TW: Suicide, Transphobia

The concept of transness within the general public is often regarded as “taboo” or “controversial.” Topics regarding transgender people and issues are often skirted around and suppressed. Why is this the case, and what can we do to fix it? 

The main problem with trans voices being heard is the loud minority of transphobic people. Transphobia has been on the rise in recent years with prominent figures perpetuating ignorant ideas of who trans people are. It is important to remember that, while some people believe these ideas, they are in the minority. The majority of people are neutral on this topic. Neutrality, however, comes with its drawbacks. Almost as harmful as spreading anti-trans rhetoric is remaining silent about the issue. Transphobia stems from a lack of information, information about key ideas relating to gender and biology. Continuing to be ignorant about these topics only serves to further the suppression of trans voices. You can help this situation by just keeping trans people in the conversation, whether that be supporting your local trans person or actively advocating for trans rights.

A harmful argument spread by supposedly “neutral” parties is the idea that trans people are forcing their ideology down people’s throats. These parties claim neutrality with the condition of silence. Silence only serves to make it easier to oppress a group. At the end of the day, the oppression of trans people is the thing that holds them back from being who they are. Personally, yes, I will correct you if you say something ignorant, and I will continue to talk about trans people in spite of it being “controversial.” 

This article is not going to debunk the rhetoric of trans-deniers; however, a certain level of understanding is required to listen to trans voices. It’s important to acknowledge that gender and sex are two different things. Gender is a social construct. It’s not a tangible concept. Gender exists on a spectrum, and on either end of the spectrum is what we consider to be “female” and “male.” Sex is the chromosomes that you were born with. Basic biology states that if you have XX chromosomes you are born with female sex organs, and if you have XY chromosomes, you are born with male sex organs. This is a simplified interpretation of chromosomes, and it ignores cases like intersex people or people with chromosomal mutations. Intersex people are often looked over when discussing the topic of sex. People with intersex characteristics make up roughly 1.7% of the population. That is a lot of people to completely ignore. But where do trans people figure into this? We will omit every case of physiological theory that supports trans people’s existence in favor of the nihilist view. So what if trans people don’t exist? What if gender and sex are the same? Then it still doesn’t matter. I have a maximum of 80 years on this earth, and I don’t plan on spending it all as one gender. Personally, I’m getting a bit bored of this one. The point is, as long as you are happy and comfortable in your body, you are valid. 

As it stands right now, it is customary to employ a forced outing policy in many schools across the US. If students use pronouns that don’t align with their sex, they will have their parents notified of this change. The forced outing of a student is considered moral because it is the parent’s right to know.

Is it?

No. I don’t think it is safe, especially in a state such as Alabama where the general consensus on trans people is “not in this house.” A forced outing may lead to trans children being put into uncomfortable situations at best and onto the streets at worst. But by all means, notify the parents. They know what’s best for their children, and it’s their right to disown them for being a different gender than expected. Of course, not all parents are bigoted, but enough of them are to make this an unsafe policy.

40% of trans people in America attempt suicide. I try to express a clean and unemotive tone while writing opinion articles, but this is an absolute tragedy. I don’t want you to think of this as a number. I want you to think of this as people. We forget that we’re dealing with people. Not numbers and not political statements, but people. Every transgender person has a life they want to live. I think it is important to remember them as people as we continue to strip rights from them. So, please…

Talk about trans people.