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- Dec 8, 1999
I find it shameful that we can't seem to host a discussion on NikeTalk that in any way involves a transgender person without receiving a barrage of derogatory and insulting comments about trans people in general. That members of the trans community wish to be treated as equals poses no threat to your own sexuality or "masculinity."
Deray McKesson is right. Strength does not come from our sexuality, gender, or race. True strength comes from character - and I wish more of us would demonstrate it in moments like these.
Consent should be considered a basic human right. No one should feel entitled to force themselves on you, even if they're out to somehow make a point.
We can acknowledge and respect that while, at the same time, admitting that the tendency to shun trans people for simply being trans is hurtful, and that it can't merely be dismissed as a harmless "personal preference." (And we all know that men and women with fertility issues are not treated the same as trans people - so let's stop making that dishonest comparison.)
If you think left-handed people are evil and refuse to date them, that might just be your own personal hang up. If the vast majority of people in a society felt the same way, however, it should be easy to understand why left-handed people would subsequently feel like second class citizens.
That, obviously, does not justify sexual assault - as there is no justification for sexual assault or sexual misconduct generally.
It should, however, help explain where the legitimate frustration in this instance comes from. Trans people are routinely made into punchlines in popular culture. They're treated as predators, as deceitful, and land mines in the world of dating. We're supposed to find it hilarious that a male character unknowingly had intimate contact with a trans woman. Lepers are often afforded greater courtesy, and appear to cause less physical revulsion or discomfort.
We all know that "reality" shows are not truly unscripted. If you're someone who believes that trans people should be treated as equals, or just dignity and respect, is it so unreasonable to see this as yet another instance in which trans people are humiliated by proxy in a television show?
In a society that so consistently rewards the antics of shameless provocateurs, it's not unreasonable to believe that this "controversy" is being exploited for the sake of publicity. For all we know, everyone who's rushing to one person's side in this is defending someone who is knowingly or unknowingly exploiting social divisions through a prompted, if not staged, conflict.
Defenders of White Supremacism LOVE to seize on any example in which a person of color allegedly behaves in a prejudiced or discriminatory way. It allows them to call out the critics of White Supremacy/Nationalism as hypocrites, and grants them a cover for their own bigotry. Meanwhile, those who are prejudiced against trans people seize on any and every instance of deception or aggression by a trans person, to portray them all as immoral predators.
We need to stop fueling prejudice by rejecting this framework and acknowledging the real issues here.
Deray McKesson is right. Strength does not come from our sexuality, gender, or race. True strength comes from character - and I wish more of us would demonstrate it in moments like these.
Consent should be considered a basic human right. No one should feel entitled to force themselves on you, even if they're out to somehow make a point.
We can acknowledge and respect that while, at the same time, admitting that the tendency to shun trans people for simply being trans is hurtful, and that it can't merely be dismissed as a harmless "personal preference." (And we all know that men and women with fertility issues are not treated the same as trans people - so let's stop making that dishonest comparison.)
If you think left-handed people are evil and refuse to date them, that might just be your own personal hang up. If the vast majority of people in a society felt the same way, however, it should be easy to understand why left-handed people would subsequently feel like second class citizens.
That, obviously, does not justify sexual assault - as there is no justification for sexual assault or sexual misconduct generally.
It should, however, help explain where the legitimate frustration in this instance comes from. Trans people are routinely made into punchlines in popular culture. They're treated as predators, as deceitful, and land mines in the world of dating. We're supposed to find it hilarious that a male character unknowingly had intimate contact with a trans woman. Lepers are often afforded greater courtesy, and appear to cause less physical revulsion or discomfort.
We all know that "reality" shows are not truly unscripted. If you're someone who believes that trans people should be treated as equals, or just dignity and respect, is it so unreasonable to see this as yet another instance in which trans people are humiliated by proxy in a television show?
In a society that so consistently rewards the antics of shameless provocateurs, it's not unreasonable to believe that this "controversy" is being exploited for the sake of publicity. For all we know, everyone who's rushing to one person's side in this is defending someone who is knowingly or unknowingly exploiting social divisions through a prompted, if not staged, conflict.
Defenders of White Supremacism LOVE to seize on any example in which a person of color allegedly behaves in a prejudiced or discriminatory way. It allows them to call out the critics of White Supremacy/Nationalism as hypocrites, and grants them a cover for their own bigotry. Meanwhile, those who are prejudiced against trans people seize on any and every instance of deception or aggression by a trans person, to portray them all as immoral predators.
We need to stop fueling prejudice by rejecting this framework and acknowledging the real issues here.
they're legit me at facts.
