at present. The exact reasons will vary from person to person, but a common theme that runs through their stories is joy. The euphoria of seeing your authentic self in the mirror for the first time is a powerful motivator. After all, who wouldn't prefer to live with joy than with fear?
This is why International Transgender Day of Visibility was created, to celebrate the joy of living truthfully. When Rachel Crandall Crocker created it, it was to act as a counterpoint to Transgender Day of Remembrance, a painful yet necessary event. Transgender Day of Visibility is a reminder that we don’t simply exist as obituaries-in-waiting – we live. And our lives are worth celebrating.
At a time when Trans rights are being rolled back, a time of escalating transphobia and violence, when Trans lives are under attack, it is important to remember that our lives, and our joy, are an act of resistance. It is important that we celebrate our lives openly as a community; to act as a beacon for people feeling lost and alone, and a reminder that despite it all, we’re still here.
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