My previous post on Being Trans discussed the “technical” issues. But there is another side to this that is usually overlooked (and ultimately, it applies to the entire range of LGBT+ people).
Nearly all the science and psychology around the topic tends to regard Trans people (especially Trans women) as oddities to be researched, defined and categorised. Of course, there is no malice or untoward motivation in most of this – it is what it is – but there’s no denying the growing scientific interest in the entire nature of sex, sexuality and gender.
What this has created is an environment where LGBT+, and in particular Trans people, have become the topics of conversations that don’t actually involve them. People talk about them, rather than with them. Everyone now has an opinion, based on their feelings about it, backed up by whatever “science” they find to support those feelings. But they are also the topic of genuine scientific inquiry, which, despite being beneficial, is still people discussing your very being.
So here’s the thing – imagine, if you can, how that would make you feel. People telling you how you should feel or react, how you should behave, how you should think, how you should look, discussing your mental health and your physiology, constantly. Imagine being confronted on a daily basis by people who think you are sick and deluded. needing psychiatric help. Can you possibly begin to understand this?
Trans people, and Trans women in particular, are faced with issues most of us can’t begin to comprehend, and yet they are left out of the conversations or dismissed entirely! In some cases, this can create extreme radicalism fueled by hate and fear. But for the vast majority, it reinforces and increases that mental distress they already face through battling with the complexities of gender dysphoria. Either way, it’s a mess.
What do we do about this?
Listen to them! Include them. Hear their stories, their hearts, their struggles. In fact. let them lead the discussions. Our only valid input is to help them process their traumas with empathy and encouragement through love. They don’t need our opinions, no matter how passionate we are about them. Support the science and research, but give Trans people direct input into the whole issue. They aren’t Guinea Pigs and freaks who must be dissected and analysed – they are human beings who, more than anything, need to be loved and accepted as they are. The science can wait.
Live Loved!
