By Ruth A. Sheets
Today is the last day of Women’s History Month which overlaps one day with “Trans Day of Visibility.” I am a family member of trans persons, a friend of more, and a supporter of trans persons everywhere. Despite what people like Donald Trump, and his warped administration believe, transgender persons have been part of the human community probably from the beginning of our species.
Over time, trans persons’ degree of acceptance in groups and societies has varied. It is only in the past century or so that science has been able to help facilitate a match between a person’s gender identity and physical body and hormones. However, it seems over time, trans people have found ways to live their correct gender despite having non-matching physical characteristics, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.
What is going on now? As far as I can tell, it is about control. Anti-trans persons want to have sufficient control to say, “you are illegal and I am going to hurt you if you don’t agree with what I believe and you don’t live as your birth sex.” There is no honest reason for this white “straight” male stance, but they don’t care; it’s about control. For Trump and friends, their public stance is that white “straight” male is the basic human form and everyone else is inferior and in need of control by those white “straight” men whose money or something else magically adds to their intelligence and puts them in power, supposedly letting them determine who is acceptable and who is not. So let’s see who is acceptable to them:
- - “Trad (traditional) Wives” who stay at home, demand nothing, pump out lots of white babies, and care for hubby as though he were another of her brood
- - Men who are willing to work hard for crap wages so the rich white men, magically in charge can bring in huge salaries for minimal work
- -people of color, invisible except as servants, house cleaners, hotel “maids,” custodians of golf clubs and other hang-outs for the rich white men and their accepted buddies
- - International leaders who will bow and scrape in subservience to the American autocracy and give “good deals” for everything the rich white American men demand
- - People who look, talk, think, and act just like themselves, but not too much
The unacceptable includes the rest of us:
- - Smart, clever, creative women who are independent, even choosing not to have a hubby or to bear children
- - White men who dare to challenge the white male status quo, writing and speaking about just how stupid such a world view really is
- - Researchers who have known for some time that female is the basic human form; males need extra hormones injected in the womb to become male,
- - Scientists who work to understand and will share the truth, demonstrating just what fools’ men who choose conspiracy theories and bad science, like RFK, Jr. and friends are
- - LGBTQ+ persons because they don’t fit the “acceptable” male-female behaviors
- - Judges who rule honestly, can’t be bribed, and hold to their oath to our Constitution
- - Protesters of the dictatorial nature of the current government, folks who want Black History, women’s history, Asian-American history, Hispanic History, Native American history and more, respected, taught, and shared
You get it, the rich white “straight” men and the tiny fraction of “allies” they permit into their sphere, resent everyone who is not a perfect minion. They want to defeat and subdue anyone who is not willing to accept enslavement and is not OK with abuse and denial of rights. These rich white “straight” men are scared of the rest of us and are putting forth massive efforts to control us all so they can do whatever they wish unfettered with no regulation, no oversight. They assume their wealth and power will keep them from suffering from the smoggy air, bad water, unwilling workforce. They are now recruiting the minions whom they will use to control us, if we permit it.
Trans persons and LGBTQ+ persons in general are not the ones who are doing damage to our society. Having trans girls on girls’ teams will not destroy a sport that men have ignored forever. It is not trans people using their appropriate bathrooms that put anyone at risk; it is white males and some other men who think it is their right to prey on other people who pose a threat, though minimal at best. Let’s fight the rich white “straight” male desire to control everything and everyone, and to do harm to anyone who does not succumb. There are more of us than there are of them, a lot more!
So, let’s celebrate! Be glad that many people are working to make it possible for all people to live their lives as they choose. Happy Day of Trans Visibility!