Monday, April 29, 2013

Being Trans Affects Everything

Photo: www.facebook.com/ImTransAndProud
It's not a lifestyle (and I hate that conservaterm).  When you swallow those hormones or take those first shots of testosterone or estrogen, it causes seismic shifts in your life that mere cis people can't begin to comprehend.

But if we're going to gain trans human rights coverage and make transphobia as unpalatable as racism, homophobia or sexism are, we're going to have to do our best to make them understand.

The day I swallowed my first hormone I no longer had access to male privilege contrary to the ignorant lie the white privileged TERF's try to pimp.  Once my body morphed into the feminine form I will have for the rest of my life, I not only had to get used to navigating the world in it, I had to get used to becoming a moving target for sexual assault, sexism, and all the other not so fun crap aimed at women in our society. 

And I also had to get used to doing so as a Black woman, which has its own set of challenges in addition to the girl like us issues.

As Jamison Green's quote states, being trans affects everything.  It affects the paper trails in our lives.  It affects familial relationships. It affect romantic relationships.  It has a ripple effect on your friendships that you established prior to transition.  It affects your health and wellness and how you approach it.  It affects how you look at your body.  It even affects your politics and the trajectory of your own life depending on when you transition.  

While being trans hasn't been good for my bank account and purse at times, in terms of the quality of my life it has vastly improved.

There's no way in Hades I'd go back to being 'The Twin' as I call the old me.  

I have an exciting life in which I get to do public speaking, panel discussions at various conferences and colleges across the nation, radio and podcast interviews and hope to one day do international trans conferences.

I'm looked at as a respected role model and leader for this community.  I was honored with inclusion on the inaugural Trans 100 list.  I have an award winning blog that is read internationally, is considered an authoritative source of info I'm working hard to keep that way and has attracted over 4.8 million hits.

I'm way happier and more comfortable in my skin being Moni and the folks who knew me prior to 1994 can tell you the same thing. The only thing I'd change about my life is starting transition earlier. 

Being trans does affect everything, and there is more upside to that change than there is a negative downside.  And I like being a constantly evolving girl like me.

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