Post by gameboy on Jan 17, 2021 18:38:03 GMT
I agree with your position on transgender. The decision to convert can only be made when the individual is an adult. And parents and doctors and even the child himself cannot make such a decision until the individual has reached adulthood. I'm also on record as opposing genital mutilation as part of a sex change operation. If gender is truly a social construct, then why are genitals being mutilated to conform to a social construct?
But transgender folks have always been part of the gay community. So I see no problem including them under the rainbow umbrella. We have to remember that in the legendary Stonewall Riots which are generally accepted as the beginning of the current gay liberation movement, it was the drag queens* who led the resistance against the police. *And at the time they were called "drag queens". But many drag queens were transgender.
I loved Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert!!! I surprised you didn't being from that part of the world. I also liked To Wong Foo but thought Priscilla was better.
That goes back to the previous discussion, that drag queens are not transgender/transexual, nor are they transvestite, which is normally reserved for straight dudes who get their kicks from women's clothing. Today, Transgender is more clearly defined and is a gender dysphoria, therefore a disorder right off the bat. I don't care for the entire movement regardless, because of how it fragments away from what is considered normal and is patronizing, yet if its to be there, I don't care to have anything to do with it apart from the genuine sexuality labels. Transgender will largely want to claim straight not gay once transitioned.
Priscilla was hyped very much in Oz at the time. I just wasn't really getting into it, nor the characters. I also found it typical Ozzie dry and crude humor. To Wong Foo was a breath of fresh air in comparison. I found the acting better, the characters funnier and it was warm and sweet and highlighted the fabulous gay representation that Priscilla wanted to express but I feel failed. It held so much more charm for me. I went back the next day to see it, yet the people I was with who loved Priscilla, looked at me and said what was that we just saw?
The issue is whether or not transgender belongs in the queer movement. Like you said, transvestites are heterosexual males who get their heterosexual thrill from women's clothes. Drag queens may be entertainers on stage. But many of them, like in Stonewall riots, are gay men who wear women's clothes casually or at the clubs. So I must believe there is some element of transgender involved. So as to whether we as gay men acknowledge the 'T' as part of our struggle, they are part of our community.
Here's pics from the Stonewall riots and demonstrations. Guys in drag were forefront.
