It is a segment of a story idea.
A really passable trans woman faces only grief at the hands of her family and has finally given up after years of Artillery duals.
She gets this message from an on line friend to go visit her in Northern Iraq. Very dangerous with the Taliban slinking about like snakes in the night.
So, can a case be built where it makes any sense at all for this transwoman to go to Iraq? She is willing to obey the rules of the Kurdish society. It is hotter than 40 hells there.
Her life in the states is lonely and without purpose. The English expat who lives there with her Muslim husband assures her that she will be accepted and loved there. She anticipates doing relief work.
Can the loss of convience be readilly given up for love and acceptance?
Comments
CAN a person give up convienience?
Gwen,
The answer is easily YES for some. Just take a look at people that do missionary work or have joined and served in the Peace Corps in some of the poorest areas of the world. That said, look at the number of people that actually DO this kind of work as a percentage of our population. The numbers are VERY small.
The issue you need to decide IMO, is two fold: 1) is there some "mission" that the transwoman feels she is uniquely qualified to perform or called to perform. 2) Is there some believable way that she could succeed in achieving this mission?
If you can answer yes to both of these, then it's viable.
Annette
The question you ask ...
... can only be answered on an individual level. Is personal freedom a "convenience?" Can she feel loved and accepted if it means buying into someone else's view that she is somehow less than they are because she is female? If her answer is yes, then happiness surely awaits her.
It is a personal choice, freedom versus security, and one it seems many people in the USA are comfortable with making every day. They let the continuing erosion of their civil liberties slide because they think it somehow makes them safer to have the government listening to their telephone calls and reading their mail, and after all, only the guilty have something to hide, right?
As Robert Heinlein once said (using Lazarus Long as his mouthpiece), "You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once." So it would be an interesting story to write (and to read), following your character's journey towards what she thinks may bring her peace, and having her weigh what she's gained against what she may have lost.
I guess the true question is, are you ready to make that journey with her? *smile* To me, it sounds like the story has serious legs, Gwen girl. I say go for it, if you're ready to go along for the ride.
*hugs*
Randa
Iran
It might work better in a Shia-controlled part of Iraq than a Kurdish one. Iran is surprisingly accepting of transpersons. They'll stone a man for being gay, but won't have a problem doing an operation if he says he's supposed to be a woman.
if you can make it believable.
Okay, probably just a typo, but the Taliban is in Afghanistan and Pakistan. BTW, there's a battle going on in Mosul as I type, called Operation Lion's Roar, where the Iraqi Army, in combination with one of my old units, the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment, is crushing Al-Qaida in its last urban stronghold in Iraq.
What sort of work could she do in Kurdistan? Maybe an English teacher, or a nurse with her own inheritance for medical supplies to care for Kurdish children gassed before the invasion? (lot of them around) Most important, though, would be to find a plot and conflict first. That's probably a lot harder to develop than reasons for being there. Except for Mosul (right now), Kurdistan is a pretty decent, rapidly developing place; it's the best part of Iraq. The Kurds, while Muslims, aren't very hard-core about it and are quite pro-West. Flash points there include the Turk-Kurd hatreds and Kirkuk, from which Saddam did his best to remove the majority Kurds, replacing them with his buddy Sunnis there because of all of the oil in the region. The Kurds absolutely want to make Kirkuk an undisputed part of Kurdistan.
Research, research, research: it not only develops a sense of realism, it often provides ideas to develop the story.
Regards,
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Didn't fool anyone did I?
Sorry for the attempted deception.
Yes, the invitation is real, but I have a lot of thinking and praying to do first. Could take 6 months to decide, maybe never go.
It was 111 F there the other day but only 14% humidity. I can deal with that. I take some medication; could I get along without it and if not could I get it?
I would live as a Sunni Muslim and the loss of my societal stature does not bother me at all. To live as a man in America is highly over rated, never was very good at it; as you might guess, I consider my life as a woman, even a Muslimah very superior.
Lots of impractiality in this to be overcome. I'd consider you all my friends if you help me to work through this without flatly condemning the idea. Some of you know how much a transwoman needs a companion. Right now, being someones bitch in a prison doesn't look all bad. Trouble is that people I know say that I am not competent enough to get into trouble. In fact I am not even allowed to swear anymore because they say I can't do that right either. :(
G'night folks, I hafta go to bed.
Khadija Gwendolyn
Gwen, the story sounds better
than the actuality. Do be careful, frying pan and fire come to mind. At the end of the day, it's your decision. Please do the research carefully.
hugs,
Angharad
Angharad
Home is Where Your Heart is
Yes, I know it is rather trite, but it is also true. All too often we allow logic and superficial matters to dictate our actions. Allowing yourself to follow your heart, to do what is right for you is difficult, sometimes impossible. We each must wage our own little struggle, one that is often waged between the conscious mind, an organ that is more akin to a machine and our hearts, which is driven by passion. In the end, I don't think there is no absolute right or wrong. Every victory demands a sacrifice. The only question that really matters, is if the prize is worth the price.
Nancy Cole
P.S. My son, a combat medic, will be going to Mosul for his second tour of duty in Iraq this December. Fortunately, he has nothing in common with Jordan other than the nightmares.
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson