Ray and I are reviewing films for the local gay film festival. We watch two or three a night, rate them between 1 and 10, and say whether we’d pay to see them. One film we watched recently was “Just Kids,” a documentary on the challenges faced by trans kids and their families.
Ray started to turn it off because we’re not drawn to documentaries, the first face we saw was outrageously dressed, and they’re from a generation that doesn’t much like Baby Boomers. But we both rated it a “10,” said we’d pay to see it, and filled our “Remarks” with praise. My one complaint is that it didn’t teach the viewer why some kids are trans. We expect too much of the public.
What causes a child to be transgender? Answer the question and then ask your friends. I’d argue that most men, gay or straight, don’t have a clue, as is true with many straight women. They know the word “transgender,” but only in the framework of the full-fledged war being waged against them by Trump and the Republican Party. They also know, but don’t understand, why they’re expected to indicate their preferred personal pronouns. And they may not get why biological males are allowed to compete against biological females in sports.
Why is “transgender” suddenly dominating the news? Is it a fad, like tattoos and piercings? Is it real, and does the “T” belong on the LGB train? What does your gender identity have to do with our sexual orientation? Former gay Congressman Barney Frank said the employment non-discrimination legislation would pass if you removed protections for trans people.
True or False? Trans kids are born that way. Nature, not nurture, creates a transgender child. Trans kids need therapy more than they need hormones. Sex and gender are the same, just terms that get interchanged. Male to female trans people are tolerated less than female to male. If that’s true, why?
“Transgender,” which today has a growing number of preferred terms by different groups, is made possible by a complex variety of influences both biological and environmental. Children are predisposed by their hormones prior to birth, their brain development, and socialization to be drawn to male, female, or dual identity, and/or characteristics. In my many years of educating audiences about homosexuality, the most mind and heart changing thing they heard was, “It’s not a choice.”
Being on the transgender continuum is not a choice. The child or adult didn’t one day decide to buck the norm. The only choice made is whether or not to be true to themselves for the rest of their lives. I know that choice, and I know that the choice to be honest has to be made daily. Ray is my husband.
“Just Kids” helps us understand the challenges trans kids face. Let’s add to our film information on why someone is transgender, when they first knew, and why the “T” belongs on the train.
