Friday, December 28, 2012

This list rebuttal

After stewing for quite a while I decided to reply to this thread line by line and respond to all of the wonderful privileges us "cisgender" people have.

Please comment below if you have any additions or revisions to make!
  1. Use public restrooms without fear of verbal abuse, physical intimidation, or arrest No one can help the face you feel like you are the opposite sex in which you actually are, but a lot of people don't feel comfortable using the restroom with people with opposite plumbing, are you saying the whole should change b/c of the needs of a few?  Also if you look like the opposite sex then why is this an issue?  If I were to walk into a womens' restroom I would expect the same thing, what I feel like I am doesn't change the flesh.
  2. Use public facilities such as gym locker rooms and store changing rooms without stares, fear, or anxiety.  See the answer above, like that times 100.  Do you think women will feel comfortable changing in the presence of what appears to be a male?  Do men want to change clothes and turn around and see a vagina?(perversion and sex notwithstanding).  If I identified as a dragon should I get a special changing room?   
  3. Strangers don’t assume they can ask you what your genitals look like and how you have sex. I had a vasectomy, people ask if I can still ejaculate or if it changed anything.  People are curious and when you say hey I changed the landscape of my pubic area, yeah people will be curious.  If you don't have the grace to answer the question I feel bad for you.  
  4. Your validity as a man/woman/human is not based on how much surgery you’ve had or how well you “pass” as non-transgender.  I didn't make the choice to try and change my gender, and by proxy the shape of my entire body.  If you turn out to be a manly woman or a feminine man, it's not my fault.  You are still a valid human, but it doesn't mean that I have to accept shit on my part past that.  You played the "non-binary" card ect. ect.  If I traveled to an Asian country and had my penis turned inside out and formed into what looks like a vagina and lived as a woman, i would look like a piss poor woman.  
  5. You have the ability to walk through the world and generally blend-in, not being constantly stared or gawked at, whispered about, pointed at, or laughed at because of your gender expression.  Its your expression as much so as someone who gets an eagle tattooed on their forehead.  You are free to do as you please and I am free to do as I please.
  6. You can access gender exclusive spaces such as the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, Greek Life, or Take Back the Night and not be excluded due to your trans status.  You could start a Trans-Fest 3000 and only have it open to trans.  I'm not angry I'm not invited to Womyn's Music Festival.  
  7. Strangers call you by the name you provide, and don’t ask what your “real name” [birth name] is and then assume that they have a right to call you by that name.  If I changed my name to Trogdor, I would expect the same.  Knew a guy named Lestat people asked it all the time, he shrugged it off with grace b/c it came with that decision.
  8. You can reasonably assume that your ability to acquire a job, rent an apartment, or secure a loan will not be denied on the basis of your gender identity/expression.  If the state recognizes you as a man and you say you're a woman or show up looking like one, you probably will be looked at as a liar.  We can't make sexuality subject to the whims of the person when it comes to identification, and be subject to someone changing their sex constantly.  You were born with equipment down there, that's your sex.  I've never seen a loan ask my sex.  
  9. You have the ability to flirt, engage in courtship, or form a relationship and not fear that your biological status may be cause for rejection or attack, nor will it cause your partner to question their sexual orientation.  Because you changed you penis into a structure that resembles a vagina and try to live as a straight woman doesn't mean your partner is not allowed to know about your status.  It's easy to say hey i'm trans before a courtship, if you wait till you have gone farther than first base or the first date a man very well may see you as a man especially if you are still intact down there and he has a right to know what you are packing.  To parade as the opposite sex with the wrong equipment and enter into a relationship with someone is fraudulent.  
  10. If you end up in the emergency room, you do not have to worry that your gender will keep you from receiving appropriate treatment, or that all of your medical issues will be seen as a result of your gender.  Probably should share that with your doctor. This statement is also incredibly paranoid.
  11. Your identity is not considered a mental pathology (“gender identity disorder” in the DSM IV) by the psychological and medical establishments.  Wanting to change your body structure and willing to undergo surgery to change that sounds like mental illness, but hey we are laypeople.  (I know homosexuality was considered the same, however homosexuals don't go to the extreme of mutilating their genitalia.)
  12. You have the ability to not worry about being placed in a sex-segregated detention center, holding facility, jail or prison that is incongruent with your identity.  I'm sorry but if we're sorting by the parts down there, well, then you should go with like parts?
  13. You have the ability to not be profiled on the street as a sex worker because of your gender expression.  Don't dress like a hooker.
  14. You are not required to undergo an extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.  You are telling me your doctor won't see you for the cold without you first seeing a psychiatrist?
  15. You do not have to defend you right to be a part of “Queer,” and gays and lesbians will not try to exclude you from “their” equal  rights movement because of your gender identity (or any equality movement, including feminist rights).  GLBTQ?  Bisexuals are sometimes ostracized because of their sexuality, if it's a problem then form your own group.   
  16. If you are murdered (or have any crime committed against you), your gender expression will not be used as a justification for your murder (“gay panic”) nor as a reason to coddle the perpetrators.  If you lied about being trans and a lover became distraught because of it, well it's a viable defense.  When I enter into a relationship in infer what sex the person is by their appearance, and if they were opposite that I would be upset(yes even being bi).  Also, if someone is shot in a neighborhood that is known for gang activity then they may initially think it's because of that, seems like there is a trend with transgenders that make police approach it that way.  
  17. You can easily find role models and mentors to emulate who share your identity.  Genisis P'Orridge?
  18. Hollywood accurately depicts people of your gender in films and television, and does not solely make  your identity the focus of a dramatic storyline, or the punchline for a joke.  Because people are born with certain equipment, and trans people can take on a very androgynous look.  Gay people are still joked about but take it in stride.  
  19. Be able to assume that everyone you encounter will understand your identity, and not think you’re confused, misled, or hell-bound when you reveal it to them.   Boys have penises girls have vaginas is easy to understand.  A girl with boobs and a penis is not.  
  20. Being able to purchase clothes that match your gender identity without being refused service/mocked by staff or questioned on your genitals.  If it's such a concern wear a wedding ring and pretend you are buying for your spouse.  
  21. Being able to purchase shoes that fit your gender expression without having to order them in special sizes or asking someone to custom-make them.  Supply and demand, do you want Nike to come out with a "trans-superstar cross trainer" and only sell 10 pairs a year and take a loss because of your very specific and special shoe needs.  I know people who have one leg shorter than the other and have to have their shoes modified to work for their body, it's part of the hand they were dealt.
  22. No stranger checking your identification or drivers license will ever insult or glare at you because your name or sex does not match the sex they believed you to be based on your gender expression.  It's a natural thing for people to assume your gender based upon how you look, if it doesn't match yeah they may be surprised, its part of the hand you were dealt.  
  23. You can reasonably assume that you will not be denied services at a hospital, bank, or other institution because the staff does not believe the gender marker on your ID card to match your gender identity.  If it matches the equipment downstairs then how is that an issue?  A bank is dealing with money, if someone looks like a woman but has the name Johnathan Mancake Hairybottom, then questions should be asked for security's sake especially if the picture on the ID doesn't match the person standing before them.  
  24. Having your gender as an option on a form.  What gender is that?  Also if I wanted to identify my race as "dragon" then should I get a special option on the form too?
  25. Being able to tick a box on a form without someone disagreeing, and telling you not to lie.  Yes, this happens.  Because of the disparity between what the person presents physically and what they are saying on paper.  
  26. Not fearing interactions with police officers due to your gender identity.  Saying you are female when the state recognizes you as male is lying to the police.  
  27. Being able to go to places with friends on a whim knowing there will be bathrooms there you can use.  There are, male and female.  
  28. You don’t have to convince your parents of your true gender and/or have to earn your parents’ and siblings’ love and respect all over again.  Same could be said for homosexuals, but I don't want my boys getting their penises removed.  
  29. You don’t have to remind your extended family over and over to use proper gender pronouns (e.g., after transitioning).  Refer to someone as something for long time and see how hard it is to change that, esp b/c they will still see you as the sex in which you were born.  
  30. You don’t have to deal with old photographs that did not reflect who you truly are.  I was a fat kid there are pictures I don' t like Wahh.  
  31. Knowing that if you’re dating someone they aren’t just looking to satisfy a curiosity or kink pertaining to your gender identity (e.g., the “novelty” of having sex with a trans- person).  Even if so, the person still likes you who are.  
  32. Being able to pretend that anatomy and gender are irrevocably entwined when having the “boy parts and girl parts” talk with children, instead of explaining the actual complexity of the issue.  Boys have penises, girls have vaginas, there are some people who want to change things down there and will dress as the opposite sex, have fun dating kids.  
  33. http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2011/11/list-of-cisgender-privileges/  this is the page in which I got the list from, 

It's not "cisgender priviledge"

I read a blog recently that had a list of 30+ cisgender privileges.  To say it pissed me off is an understatement and here's why. 
Most people fit into clearly identified genders and most people assume that if you look like one sex you are that sex.  It's not a bad thing and works an overwhelming majority of the time.  It's not my fault you get butthurt when you look like a man and I call you sir.  You are an exception not the rule.  Don't tell me you are a non-binary genderqueer pansexual who like the Xi pronoun.  I'm not calling you by that, mostly because I will be walking away at that point and not talking to you ever again. 
Don't complain about being questioned or given dirty looks when using the bathroom or lockerroom of the gender you identify with(or complain you can't go because there is no "other" option).  Those are places of privacy and most people prefer to be going to the bathroom/being naked around people of the same sex for that business.  Seeing you walk in with implants in your chest, a pronounced Adams apple, body hair, and a big floppy penis to boot makes others uncomfortable.  Your rights don't supercede that of people who identify with their correct gender.  You are not a special snowflake that uses surgery to feel "right" and expect the majority to bow to your will and place their own comfort below yours.  If this were the case I could go hey I gotta dick but I identify as a woman and my wife is a lesbian so im going to bring my twig and berries to your lockerroom and look at your naked asses! 
When I was in high school I was out of the closet as bi.  I made sure that in the locker room I didn't stare or gawk at any guy because it would make them uncomfortable and would make my prescense unwelcome.  I had respect and trust from them because I went with the flow and didnt stare and never used being bi as an excuse to make another person uncomfortable when they had every right to be.  If my prescense around someone made them uncomfortable they could shove it, but I respected their boundaries.
Also if you have a penis you can't be a lesbian and if you have a vagoo you can't be a gay man.  Those are labels we use to identify people and have very real definitions.  You only serve to muddy the waters when you are a dude screaming you are a lesbian trapped in a man's body.  That's called a heterosexual.  You can scream all you want but you can't identify as lesbian and actually be a lesbian any more so than I can be a black woman(I'm a white male).
All of your terms and different pronouns sound preachy or just plain irritating.  If I can't infer at least some things about you by looking at you(male/female white/black etc) and you have to tell me what in the fuck you are, I will ignore you.  "You are a white female, possibly bi."  "Wrong I'm a trans-male who is pansexual!" It's really fucking irritating. 
One final note, I didn't give you all the labels, and groups of people generally end up choosing their own label.  We biologically-mentally right people didn't choose the asinine cisgender label.  It's all a ploy anyway to make yourselves seem like you are on a spectrum instead of abnormal(check to DSM IV btw).  Since you gave me a term though if you call me a cisgender I will call you either "an inside out dicked cock mutilator" or "one who pulled a pole out of a hole".  If you want to call me something, call me normal because that's what I identify as and to call me otherwise is asking me to give you consideration you won't reciprocate. 

Monday, December 24, 2012

Coming out

Being that I'm a 27 year old married man who came out as bi nine years ago, I have all but forgotten what it was like when I came out and how difficult trying to get a date was when being very open about being bi.  It wasn't until one of my friends was asking me what it was like when he found out his 16 year old younger brother was bi. 
I realized that I could help him with some of the finer points and harsh realities of what it's like being bi.
1. Don't think the GLBTQ community is as inviting as they make it sound.  It might as well be the GLTQ community.  Many gay men / lesbians are leery of bisexuals and are scared they will run off with someone of the opposite sex.  Men love bi women but think that it means that threesomes are on the table.  Women often think bi men are gay and will try to treat them as gay men, or are worried they will run off with a man.
2.Many straight people will think you are gay or "confused" or "greedy". 
3. Have your cake and eat it too will probably be said to you more than once
4. Some gay men sometimes think bi men who are with women can't be fully pleased by a woman.
5.If you are in a hetero relationship and are bi, forget being taken seriously in the GLBTQ community.
6.Other bi people are generally easier to be in a relationship with and better understand where you are coming from.
Its not all doom and gloom, if you are in an open relationship or a threesome comes up, you are at an advantage.  You get to appreciate the asthetic of both sexes, which are wonderful but for different reasons.  You are open to a variety of experiences and are not constrained to one sex(no man they are great too bad they are not the opposite sex than what they are) 
In the end, being bi can be stressful and can make you feel like no one understands you or how your sexuality works, but plenty of people do(I know I do) and you are not alone.