Still Marching On
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Miss Major Griffin-Gracey
While Marsha and Sylvia are gone, another queen from Stonewall continues on the legacy every day. Miss Major Griffin-Gracey is still an active fighter in the Transgender community, she is on social media every day, sharing not just her experiences but also giving voice to others. I have had the pleasure of following Miss Major Griffin-Gracey on Instagram for the last year, and the sheer amount of love and support she puts out in a week on all platforms is just incomparable. She loves so strongly the youth of today as well as those she has known forever, almost as strong as the fight she puts into activism. One of her biggest legacies is her fight for trans inclusive education, including her organization House of Griffin-Gracey which has built an education retreat and historical center for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.
The Modern Struggle of Gender
Though 50 years have passed, some things just never change. The stigmatisms around gender and those who do not fit the modern expectation of gender still exist. Some things have changed, you can now turn on whatever you consume media on and view Drag Queens performing on daytime television, but enter what someone may perceive as the "wrong" bathroom and you could end up in a lot of trouble. In some ways it feels like two steps forward and one step back with each stride of progress we have made. While some have made it easier, others, like the big Cheeto puff in charge who shall not be named, have made things so much harder.
While Gay rights are advancing, Transgender rights still struggle to leave the starting line. Every day Transgender people are harassed, assaulted, discriminated against and even killed, we go missing and no one ever looks for us, we turn up dead and no one asks why. A 16-year-old Trans girl inland has been missing for 7 weeks and somehow no one has seen or heard from her? The military police can't find any trace of where she may have gone or what might have happened? Her family doesn't want to talk about the fact that she is trans anywhere in relation to her being missing, or really at all.
We as a society talk about things like broken bones, the flu or even diseases, but we won't talk about mental health, especially that which relates to the struggle caused by modern expectations of gender except to classify it as a disease and place the only "cure" behind a series of locked gates which one has to pass tests and puzzles to get to.
Recently I went looking for a new job, before Christmas the resumes I handed out still had my dead name on them, I was hired within days of applying around. The company I worked for is going out of business so I was laid off 2 days before Christmas. Fast forward to after Christmas, the only thing that has changed on my resume is a "Seasonal position" and my name. A name that is a little unique.
It took me three months to find a job while actively applying to positions I was qualified for every single day. Even went in for interviews that went great until I corrected them on my pronouns and everything got awkward from there.
If I had to sum up my experiences as a modern Trans man the word I would use is Hassle.
My gender identity is so much of a hassle in modern society that it took me 9 years to come out because it just seemed like more work than it was worth.
I will continue fighting for my freedom and my rights every day, hopefully, one day I will be able to rest.
Until then,
While Gay rights are advancing, Transgender rights still struggle to leave the starting line. Every day Transgender people are harassed, assaulted, discriminated against and even killed, we go missing and no one ever looks for us, we turn up dead and no one asks why. A 16-year-old Trans girl inland has been missing for 7 weeks and somehow no one has seen or heard from her? The military police can't find any trace of where she may have gone or what might have happened? Her family doesn't want to talk about the fact that she is trans anywhere in relation to her being missing, or really at all.
We as a society talk about things like broken bones, the flu or even diseases, but we won't talk about mental health, especially that which relates to the struggle caused by modern expectations of gender except to classify it as a disease and place the only "cure" behind a series of locked gates which one has to pass tests and puzzles to get to.
Recently I went looking for a new job, before Christmas the resumes I handed out still had my dead name on them, I was hired within days of applying around. The company I worked for is going out of business so I was laid off 2 days before Christmas. Fast forward to after Christmas, the only thing that has changed on my resume is a "Seasonal position" and my name. A name that is a little unique.
It took me three months to find a job while actively applying to positions I was qualified for every single day. Even went in for interviews that went great until I corrected them on my pronouns and everything got awkward from there.
If I had to sum up my experiences as a modern Trans man the word I would use is Hassle.
My gender identity is so much of a hassle in modern society that it took me 9 years to come out because it just seemed like more work than it was worth.
I will continue fighting for my freedom and my rights every day, hopefully, one day I will be able to rest.
Until then,
Keep Dreaming of Freedom,
Rei
References
Houseofggs. (n.d.). House of GG – Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat and Historical Center. Retrieved from https://houseofgg.org/
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