To my knowledge, no Wesleyan graduates or current students have been murdered for identifying or presenting as gender-variant. That’s a luxury, and has a lot to do with the intersections of race and class privilege in attending an elite university in the United States. We know there have been over three murders each month on the basis of gender identity or expression. Of those reported murders, all have been transwomen of color, mostly lower-income. That’s Transphobia. Transphobia is also here, though, on this campus.
Transphobia is when the class relies on the trans students in the classroom to educate them on everything related to gender.
Transphobia is when people I’ve known for the past two years and see on a regular basis still mess up my pronouns and expect me to still be polite about correcting them, acknowledging that “they’re trying.” Trying what? Trying to fit me into a binary gender identity? Trying to decide for me which pronoun “looks” like me?
Transphobia is Foss Cross, setting transpeople up as the really funny Other to pretend to be for one night a year.
Transphobia is the way people are only recognized as trans on this campus if they are white and female-assigned.
Transphobia is about the professors who still refuse to allow their students to use gender-neutral pronouns in their papers, “at least until The New York Times uses it as its standard.”
Transphobia is about professors not encouraging students to use gender-neutral pronouns and language in papers and other academic discourse.
Transphobia is creating spaces in which I am to congratulate people for their Liberal Personas (ex. Using “ze” and “hir” upon occasion, attending a Gender Workshop, reading Kate Bornstein, and then pulling those out as Ally Points).
Transphobia is one attitude around me, and another at home or in the locker room, or anywhere my marked body isn’t around as a visual reminder.
Transphobia is well-meaning groups that exclude transpeople because “they haven’t figured out how to approach trans stuff” yet.
Transphobia is not having gender-neutral bathroom options across campus, and getting questioned for my presence in gendered bathrooms.
Transphobia is positioning trans-activism as “the” radical queer politics on campus and perpetuating white blindness to student of color and anti-racist activism.
Transphobia is Davison and Behavioral Health referring students off campus who are thinking about getting counseling around gender identity or medically transitioning, making these options inaccessible to students without the financial resources and/or family support to afford such services.
Transphobia is The Argus, “correcting” the gender-neutral pronouns in my Wespeak last year to “he” and “him” and “his.”
Transphobia is The Argus printing birth names and pronouns, and old yearbook pictures, of transpeople who have carefully chosen not to use them.
Transphobia is the fear that this won’t be published because we’re not supposed to acknowledge that Wesleyan University is not responsible to its diversity.
Transphobia is you not thinking this applies to you.
Leave a Reply