With the recent plethora of gorgeous gender conforming trans spokes people, I have a question. What about the 99%? The people who nominally fit stereotypical gender expectations? Or what about those of us who don't fit at all.
And what of those of us who refuse to conform at all? Those people were once covenanted for their nonconformity as pioneers. Will they now be considered pariahs?
Personally I think this has been great, like riding a social tsunami triggered by the overwhelming female humanity of Laverne Cox.
But what happens after we are washed up 100 miles inland stranded alone in our personal realities dealing with anxiety, the kind that convinces so many us to get 'pumped'?
One gender therapist warns us to be aware of the machine that is making this happen saying
And how can we not be left with our mouth agape at the head-to-toe shot of actress and trans activist Laverne Cox. The caption reads, “Laverne Cox, a star of Orange is the New Black, is one of an estimated 1.5 million Americans who identify as transgender.” I have watched hundreds of my social media friends in the transgender community commenting on this cover story with astonishment, joy, and hope. My own initial reaction was one of shock, followed by great excitement.
However, as the day progressed on, and the news continued to spread, and the comments continued to pour in, I felt something…unsettling come up for me about it. I couldn’t put my finger to it until I had a conversation with one of my clients, when I asked her what she thought of the upcoming cover story.
Laverne Cox is now the “face,” and therefore the voice, of the Transgender Population in the eyes of many Americans.
Now…let us not forget that Ms. Cox also just happen to be drop-dead gorgeous.
So let’s be honest about what that means as we look at this snapshot of this moment in time (no pun intended).
There was a conscious decision made to put Ms. Cox on the cover of TIME magazine. Not a montage of “everyday transgender folks” that included persons having many different experiences, including those who transitioned from female-to-male and who are gender non-conforming.
This is a glamorous photo of a very feminine, well-dressed, television actress who happens to be transgender. This photo represents the entire “transgender civil rights movement.”
Continue reading what DARA HOFFMAN-FOX says via her facebook post. Its thoughtful, respectful and insightful......
