It is a bit disingenuous to say they are just trying to live their lives in peace, they have chosen an antagonistic path by pushing to normalize the way gender is viewed in culture, which is an upset of the status quo, and that is radical by definition. it doesn’t matter what their motivations are for that to be true.
Trans people exist who who aren’t activists, but they are still part of a counterculture. It is very punk-coded. At some point in the past, punk people liked being seen as radicals.
And they choose this path because LGBT folks have been getting bullied, assaulted and murdered for just existing for about as long as civilization has existed. If they don’t stand up for themselves nobody else is going to do it for them.
The key word is “trying” - most of them are trying to live their lives largely without bothering anyone - except that “anyone” is composed of a lot of people that can’t put up with their existence. Not through any fault of the person, just because of the way they are.
I do get what you’re saying. But it’s a half step away from deriding them for their very existence, which is disgusting. They are attempting to break the status quo in the same way the civil rights movement did.
My problem is I can’t not see transgender expression as mostly being a choice. What they do to deal with their dysphoria (which amounts to body image issues, I know how serious that can be) is a decision. The decision to just go for it and start presenting as the opposite gender is the most challenging one, by nature it’s destined to be radical and have the most pushback. It’s not their body image issues that tgey are derided for, it’s their action, not their existence
Do I think that is bad? No. It is a classic underdog story, there is everything to root for
Yet I cannot view it as being even close to the civil rights movement, where people just have the wrong skin color. It just isn’t the same.
If someone is born as a boy and later in life they just decide to go “fuck you, I’m a woman” that’s punk, you cannot expect everyone from all backgrounds to understand, it is a really confronting thing. It’s actually very metal. I don’t see how anyone can think it’s just everyday existence. It’s totally a cultural choice and not just them ‘existing’ like a black person during the civil rights movement.
It is a bit disingenuous to say they are just trying to live their lives in peace, they have chosen an antagonistic path by pushing to normalize the way gender is viewed in culture, which is an upset of the status quo, and that is radical by definition. it doesn’t matter what their motivations are for that to be true.
Pulling out the big paint brush today I see.
Trans people exist who who aren’t activists, but they are still part of a counterculture. It is very punk-coded. At some point in the past, punk people liked being seen as radicals.
And they choose this path because LGBT folks have been getting bullied, assaulted and murdered for just existing for about as long as civilization has existed. If they don’t stand up for themselves nobody else is going to do it for them.
The key word is “trying” - most of them are trying to live their lives largely without bothering anyone - except that “anyone” is composed of a lot of people that can’t put up with their existence. Not through any fault of the person, just because of the way they are.
I do get what you’re saying. But it’s a half step away from deriding them for their very existence, which is disgusting. They are attempting to break the status quo in the same way the civil rights movement did.
My problem is I can’t not see transgender expression as mostly being a choice. What they do to deal with their dysphoria (which amounts to body image issues, I know how serious that can be) is a decision. The decision to just go for it and start presenting as the opposite gender is the most challenging one, by nature it’s destined to be radical and have the most pushback. It’s not their body image issues that tgey are derided for, it’s their action, not their existence
Do I think that is bad? No. It is a classic underdog story, there is everything to root for
Yet I cannot view it as being even close to the civil rights movement, where people just have the wrong skin color. It just isn’t the same.
If someone is born as a boy and later in life they just decide to go “fuck you, I’m a woman” that’s punk, you cannot expect everyone from all backgrounds to understand, it is a really confronting thing. It’s actually very metal. I don’t see how anyone can think it’s just everyday existence. It’s totally a cultural choice and not just them ‘existing’ like a black person during the civil rights movement.
Yeah, because trans people are renowned for having lots of say in the way the media and politics present them…