The Trans Women's Anti-Violence Project

unheardofsongs:

there is such a huge fucking divide between the people who understand trans* identities and respect them and those that do not. the gay community is no different. at the lgbt social network group i run yesterday i showed the film no dumb questions per the recommendation of a lot of lesbians i know, several of them professors, and i thought it showed just how many really fucking dumb questions people unnecessarily ask trans* people. but then again the whole premise of asking questions and interrogating the marginalized and expecting them/us to educate you is really disconcerting to me. the cis people in the group all enjoyed the film and subsequently asked their own dumb questions (which then turned into asking me dumb questions about having a service dog) and the trans* people present were shocked at how little they knew (seriously, you didn’t know tr**ny is a slur?!? ughhh)

but i’ve been asked to be on a trans* education task force for the school to work on bridging this gap and i really, really hope it works out. i’m so sick of people’s ignorance about the lives of others

Why is it that only the lives and experiences of trans people are thought of as needing to be questioned? Trans lives are the hot topic of political discussions and academic debates, while the political status of cis people is taken for granted and goes unquestioned. Cis bodies and lives are the norm and standard by which trans bodies and lives are defined and determined.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. We need to flip the script on who gets questioned and who is asking the questions. It’s time for cis people to be put in the hot seat, to be questioned and interrogated about their privilege and assumed superiority.

Questioning cisness is exactly what is needed right now. This is similar to how anti-racists interrogate and challenge the politics of Whiteness. Works that move from the defensive position of justifying trans peoples existence to question how our society is structured around cisness will help move trans people from margin to center by confronting the power and privilege supported by cissexism and anti-trans oppression.

(Source: transfeminism)