I’m sure your memory is correct, but I think it’s missing a major part of the issue. Trans issues weren’t discussed, so you weren’t shown the bigotry that was hidden away. It’s like for black people, the majority didn’t show their bigotry until they were asking for equality. When they were “in their place” you just go about your life like normal and it’s not a point of discussion.
That said, a lot of the anti-trans movement is created artificially to use as a target to distract voters. It’s a fake issue they can purposefully misrepresent so their voters ignore the actual harm they’re doing to them.
I get where you’re coming from, but, anti-trans hate has been around for centuries. Probably longer.
Now, during the 90s, gay/lesbian advocacy was the big deal. And, honestly, the heteros got upsetteros over just that. So, trans issues were… well… unfairly delayed as an issue we all thought (at the time) should come after the mainstream could handle the simple idea of boys kissing in public without being immediately hate-crimed.
I’m on board with thinking that this was the wrong approach. There’s a little bit about this, but, I think we should’ve gone in a lot more fervently and headstrong, rather than pussyfooting around on, begging the bigots to like us, as we did at the time.
Nonetheless, here we are now.
And defining my age?
And I feel, when the dogs begin to smell her… will she smell alone?
There is research out there somewhere that confirms the commenter’s memory. I can’t find it on a whim unfortunately, I’ll post if I can find it. From what I recall from the research (I’m sure I’m butchering it): In the 80s and 90s trans people were a lot more accepted. At some point when certain monied bigots saw the writing on the wall that they were losing the fight of gay and lesbian hate they started a campaign to vilify trans people.
Yes there were always assholes and prejudice, but it’s only in the past 20 years that trans hate became a calling card of demagogues. It really was more accepted in the 90s.
In no way do I want to minimize the awful way trans people are treated, regardless of age. I’m just trying to remember some research I read once.
A lot of people forget what the 90’s was like. You could call someone a f** and people just laughed. It was part of the high school insult compendium.
Anti-gay was strong. People laughed openly at Matthew Shepard getting killed. “Shouldn’t have came onto them! I would beat up a (gay) should they ever come onto me!” I remember kids getting violently beaten in the gym locker room for being meat gazers, and the school just told the victim how this needs to stay quiet or else everyone will know your little son is gay. I went to a fairly large high school in a slightly blue city, and this was just how it was. There was no acceptance of trans because no one dared come out as trans, they saw how gay people were treated.
I am glad the zeitgeist has shifted and people can be themselves. As one of those old millennials, I honestly don’t understand trans, but I want them to be who they are and be happy. Cannot imagine being in a body where your gender feels wrong, it sounds like a daily pain. If you are reading this and are trans, there are cis people who accept you for who you are and would listen to everything you need to say.
”If you are reading this and are trans, there are cis people who accept you for who you are and would listen to everything you need to say."
Well said.
And you’ve highlighted the real reason Trek (and the Trek community) is sacred to many of us. It (and you) help us learn how to say things like this that we’re not finding the words for.
Trans issues weren’t forefront, but they weren’t completely accepted either. It wasn’t a wedge issue, but most people didn’t see trans people in their day to day life(I know invisible isn’t non existent), so it was a far off issue. They felt free to make jokes about them and never got push back.
Now we have a greater cultural movement for blanket tolerance AND an “engagement” based onmaking people angry.
Also, the idea that we live in a Monoculture is junk. You might have lived in a retentively tolerant part of the world, but doesn’t mean the next city or even neighbor over is the same. The internet is also responsible for ripping away the idea of nonoculture.
deleted by creator
I’m sure your memory is correct, but I think it’s missing a major part of the issue. Trans issues weren’t discussed, so you weren’t shown the bigotry that was hidden away. It’s like for black people, the majority didn’t show their bigotry until they were asking for equality. When they were “in their place” you just go about your life like normal and it’s not a point of discussion.
That said, a lot of the anti-trans movement is created artificially to use as a target to distract voters. It’s a fake issue they can purposefully misrepresent so their voters ignore the actual harm they’re doing to them.
I get where you’re coming from, but, anti-trans hate has been around for centuries. Probably longer.
Now, during the 90s, gay/lesbian advocacy was the big deal. And, honestly, the heteros got upsetteros over just that. So, trans issues were… well… unfairly delayed as an issue we all thought (at the time) should come after the mainstream could handle the simple idea of boys kissing in public without being immediately hate-crimed.
I’m on board with thinking that this was the wrong approach. There’s a little bit about this, but, I think we should’ve gone in a lot more fervently and headstrong, rather than pussyfooting around on, begging the bigots to like us, as we did at the time.
Nonetheless, here we are now.
And defining my age?
And I feel, when the dogs begin to smell her… will she smell alone?
I’m a similarly aged and gendered human.
There is research out there somewhere that confirms the commenter’s memory. I can’t find it on a whim unfortunately, I’ll post if I can find it. From what I recall from the research (I’m sure I’m butchering it): In the 80s and 90s trans people were a lot more accepted. At some point when certain monied bigots saw the writing on the wall that they were losing the fight of gay and lesbian hate they started a campaign to vilify trans people.
Yes there were always assholes and prejudice, but it’s only in the past 20 years that trans hate became a calling card of demagogues. It really was more accepted in the 90s.
In no way do I want to minimize the awful way trans people are treated, regardless of age. I’m just trying to remember some research I read once.
A lot of people forget what the 90’s was like. You could call someone a f** and people just laughed. It was part of the high school insult compendium.
Anti-gay was strong. People laughed openly at Matthew Shepard getting killed. “Shouldn’t have came onto them! I would beat up a (gay) should they ever come onto me!” I remember kids getting violently beaten in the gym locker room for being meat gazers, and the school just told the victim how this needs to stay quiet or else everyone will know your little son is gay. I went to a fairly large high school in a slightly blue city, and this was just how it was. There was no acceptance of trans because no one dared come out as trans, they saw how gay people were treated.
I am glad the zeitgeist has shifted and people can be themselves. As one of those old millennials, I honestly don’t understand trans, but I want them to be who they are and be happy. Cannot imagine being in a body where your gender feels wrong, it sounds like a daily pain. If you are reading this and are trans, there are cis people who accept you for who you are and would listen to everything you need to say.
”If you are reading this and are trans, there are cis people who accept you for who you are and would listen to everything you need to say."
Well said.
And you’ve highlighted the real reason Trek (and the Trek community) is sacred to many of us. It (and you) help us learn how to say things like this that we’re not finding the words for.
Trans issues weren’t forefront, but they weren’t completely accepted either. It wasn’t a wedge issue, but most people didn’t see trans people in their day to day life(I know invisible isn’t non existent), so it was a far off issue. They felt free to make jokes about them and never got push back.
Now we have a greater cultural movement for blanket tolerance AND an “engagement” based onmaking people angry.
Also, the idea that we live in a Monoculture is junk. You might have lived in a retentively tolerant part of the world, but doesn’t mean the next city or even neighbor over is the same. The internet is also responsible for ripping away the idea of nonoculture.