Pride Month has come and gone and with that, the support from major corporations that seem to offer little more than lip service when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. I suppose I am used to that by now.
I saw a company post about Pride Month the other day and how June is meant to celebrate queer culture and it got me thinking about transgender culture specifically. It prompted me to consider “what is transgender culture, anyway?”
A lot of queer culture, particularly at Pride events, seem to lean into the camp, antiquated stereotypes that have been associated with the LGBTQ+ community for decades. It’s meant to be fun and, on some level, perhaps it’s meant to “take back” the aforementioned stereotypes that have been thrust upon us. What I mean is that when I was younger “queer” was very much an insult, but today the community has adopted the word to be empowering and inclusive. We made the word “ours”, if you will.
And I like the word ‘queer’. It’s vague enough to include everyone (if they want to be included) and it’s not limited to sexual identity. Am I queer? Sure. But I am queer when it comes to gender.
But I feel transgender culture doesn’t really lean into the campy stereotypes that haunt our community. And I think that’s a good thing. I mean, we are primarily portrayed as fetishists and I think for most of us we want to change that narrative.
And yes, I do see the irony of how the photos I post may contribute to that narrative.
The narrative that is pushed is that all non-binary people, regardless of how an individual in the NB community may identify, is that there is no difference between a crossdresser and a transgender person. There is no difference between someone who has transitioned and someone who wears panties for sexual reasons.
If those in the transgender community leaned into that thinking, even to have a little fun, then I think it would give the people who promote that narrative even more fuel to that fire. And while it’s true that for some in the NB community, there is indeed a sexual aspect to who they are. And that’s fine, there’s nothing inherently wrong with having a kink as long as it is safe, ethical, and has the willing participation of anyone involved.
But that’s the tricky thing about culture, whether it is queer culture or anything else. The prevailing portrayal of a culture does not always represent an individual of that culture. Culture attempts, on some level, to be unifying.
So what unifies the transgender culture?
My first thought was fear. Which was really depressing, to be honest. Regardless of how you identify, there is likely an element of fear associated with who you are. When I identified as a crossdresser (or when I wear panties when I present as masculine), I was/am terrified of being caught. When I present en femme I am very cautious of being seen by people in my life that would be less than supportive of my gender identity.
We have this fear because we know what the potential consequences are when it comes to being outed. We could be ostracized from our family, we could be ridiculed at our job, we could get divorced. Regardless of your gender identity and regardless of where you are in your life, at one point you felt fear as it relates to you who you are.
You also likely were afraid of what all of this meant. Yes, you loved wearing girl clothes, but part of you may have felt fear that your wardrobe preference meant that you might transition in the future, which can introduce all sorts of anxiety-inducing life changes.
Celebrating fear is kind of lousy and not something anyone wants to do.
So, what can we celebrate? What else unifies us? What else is part of transgender culture?
Support. Acceptance. Community.
Since the NB community includes people who identify in many different ways (whether someone identifies as a crossdresser, transgender, or anything else) we need to be supportive and protective of each other, even when they identify differently than ourselves.
Why do we need to do that? Well, survival for one. We are stronger together. But also because gender identity changes over time. I identify as transgender, and twenty years ago I identified as a crossdresser. It would be hypocritical of myself if I didn’t support crossdressers.
So yes, support, acceptance, and community is a lot more optimistic than fear.
But that’s just me. What does transgender culture mean to you?
Love, Hanna
Hannah McKnight 