The ultimate tranny irony
After watching a very interesting documentary— Superstar in a Housedress—it occurred to me that drag queens are a reflection of a part of our society—the non-conformity part. But when we learn what something is not, we also more accurately define what it is.

I've always know that gender subjects can get messy in this society. These subjects mess with some people's heads (in much of traditional American society). Most people are afraid of crossing boundaries. Some fear crossing gender boundaries for religious reasons. Okay, I understand that, even if I don't agree with it. Denial of self-expression to affirm one's religious beliefs NEVER works. Gay men get married to conform to a religious norm, and most of them come out later in life, messing up their own lives, those of their wife and children, and give their community something to deal with that they'd really rather not have had.

Drag queens, whether high camp or low camp, represent non-comformity in many societies. The berdache or Two Spirit people of Native American society are revered, in part because they dare to be different. They are thought to have some spiritual connection and healing powers.

America's a pretty tight-assed place...and not in a good way. Given the current administration, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Even with our "President"'s low approval rating, his public presence still reinforces homophobia, and all kinds of repression from which no one worthwhile benefits.

So..what's all this about? Drag in American society is about people who are clearly male, and..who want to express femininity. Maybe they do it as idol worship (like the ones who do flawless impersonations of Judy, Liza, or Barbara), , maybe they do it as a celebratory tip-of-the hat, and exaggerate the celebrity's features and quirks...but..males expressing femininity saying the old "I am what I am".

Then we get to the transsexual—the one who wants to truly BE/live in a gender role other than the one they were assigned at birth. Most transsexuals want to go stealth after they transition. So, they commit to a process that is the ultimate in non-conformity—a physical change of their body—in order to conform. I'm not making fun. I'm transsexual, and have, for the time being, chosen not to have sex reassignment surgery. I occasionally question my decision, but I also evaluate it periodically. If one day, I feel that the benefits outweigh the risks, I'll do it. Reneé Richards' most recent book seems like it'll stir things up a bit.

Conformity is important to some, I guess, because they want to be accepted by mainstream society. With mainstream acceptance comes a level of social comfort, earning power, and various other benefits that trannies who choose a lifestyle that is more about personal satisfaction and less about conformity may not have available to them.

There's an argument here: Trannies are choosing their personal satisfaction over conformity, and they risk society's response of "if you care for your personal satisfaction over being enough like us to make us completely comfortable with you, you risk alienation from us."

It's a trade-off. I've been living with it for a while, and it hurts occasionally. But I have cool friends, cool colleagues. One of the best ways to deal with it is by talking about it when it's appropriate, and making it a non-issue the rest of the time.

I can be happy that way...hopefully so can at least some segment of society.



- posted by Dana Friedman @ 5:09 PM