Café Discovery: ch-ch-changes

There have always been problems with trying to share my experience as a transwoman.  I can only speak my experience.  And I can only speak my experience from the point of view of now.  I mean, I have taken great care to preserve my writings in the 90s as they were written, because they portray how I felt then, but often I have difficulty even remembering the frame of mind I was in when I wrote them.

I am not a transman.  I cannot speak for any of them, though I can feel a sense of kinship.  And I can try to speak in favor of the rights we should have in common.  Our common experience, however, may be too ephemeral to grasp.

I am not pre-operative.  That was left far in the past.  And I forget.  I’m sure some of that forgetting has been intentional.  There are pains I would prefer were left behind.

I’m also not black.

But how can anyone understand the whole without understanding some of the parts?

We have a new blog on our Blog Roll.  I stumbled across Monica Roberts’ TransGriot when I was looking to increase diversity in my essay for Friday.

One of the discussions I stumbled on was about that fact that black transwomen are almost universally assumed to be prostitutes, in life and especially in death.  I was looking for that today when I decided to take a look at something else.

Perspective can stand to be expanded.  Besides, I’m tired and can handle a discussion much easier than a lengthy psychological analysis.

I’ve never watched America’s Next Top Model.  I was aware, of course, of its existence.  I was even aware that there was a young transwoman taking a shot at her dream.  But I didn’t watch.

I’ve never watched Myra Breckenridge either.

Monica has the entire interview of Isis on The Tyra Banks Show, but here’s enough for us to chat about.  And it comes with a surprise at the end.

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If you have some extra time, Monica also does a rant at the top of the front page about efforts by some to try and change Transgender Day of Remembrance into a “happy-happy joy-joy event.”

If you wish to have an event that takes a happy-happy joy-joy approach to publicizing transgender issues, by all means organize it and promote the hell out of it. If it’s a good one and has no connection whatsoever to the Homosexual Rights Corporation, I’ll even post whatever press release you put together for this event on TransGriot.

Just pick some other calendar date to do it.

I agree.

23 comments

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    • Robyn on November 23, 2008 at 21:02
      Author

    …emailing in my office at UCA.

  1. … both fascinating and heartbreaking.

    I am also not a devotee of the show, not having a teevee and all.  The notion that someone can disrespect another human being and say it’s because they are “a Christian” is mind-boggling.

    Not much to say, still taking it in.

    • kj on November 24, 2008 at 00:44

    the videos a bit later.

    spend a few hours today tamping down in preparation for the in-law visit next week.  how sad is that, to tamp down in advance?  ah well. it will be a lesson. i hope no one is hurt, because i’m all outta tolerance with the 20 percent and not in the mood to bite my tongue.  🙂

    just wanted to say hi and will be back later.

    • kj on November 24, 2008 at 04:24

    you posted those videos, Robyn.  i would have never seen them otherwise, and it was lovely and touching interview.  don’t know Tyra Banks from Eve, but i really like what she did there.  🙂

    • kj on November 24, 2008 at 04:24

    logo is a keeper!!!

  2. it’s just that my computer has issues with video, so I avoid them whenever possible unless they’re really really short clips (2 minutes or less).  

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