I am aware of the claim that trans people are attacked at a drastically higher rate than non-trans women. Searching for actual numbers to back up that claim in the past has not yielded any good sources for what these actual rates are though. I did find one person that was attempting to find the murder rate and her research actually indicated that trans people were being murdered at a significantly lower rate than the general population, but I did not check any of her listed sources.
Where I live, random attacks on women are not rare. If any are trans, it is not mentioned. If they were clearly attacked specifically for being trans, it probably would be, but maybe not, who knows what agenda the local news has to push on any given day.
So yes, I’d like to see what these attack rates are. Both are too high, but is one truly so much higher it belongs in a different category? Are women really safer if they look “more like women”?
To be fair, I think people of all genders should be offended by “Sex in the City”. As representations of gender roles go, it’s a horrorshow.
Yes, raventhief was definitely blaming the victims of assault for not dressing to avoid being assaulted. That is entirely what the point was and not something completely different.
I am countering the claim that trans women have to wear heels and makeup in order to avoid being assaulted. It makes no sense, since if avoiding assault was actually the “reason” for choosing particular attire, one would obviously choose to go in the opposite direction and strive to look as manly as possible.
Trans women who wear “woman clothes” do so because “that’s what women do” and/or because they like them. There are plenty of trans women’s blogs that are practically nothing but what they shopped for, what they wore that day, and how they did their hair and makeup. It has nothing to do with avoiding assault and, if anything, would increase the chances of assault. Most people don’t want to be assaulted, but that doesn’t dictate their every action, nor should it.
I realize that there is genuinely a subtle difference here, but please note that “trans women are assaulted because they don’t pass” is not the same as “trans women must pass in order to avoid being assaulted”.
raventhief said the former. You’re arguing against the latter.
This is true, I have some friends who were a bit confused at a drag show. I had to explain that even though the breasts that some of the drag performers had looked very real, that there are a variety of ways to make that illusion, and that though I couldn’t be 100% certain, most of them were probably cisgender gay men.
But also, as a cisgender woman, it seems that if I’m walking somewhere and I get randomly assaulted by some men, if you had teleported a trans woman in to take my place, she’d get assaulted as well. But if there’s a place that a trans woman is being assaulted and if you teleported me in to take her place, I might not be treated well and I might be harassed, but I wouldn’t necessarily be attacked.
I’m not sure if I’m clear, but I think if someone is going to attack me for being a woman, they’d also attack a trans woman for being a trans woman. But if someone is going to attack a trans woman for being a trans woman, then they might not attack me for being a cis woman.
People are assaulted because there are intolerant and violent people out there physically imposing their will upon others. It isn’t because of how we dress, no matter who we are.
There are several instances above where the silly claim is made that trans women “must” dress in heels, wear make up, etc. in order to avoid attack, and that trans women risk being pelted with food or whatever if their “female presentation” is not effective enough. I am not specifically countering only claims made by raventhief.
I also take issue with the idea that “female presentation” includes dresses, heels, make up, etc. Many trans women simply do not get that this term is offensive and inaccurate. I don’t wear that stuff and I have already confirmed that the public does typically perceive me as female. That’s because dresses, make up, and heels are actually NOT inherently female–they are just things that our current culture thinks of as typical for females. By confusing these two situations, the gender stereotypes are reinforced and perpetuated.
Should a little boy be told a dress is “for girls”? Lipstick is for girls? That he is “presenting female” if he puts on a skirt and patent leather sandals?
That kind of crap is exactly why this pernicious gender binary system has still not loosened its grasp. If we all quit doing this nonsense, maybe the next generation can feel free to be themselves.
Maybe, but maybe trying to figure out how best to pander to would-be attackers is not the best road to start down. Attacking people is already illegal, regardless of one’s “reason” for choosing a particular target. The attackers themselves are the problem here; they are not immobile obstacles the rest of us must work around.
But the conclusion drawn by the author of the patheos link is basically the opposite: 14 murdered trans when the number would be 44 if the rate was the same as the gen pop. Plus, why conclude that a trans person wasn’t murdered for some other reason? A non-trans person can be murdered for individual traits, location, relationship to murdery people, etc., but a trans person can’t be and can only be assumed to interact with the world as a representative of trans-ness?
Maybe the statistics on trans violence don’t really match up to the hype and people’s fears are based on the fact that they are constantly told that they are at risk, just like the way parents often have a disproportionate fear that their kids will be snatched by strangers, thanks to the media telling them they should live in fear.
There was a Supreme Court Justice I believe who once wrote “the Court simply will not get drawn into the meaningless argument of whether or not water is wet.” If you seriously want to claim that women are NOT typically the ones in Western society who wear heels, skirts, dresses, makeup, etc., and that those items are NOT inherently female (in the context of the gender which wears them as dress or accessories), then you go on trying to get others to argue with you, because I’m not rising to that bait.
You really seem intent on the idea that offense and violence lurk around every corner. Sure, you’ve “apologized twice” and all, but that doesn’t change the fact that your initial reaction to anything that hasn’t first been run by the trans thought police and received approval is to assume that a trans attack is happening and react accordingly.
The statistics you’ve provided simply do not address the relevant question here, which is “how much more at risk for physical violence are trans women compared to non-trans women?”
I am not a trans woman, yet, like many other women, I have been both physically and sexually assaulted. Plenty of men have also been physically and sexually assaulted. Even if trans women are statistically at the highest risk, none of us are actually at a small enough risk to call our group’s risk Trivial while trans women’s risk is Real and Important. Trans women are not delicate baby harp seals in need of a special category of protection to keep the big bad world from smashing their helpless skulls in. Most people do not and will not attack anyone and only a tiny fraction of a percent of people have participated in an attack on a trans person. There is no need to consider the world as a whole as being jam-packed with trans-attackers. Of course I’d like the number of people attacked to be zero, but in reality, trans people go grocery shopping, have jobs, eat at restaurants, etc. daily without incident. If life as a trans woman was as rife with thrown food and punches as you imply, there wouldn’t be time to complain about drag queens and pronouns.
The focus should be on eliminating violent acts via actions against the would-be attackers, not dressing to please them.
Using the fact that members of a group TYPICALLY do or wear certain things that are not essential for group membership is harmful stereotyping.
It’s like trying to defend the statement that “black people have rhythm.” Sure, there are probably plenty of black people with rhythm, but there also exist people who consider themselves black, yet do not have rhythm, as well as people who are not black, yet do have rhythm. Having rhythm is not a “black thing.” There is no actual reliable connection there. There is no actual reliable and useful connection between dress-wearing and being female. I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you that when a man puts on some eyeliner, he does not transform into a different thing.
Someone disagreeing with your assessment of a situation, even one involving trans women, is not “bait” and any pressure you feel to argue is coming from you. Relax, you aren’t Super Trans, compelled to defend the trans community at any perceived slight.
What I’m wondering is if is really all that much for a choice for all drag queens, though? I think often men who wear women’s clothing have quite a strong compulsion to do so. Many are ashamed, afraid to tell, have had ruin relationships etc. I would question how much of it really is choice. Perhaps some drag queens are really only performers or actors, but I would think (and I am NO expect, so if I’m wrong then I’m wrong) that many people do drag shows because they really need to express that side of themselves. It seems to be a kind of oppression to deny them that.
(See for example this Cracked Article in which the author in point 2 also addresses some of the issues raised in this thread)
Obviously, there are a lot of things that need to change in society, and it is on the bigoted to change. But people also have to live and survive in society as it is now. You can work on better safety and acceptance for trans people, and work on acceptance of increasing non-gender conformity and all that, but still advise trans women that for right now, for their own safety, it might help them to conform to female beauty standards. Just like you can work on improving race relations, and decreasing police militarization, and work on increased justice, but still advise young black men that they should be extra polite and co-operative when stopped by police, regardless of what their white friends are doing.
I haven’t said anyone should dress or not dress any particular way; in fact, I’ve said the exact opposite.
Sure, we individuals do have to live and survive in society as it is now, but unfortunately, that compliance assures that it won’t be much different tomorrow. For example, as a woman, I am not allowed to go out in public with my nipples exposed, as in my community, this is illegal for women. Even though I’d like to be able to take my shirt off while mowing the lawn, I keep it on so I can finish the job and get on with my day instead of being hassled and/or arrested. Tomorrow the law will be the same. I see no sign whatsoever that the situation is changing, and even if I refuse to comply and even if most people agree that the law is silly, most people will not join me in protest by removing their shirts as well, because people are so accustomed to things being this way that they think it is okay.
By wearing the make up, heels, etc., trans women are contributing to the problem. I am not asking them to stop or justify their sartorial choices, but the idea that they must do so for safety is silly. No one is getting beaten up because they didn’t put on enough lipstick.