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Mya Taylor, star of the iPhone shot movie Tangerine is being promoted as a potential Oscar nominee.
http://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/dec/21/mya-taylor-tra...
2015 certainly seems to have been the year of the 'Trans Celebrity'. Ironic, seeing as most of us would rather fade into the background.
Comments
Being in the background
Sure, as individuals, that is ideal. But as a community, no. Being demystified as to who we are at least places us in the Public Zeitgeist where for good or bad allows us to be worked out in the mind of society. Doing so lances the social boil that has built up around us that prevents us from being understood. The first wave and second wave trans people have shied away from this kind of thing but the current generation is letting it all hang out more and like it or not they will do the social advancement from the bridgeheads created by the first two generational waves.
Understanding and Acceptance
I accept that many of us want to "fade into the background" and be judged not by our gender preference but by our overall character. In the United States we once called that the "melting pot." Wanting to "blend" is a normal human goal.
However, I think a large portion of us also want to celebrate our differences. We hope that people will learn to respect the positive aspects of what makes us unique. Some believe that there is strength in diversity. As Kipling put it, "The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wold is the pack."
Whatever method works to stop dehumanization and domination is fine by me.
I personally think much of what Caitlyn Jenner does is just plain silly. On the other hand, if she can move a large number of people to understand that transgender is not a perversion -- or anything to be feared, I'm all for putting her on magazine covers and allowing her more than fifteen minutes of fame. She at least seems to have the ability to help define anti-T sentiments as bigotry.
Gay rights were a dream when I was young. It was totally unthinkable that "queers" would ever be tolerated by the general public. The other night when of our NBA (basketball) players called the referee an "efing faggot". The referee happened to be an out of the closet gay. The player was suspended for a game, which cost him many thousands of dollars in salary. He then apologized to the LGBT community. Why - because the NBA isn't stupid. They realize that a chunk of their revenue comes from the gay community.
This change happened because of a combination of gays blending into the community and activists demands.
I agree that for many the best path to general acceptance is to move forward as part of the community, because "why not"? For others, parading ourselves like peacocks who want to impress people that we really, really are women -- as if what wear and how we style our hair are the chief determinants -- might be the path to the future of acceptance and understanding.
Those who have suffered to "blend" have done as much to enhance our rights as those who have stuck their T-ness in the faces of anyone who happened to be handy.
Thank you.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
It's a Mixed Bag
From the Intersex women actresses I know about, they seemed quite content to simply be judged on the merits of their achievements not their chromosomes. Were I in acting, I would want not to be identified as TG. I think it is the media; that bunch of cockroaches, that seem to drag all this out into the open.
After I die, perhaps it will be seen as lawlessness to deliberately embarrass others? Or, perhaps it will no longer matter at all.