My Transgendered Aha Moment

So, I haven't been here on a while. But I will share my aha moment.

I have been struggling with my opinions about transgenderism for some time now. I have been keeping them to myself. Not that I know everything but I know the basics. And fortunately, just because I don't know every freakin thing doesn't prohibit me from having a vocal opinion. But I am always open to more knowledge on any subject. I think it's when people are certain on the issues of people, that they get themselves in trouble. Anyways, I think the last time I said anything about it, it was at a blog in which I angered people because I said that gender is a total construct. Which it is. Sex is biological and gender is not. But what I was getting at is that I have a hard time understanding a biological change for a social construct. And that is how I feel in the most simple terms. But I always thought of it in the way of, someone changing their genitals in order for them to identify with a different gender. And that is so not what its about. Maybe I didn't share that because somewhere inside I knew that opinion needed tweaking.

As a feminist, I aim for a genderless society. And a genderless society is a society in which gender is not strictly enforced upon each indivual. Some people call it a gender blind society. I remember talking to my friends about this and them going all batshit because they thought I was saying no one should be masculine or feminine. That's not a genderless society. A genderless society is a society in which gender norms are not strictly enforced. And people would, of course identify as whatever they wanted without being judged. So I always wondered where transgendered people would fit in a genderless society and if transgenderism would still exist. So, today, I was researching it online. Of course I am not the first person to ask this question. I came across this wonderful livejournal post in which I can't find anymore....oops. But it was someone that was transgender talking about this and saying that it wasn't about their gender so much but about their genitals. They said they didn't identify with their genitals. I always thought of transgender people saying, "My gender doesn't match my genitals." And some have, but that's not the point. And also, every transgendered persons story doesn't look the same. It's just that when I thought transgendered, I thought gender and not genitals. But I am making more sense of this. This aha moment came a little too late. And I still need to do more researching.

Oh and another thing. Why is it that people think you have to agree with something in order to support it. Or I should say agree with an ideology. If I said that I didn't think that transgenderism existed, that doesn't mean I don't support the community. Just because I am thinking things out in my head, trying to do some research on my own, and develop my own opinion, does NOT mean that I have to in some way think that people do not have rights over their bodies and do not have the right to claim their own identity. That's bullshit. But don't misunderstand me. Everyone wants to feel understood and accepted and also wants to be treated like a human being; and that's exactly why I have shown 100% support to the transgendered community and I make sure I fight against any transphobia that I come across. But it pisses me off when people think that you have to totally agree with something to support it. It's the understanding of other human beings needs that's important, not my beliefs. If I said...well...I dont know...I haven't thought transgenderism through so I just can't support it..that's another story. People should learn how to separate themselves when it's concerning the lives of other people. It's simple. People come before my ideology or religion or whatever. Of course, if whatever they need/want doesnt harm another living being. Everyone deserves the same rights in society. Period. But people have such a hard time recognizing and respecting that. I know the society in which I am speaking of. I know that this probably sounds niave. People just don't seem to be able to seperate their own bullshit needs (to be right I suppose. To have an other. To not be an other. etc) from the needs of others. And I also recognize that people have a hard time not believing in or agreeing with something without othering it. What is so damn hard?