la_vie_noire | (no subject)

Via Sociological Images (WARNING: SI's with problematic language on the headline, comments full of transphobic fail). A Series of Questions: pictures showing questions that dehumanize and objectify trans people.

Many documentary photographic projects that deal with trans issues exploit the genders of their subjects, pointing to an "otherness" or inappropriately exoticizing their bodies. "A Series of Questions" seeks instead to make visible the transphobia and gender-baiting that can become part of everyday interactions and lives, forming a fuller picture of the various lived experiences. In so doing, this work contrasts with the dehumanizing approaches that predominate the images made of transgender and transsexual people, which often focus solely on their trans status or use them to further a specific point about social construction and gender.

And okay, I have a lot of problems with Renee and she has shown some ugly privilege towards trans people. Now, thought, she wrote an article that I find very interesting about gender attitudes. ETA: Please read Keeva's entry where she explains how Renee's post really falls into the trope of "gender binary as a tramp for ~~cis people~~ everyone;" and how it erases trans people, trivializing their experiences..

When you Transgress the Gender Binary.

Boy, we tell ya! We spotted this picture and thought it couldn’t get any worser...until we spotted the one below of him turned around!!!

Pop the top and peep fruity-pops’ backside

The sole purpose of posting these images was to hold this man up to ridicule and the Bossip commenters did not disappoint.

Socially we are very invested in maintaining the gender binary and the moment someone does not perform gender to match the constructed norms they are disciplined. How does this man posing for a picture really become threatening, unless we have decided that certain bodies are abnormal specifically to maintain underserved privileges?

Gender is something that is a concern for everyone because we are all disciplined. Women can be attacked for not being suitably feminine, gay men are called swishy and effeminate, the trans community faces various marginalizations including but not limited to discrimination in employment and housing, and even heterosexual cisgender men can quickly find themselves the center of ridicule, the moment they admit they are not he-men.

We spread the social lie that everyone is allowed to pursue happiness as long as it is not damaging to others, but clearly this is not the case. Even though we know that the gender binary is a false construct and damaging to so many people, we continue to perpetuate it in many aspects of life.

Gender continues to be a very important area to organize around, specifically because it effects millions of people across the globe everyday. And when we ignore it’s significance because it may not seem readily apparent, we set the stage for our own maginalization.

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...you almost made me read a post by Renee, but i dodged that bullet.

Gender is something that is a concern for everyone because we are all disciplined. [...] and even heterosexual cisgender men can quickly find themselves the center of ridicule, the moment they admit they are not he-men.

it's always important to center things back where the discussion belongs, on heterosexual cis men.

and of course, a lot of trans people aren't breaking the gender binary, but trying to live within it. this whole "oh we're all affected by the gender binary, just like trans people!" is a subtle form of trans erasure. -- even though binary thinking on gender sucks, yes, there's obviously more to it than just declaring that If you are a man cooking dinner or a woman using a drill, you are guilty of breaking the gender binary. and thus being cis is just like being trans.

...you almost made me read a post by Renee, but i dodged that bullet.

okay, fuck, no, i didn't dodge it. and now i wish i had.

Damn, sorry about that. Yeah, you are right about the gender binary.

Sorry again.

it's okay, and you can link (or else i WOULD have friendslocked it), i don't mind.

hers isn't the most egregious example necessarily, but it's all too common with cis people who want to think they're enlightened and understand trans stuff with regards to gender but fucking don't -- and really aren't interested in being called out on their ignorance and cis privilege.

and honestly? the negative comments at Renee's blog are not substantially different in any way from the negative comments she calls out from Bossip.

I just wanted to make sure. :)

And it's really frustrating when they write about issues as if they are experts while getting furious when their privilege is pointed out.

Yeah, fuck.