Encouraging Words 1/2/10-"The forest and the trees of the trans community"

Here's a message of hope for trans people from The Bilerico Project:

The LGBTQ community is riddled with emotional wounds and animus. Our identity and validity is under constant attack, both by political enemies and personal relationships. Our family ties are often strained with the pain of living an open, honest life, despite all attempts by well-meaning strangers, family, and friends to shove us back into the closet. Our people often struggle to feel accepted in a world that, for the most part, does not guarantee security, happiness, or validity to our lives.



This usually goes without saying, but I think it's important to occasionally look at the trees that make up the forest of our landscape. This article isn't going to look at the gnarled, scarred trees needing political attention. We spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the pitfalls of our livelihoods, and while this is important to advancing the cause of equality, it's not exactly the most uplifting message we can possibly provide to the online world. adrian_profile.gifToday I want to stay squarely within the bounds of hope, affirmation, and the promise of a quality life for people looking at the option of transition; I know they are out there, possibly reading this article along with everything else this site has to offer, and I want to try something different.


It was recently pointed out to me in a comment that I had no ground to discuss LGB issues, and to a certain degree the commenter was correct. I can't begin to understand the complexities of a gay identity. However, to some degree I understand the complexities of transgender life, and I think it's high time someone stood up and talked with a shade of optimism on this website. So, for the duration of this post, let's forget about the tenets of cisgender privilege, lucky/unlucky transpeople, outside pressures, passing privilege, the solidarity/disarray of the LGBTQ acronym, and all that other bullcrap that usually floods the site. This post isn't about any of that.


We are here to talk about the experience.


We are here to talk about hope.
 
Click here to read the rest of this essay.