The Facebook Gauntlet
I recently posted this on my Facebook page:
“I have become a human Rorschach test. Because of my transition, people who don’t even know me feel free to call me a mentally ill pervert and other kind things — but that’s OK, because they’re rarely brave enough to do it to my face, and even more so, because I keep having experiences like I did earlier today, when a Facebook friend introduced herself and told me she loved me. I asked her if we could exchange a hug, and we did. I can’t tell you how much moments like that mean to me.”
It brought quite a flood of reactions, to say the least. A lot of my friends reaffirmed love and support for me, which was nice. Some expressed deep sadness that hateful ignorance still exists. The sad reality, though, is it always has existed, and I fear it always will exist. At first, I shrugged off negative comments without a second thought because I knew the cowards hiding behind their screens didn’t know me; I’m merely an abstract object of hate for them.
But as I learned more about the struggles of so many people whose gender identity doesn’t fit standard societal norms, I became very troubled. All you have to do is look at the statistics delineating murders and suicides in the trans community and you can see that while sticks and stones can break bones, names do indeed cause hurt — sometimes fatally hurt.
I’ve been fascinated and in some ways horrified by the reaction to the campaign to have the next James Bond be played by a transgender actor. Well, I say why not? I’m enough of an old fogey to believe that Sean Connery was the one true Bond and all who have followed are mere pretenders, but if this is one way to keep the franchise relevant to a new generation, so be it. The howls of outrage are what really make me shake my head — Piers Morgan promising to commit suicide if this comes to pass? Really, Piers? Are you than insecure in your manhood?
I’ve seen some people theorize that once the United States Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, we became the new targets. One friend said this is the last great Civil Rights battle; another disagreed, saying it’s simply the next battle, and there will always be another one ahead.
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Category: Transgender Body & Soul
About the Author (Author Profile)
Claire Hall was born and grew up in a large city on the left coast and has spent most of her adult years in a beautiful small coastal community where she's now an elected official in local government after spending many years as a newspaper and radio reporter. In her space time she loves reading, writing fiction (her first novel was published by a regional press a couple of years ago), watching classic Hollywood movies, and walking.Subscribe
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