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The Splendor of Gender
A Sense of Expression
Expression, a First Amendment right, so fiercely defended by so many who abuse it, so denied to those who so painfully need it.
We have fought to the death for our "God-given" rights to say what we want, to belong to the religion of our choice, to live where we please, to write what we feel and to work where we like. Freedom of Expression, the First Amendment, we have heard these words many times. So, why, when it comes to gender is freedom of expression no longer very important?
Broken down to its simplist form, how one sees one's own gender is self-expression. When I wear a skirt and heels, I am expressing my own personal feeling of gender and of my mood. I am not telling anyone that if they do not join me they will suffer in hell. I am not telling anyone that if they are not transgendered then they are a lower-class citizen no better than dogs. I am not telling anyone that if they are not transgendered they cannot associate with my family and friends. And yet, it is my form of expression that so disturbs people that I am considered sick, perverted, gay, mentally ill, crazy, weird and whatever else. On top of that, depending on where I live, I can legally be evicted, fired, harassed, discriminated against, my legal protections can be compromised or ignored. I could even be denied the right to spend time with my children.
Forgetting about the scientific research, forgetting about the notion of trying to make people understand transgenderism, my life is quite simply about self-expression. And when I look at it from this point of view, I struggle with the question, "What does it matter?" Whom am I hurting? Why does the discovery of my gender expression negate all the good that I have done, all the love that I have given?
So, how I walk, how I talk, what I buy, what I wear, what I say are all basically my self-expression, MY self-expression. So, as long as I do no harm to another nor deny them their human rights, I should be free to express myself just like anyone else.
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