It became clear after a short while that although the women were certainly going through sex change procedures, it wasn’t exactly what I’d expected — perhaps It should have been? It sadly reminded me of a simple drag act where performers would use feathers, big heels, lots of outlandish make-up and some equally vibrant dresses. The women in the show were exposing their breasts to the camera, being very dramatic and generally over acting, possibly due to being on film.

If you’re not used to meeting and conversing with the very colourful spectrum of people which the umbrella term ‘transgender’ covers, then you might be excused for thinking that this is how anyone wanting to change their sex is aiming to live. In fact there are other shows I’ve seen broadcast which shed a similar false light on transsexual individuals and their lives. The Alexis Arquette, “She’s my brother”, episodes spring to mind.

While feather boas, huge head-dresses, buckets of make-up and drama are certainly appropriate for a pageant, and possibly in their own personal lives should they choose (it’s not our place to judge), what struck me was that people viewing this show without any real concept of the life any transgender person leads would simply think that this is what every transsexual is aspiring to be!

Some of the girls in the show had commented about struggling through life, but only took the decision to change their gender as a sure fire way to get famous and make money. Another girl said she was happy that she’d come so far but insisted it was only temporary and that she will make the change back to male eventually as she doesn’t wish to die a female! Another comment simply implied it was all an illusion and done for entertainment.

I have the greatest respect for anyone doing what they they feel they need to, or doing something they love. Living your life to the fullest is what it’s all about. I have friends who Cross Dress or are the most amazing Female Illusionists, friends who classify themselves as Transvestites, Straight, Gay and Bisexual friends and of course Transsexual friends. I love them all equally, but what concerns me is that while they happily know who they are, society clearly doesn’t.

When I came out and told my parents, they like many other parents (not all do), reacted terribly! Even though I explained how I felt and what it meant to me and my future, my mum still said and I quote, ”I don’t want to come to your house and find a load of trannys running around in their underwear with hairy chests!”. Now while this is initially humorous and yet quite arrogant, I’m not entirely surprised by this attitude, when the transsexual image portrayed through the media is one of women usually seen in a club performing for stag nights!

Many transsexual women and transsexual men for that matter throughout the entire world live day to day trying to fit into society. We struggle to first get our appearance in order and then equally strive to maintain it. We work hard at it because we have to. We try to keep jobs, friends and family intact while taking on one of the most life changing challenges / transformations anyone anywhere could possibly face. Many trans men and women get so good at it that they manage to live in ‘stealth’, which simply means that unless they told you who they were….. you really wouldn’t know. They….. we, put a massive amount of effort into fitting fully into society as the individuals we feel we are and identify as. We all manage to achieve different levels of success.

Yet all the public seems to see is a very distorted view of the whole thing.

I don’t think shows like this should be stopped in any way. I think the girls who took part have a right to take part, a right to participate in the pageants, a right to show and be who they are and a right to not have to answer to anyone because of it! A lot of them looked completely gorgeous and I wish them the best of luck in their lives…..

….. but the media needs to get a grip and start representing the immense amount of transsexual people worldwide, properly! The word ‘Transgender ‘covers a multitude of people who all identify differently and thus act differently. Although we are all part of one community, there are fundamental differences between each of us and I’m personally fed up of being bundled into the same stereotype just to please ignorant, perhaps religiously motivated mainstream program producers!

I can only liken it to classing all women as strippers, or all men as football hooligans! It simply isn’t true or an accurate representation of who they are! The media has been responsible around the world for misrepresenting Transgender people and as a result individuals suffer. Parents will bring their children up to think a certain way because of what they have seen on TV, but that’s only if the children don’t see it first anyway. Trans people are subject to more hate crimes than anyone else, which can result in beatings, rape and murder, and a lot of this stems directly from the false image people have been given over the years.

We deserve to be here, we deserve to fit in and we deserve to be shown in a proper light so that people can finally start to understand that we’re not that different after all!

Emma @ TForm

2 Responses to “Tears, Tiaras and Transsexuals, A different View!”

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