IndexReflections (N0. 5)
On Fashion & Predudice
Dee Suzanne Gallagher
N o doubt you have seen pictures of 1950's Corsets and Bras. Maybe you remember them. They were firm, solid, and highly restraining. The bras produced a severe, often near conical shaped bust. They fell out of favour in the 1960's as women came to prefer less restrictive garments. Recently, as you will be aware, they corsetry was returned, revamped as serious fashion items; some corsets and bras even designed as outerwear.
Cars, just as bras, have also changed over the past few years, angular shapes have been replaced by organic contours. These flowing lines, despite being the product of CAD and wind tunnells, are very retro and may remind you, as they do me, of the rounded and flowing shapes of cars designed in the 1930's and 40's.
Fashions change constantly, always looking for the new, but often seeking inspiration in the past. Even in politics, perhaps especially in politics, there is nothing new under the sun. Old arguments and issues come around again and again. Come election time in any democracy, sooner or later a landslide victory becomes an electoral defeat, as has been said about politics - 'It always ends in tears'. Something really new in UK politics has been the appearance of organised and effective transgender activism.
Since I came out as a trans person four years ago, I have been delighted to see stronger signs that TS's are finding greater acceptance by thinking members of society, at least in the western world. In the UK under the thankfully liberal influence of EU law, English law now supports the employment rights of most TS's. Even the UK military accept TSs now.
TVs, TSs, etc are finding they receive much more media exposure than in the past, not all comlimentary, but enough of a reasonably sympathetic nature. More people are now aware of T people, and the majority appear to say, if thats what they want to do let them get on with it. There will always be the gullible semi-bigot, the unthinking Daily Mail reader. There will also be the real bigot, the right wing extremists and religious zealots who see us as abhorent creatures. But in general we can be assured, as everyone keeps telling me, that society is moving our way.
I am not convinced. The public view about us may be as cyclical as it is about fashion, sooner or later we may see a backlash, driven by religious and political bigotry. The only way to fight back is to work towards educating the public, but to be effective we must convince the educators, our teachers and college and university lecturers that transgender issues are important.
Trans activist organisations, in the UK and USA have worked wonders in changing the law and directing high level government attention towards transgender issues, notably in relation to employment. But the challenge now for the transgender intelligencia should be to focus some attention onto the education system.
D S Gallagher MA BSc(Hons) MACH
United Kingdom, March 2000
Dee Suzanne GallagherİMarch 2000
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