The First Steps To Trans Liberation Are...

Self Love and Pride.

As Mary McLeod Bethune once wrote in the Journal of Negro History in January 1938, "If our people are to fight their way out of bondage, we must arm them with the sword and the shield and the buckler of pride--belief in themselves and their possibilities based upon a sure knowledge of the past.   That knowledge and pride we must give them--if it breaks every back in the kingdom.

The enemy of self love is one of the banes of a transperson's existence in the unholy trinity of shame, guilt and fear.  For us to love ourselves, we must vanquish that three headed monster.

Shame, guilt and fear work in tandem to paralyze us into inaction.   The unholy trio makes us afraid to acknowledge who we are as transgender human beings.   It causes us to want to retreat into another closet and not be open about who we are.   It causes us to question our trans lives, fear moving around in society, and acquiesce to disrespect and discrimination aimed at us.

It's hard to develop that self love and pride when we are hated by society for simply daring to openly live our lives to the best of our ability.    But develop it we must in order to become the tough minded individuals and people we will need to be to break free of the shame, guilt and fear in order to fight for our trans liberation. 

You're A Superhero

"Because having the power to love yourself and others enough to fight for better in a world that fears and hates you, is nothing short of a superheroic feat in and of itself."-- Denny Upkins
 
I have some pretty smart people I hang around with don't I?

Denny's comment has some serious truth to it as well.  As a marginalized person we deal with on an almost daily basis microaggressive and macroaggressive discrimination aimed at us and the challenge of living in a world that is mostly hostile to us.

But yet many of us get out of bed every morning, look in the mirror, smile at it, and get ready to face the self-esteem challenging day ahead of us.

Some of us have developed over time and through facing many trials and obstacles in our lives such an unshakeable self love for ourselves that it does enable us to confidently go about our daily lives and defeat whatever challenges come our way. 

Yes, we have superheroes walking amongst us.  They have superstrengthened character.  They have the vision to imagine a better world.  They have the endurance to run the race and fight the battles that will change society for the better.  They whip out the utility belt of justice to combat injustice and unjust laws.   They break out the Lasso of Truth when necessary to stamp out lies and disinformation spread about our trans lives.  They have the steely determination to win when others in their community express fading hope that it will ever happen for girls and guys like us.

Those superheroes have decided they want a better world for the people who come behind them, and are willing to rise up and do what it takes to make that world a reality.   Sometimes those people may fail in that lofty task  Sometimes they show signs they are oh so human in terms of being frustrated with the pace of change or rocked by events beyond their control. 

But they continue to fight for themselves and the community they love until they win. 

But superhero status isn't just reserved for the people who stand up and fight for truth, justice and human rights for all.  You are a superhero for just getting up every day to live your authentic lives against the odds.  For telling the world this is who I am and I will have the last word on who the person is that I project to the world.  

And we have our superhero sidekicks and allies who aid us in our mission of being the best people we can be and fighting for a decent, just and humane world. 

Yes, you're a superhero.  And don't ever let anyone tell you you're not or allow someone to make you feel like you are less than human..