The Trans List: Toward Gender Liberation

Go Watch This on HBO Go

A couple weeks ago Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was dragged by the trans community for an interview she did with the British Channel 4. I just recently got up on Adichie. I've read three of her books in the last year: Purple Hibiscus, The Thing Around Your Neck and Half a Yellow Sun. I think she's an amazing writer and I love how she gives critiques on gender roles and patriarchy in her books. After just coming to admire her work, when I heard about the incident I was like "Dang, I don't want her to be transphobic." However, as many trans activist pointed out after this fiasco, you can't be afraid to check your faves.

In the interview she was asked if transwomen are women. Her response was "Transwomen are transwomen." She goes on to say that gender is about how we are treated by the world not about how we look or whether we have a vagina or a penis. She says since transwomen have existed as men prior to their transition, they have enjoyed the experiences of male privilege. Therefore they can't be placed in the same category as women who were born female, and never experienced male privilege. As a result of these comments, she was called transphobic, ignorant, "a tool of the patriarchy," etc. After looking at the interview and reading the criticisms that ensued I stared blankly at my computer screen for a few minutes.

I didn't get it. I actually agreed with Adichie on the part about privilege. But when it came to gender, I still believed that what made people women or men was strictly their biology. In my mind since transwomen were not born with vaginas I didn't think they were or could ever be women. Still as a black person I know that prejudice, backward thinking and ignorance can be insidious. We all have some work to do in terms of correcting falsehoods we've learned from our society and culture. So I'm like, "Hmmmm, let's dig a little deeper."

I sent the question, "Are transwomen women?" to a group chat I have with a few female friends: 1 cis-gender, 1 gay, 1 bisexual. (I didn't get one "representative" from each group on purpose, this is just our group dynamic) My bisexual friend was the only one who said "Yes." She was also the only one who actually had conversations with trans people on the subject.

I still had a hard time understanding how transwomen are undoubtedly women and I tried to bridge the gap with my own reasoning which looked a little like this:

Gender is a social construct. If gender is something made up by society then it's true definition is limitless. It has the ability to be fluid and exist on a spectrum. On this spectrum, I thought, women are on one end and men are on the other. So then on the side closer to women there's a notch for transwomen. Tada?

Uh un.

That's my own personal logic based on something I know nothing about that fails to include transgender people in the conversation. That ain't gone work.

So my bi-friend suggested I take a look at The Trans List.

Caroline Cossey

The Trans List is a HBO documentary that was released in December 2016. The doc included interviews with 10 transgender people and one non-binary person. For a full hour they told their own stories and experiences in their own words. AKA exactly what I needed to see and hear.

When I say my mind was blown, honey. Boouuuushchsch! (That's the sound of my mind being blown) They introduced me to concepts on gender that I wasn't open-minded enough to question or consider on my own. Also hearing their stories on what it feels like to be trans enlightened and helped me to understand how transwomen are women and how transmen are men. Let me tell you what I found out.

Gender ≠ Genitalia

This was one of those concepts that blew my mind. The interview that crystallized this truth for me was that of Alok Vaid-Menon, a non-binary person who identifies as femme. They talked about gender being an essence that can't be defined or fixed. They believe that femininity exists outside of mere bodies. Alok says that's the problems with the west, it's obsessed with the body. They say, "Patriarchal society has taught us that women are just vaginas and mothers, just reproductive agents." That's the exact definition that I was using. Well, damn.

Alok Vaid-Menon

This was a concept that was reiterated throughout the documentary. Being a woman is more than having a vagina. "That is just a small part of the larger picture." says Caroline Cossey. She's a gorgeous model, ex James Bond girl and the first transwoman to pose for Playboy. We are more than our sex organs. This opens up infinite possibilities for how we can define gender.

Our current definition only allows for gender to be understood as how the world treats/sees us. We are the gender roles that are shoved down our throats. Why should we be solely defined by how others perceive us? It's incredibly limiting to think I am only what the world says I am. And let's not forget how the world says f*cked up, untrue stuff about different kinds of people all the time. Merriam-Webster they ain't.

What about my own autonomy? What about how I feel as a woman? What about my own interpretations of masculinity and femininity? Womanhood is our relationships and interactions with friends and family, our roles as caretakers, providers, healers, nurtures, lovers, educators; the list goes on and on and on. Alok and the trans individuals in this film are doing amazing work to expand notions of womanhood and manhood. They're actually allowing each and everyone of us more freedom in our own gender identities and expressions. ¡Viva La Liberation!

Alok ain't done teaching though. Being of Indian descent, they talked about how India has a long ancestral tradition of gender non-conformity. Even their Gods change genders. There's also a large part of South Asia that allows you to be listed as a third gender on your identity documents. Alok says that for thousands of years their culture found ways to understand gender as relationship with land, families, care-taking etc. But then came British colonization. Trans people in India were labeled as eunuchs, men without penises. (There goes that obsession with the body and genitalia again) Trans individuals were then criminalized by British colonizers and eventually ended up hated and despised by their own community. Alok says though there once existed this vast expression of gender in their culture, all that is lost and gender becomes genitals.

Whoa. It's crazy that we have actually regressed in our understanding of gender. We are literally imprisoning ourselves, confining ourselves to these tiny boxes when there exists vast amounts of space and opportunity to express ourselves however we want. This really isn't just a trans issue. We all could reap in the rewards of this kind of gender liberation.

Fewer Options = Dire Consequences

Gender liberation also means life for trans individuals, especially youth, that can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. The need for multiple gender identities and vaster gender expressions is dire.

Buck Angel

Buck Angel's first suicide attempt was at the age of 16. He saw no future for himself. Ironically, it was the option to end his life that kept him going. He knew at any moment, if life got too hard to live, he could end it all. Even more tragically for Buck, though he sought help by going to therapy, no one in the '80s and '90s had the tools to help him. It's heartbreaking to realize that these are the things trans youth are facing; sometimes without the help and support of their families. At such a young age, the world should be yours. You have more opportunities at this age to be anything you can fathom. But even at this very moment there are children, like young Buck, who are struggling to find reasons to simply exist. They're struggling to remain in a world that has repeatedly said "There's no place for you here."

Thankfully Buck's story got a whole lot better. He found a therapist that affirmed and believed him when he said he felt like a man. He also found a hormone doctor to aid him in his decision to transition. Buck took the plunge and it saved his life. But not every story ends like Buck's. He knows how dark and damning it can be growing up as a transgender youth. He knows that as a kid you feel so lost and so pained; you feel as if you have no options.

Lessons to Live by

Life. That should be our top concern. Whatever gives you the ability to see out of the darkness and into the light, grab it baby, grab it. I care more that you're here. We need you here. You should have life and have it more abundantly. The trans community have a right to life and love. Furthermore, it is our duty to protect them. If we could truly live by the Golden Rule, there would be a lot fewer children, women and men who can't envision a future for themselves.

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

If you're trying to reconcile your faith on trans issues or other issues that affect the livelihood of any group of people, I implore you to ask yourself, "How am I treating my neighbor? Do I care for them? Do I love them? Does my life and my actions make them want to know the God I know?" We are here to give our lives to the cause of loving people.

If you don't believe in God ask yourself what type of world you'd rather live in. What side of history you want to be on. What kind of legacy you want to leave.

Miss Major, an activist in the film, said it best when asked about her own legacy:
"She came. She cared. She left."