[Commentary] [Australia] Traversing the memory

[Stephanie Stevens]

Gay News Network, Australia


20 Nov 2012

Traversing the memory

Sally Goldner


Transgender Day of Remembrance occurs annually on November 20. The day
is to commemorate those who have been murdered or lost their lives due
to transphobia. TransGender Victoria media spokesperson Sally Goldner
writes about what the day means to her.

I always find my thoughts, feelings and emotions to be split on
Transgender Day of Remembrance. Balancing hope and realism, local and
global and many other factors always has some degree of paradox. Let
me explain...

I’ll start on a positive note. While wary of sweeping statements like
“things are better now,” I am convinced there is a more positive
attitude about trans issues in Australia than was the case five, ten
or fifteen years ago.

Mainstream media articles about trans adults are generally more
positive and less disrespectful. An article in the weekend magazine of
a mainstream paper three months ago on trans young people, often a
target of “double-barrel sensationalism” for some media, was one of
the best I’ve seen. One mainstream media article recently added a
footnote about pronoun issues. While these steps may not be earth
shattering, they are an improvement and a demonstration of things
going in the right direction.

Further, positive visibility of trans people is at an all-time high.
Lana Wachowski’s amazing speech at the Human Rights Campaign awards,
Chaz Bono on the American Dancing with the Stars, and Paige Phoenix’s
outing himself on Australia’s X-Factor in 2011, and the positive
response to all three people gives huge encouragement to trans people
to take a step or two towards ‘coming out’.

Unfortunately, this is where the glass starts to get half-empty. The
huge shortage of structured support, and that law/policy reform is way
behind, create nasty bottlenecks for trans people who muster courage
to take a tenuous step. Further, variations geographically exacerbate
these bottlenecks. The few trans-friendly resources are concentrated
in metropolitan regions (and largely inner metro at that) while outer
suburbs and regional/rural are generally further behind.

Variations by state and territory also need highlighting. As an
example, a search using the resources listing on the Zoe Belle Gender
Centre’s website gives 21 resources for counselling and therapy in
Victoria and only two in Queensland. Finally, given total numbers of
psychologists and psychiatrists alone (two such professional bodies
have a combined 22,000 members) this indicates great distance to
travel. Other factors are the severe shortage of support networks for
partners of trans people, parents of trans children and an often
overlooked area, children with trans parents – and children can be of
all ages.

In some ways, this all pales into insignificance when considering the
original theme of the Transgender Day of Remembrance: acknowledging
violent deaths of trans people due to transphobia. Trans people in so
many countries still experience extreme violence. My heart breaks
every time one particularly hard-working trans activist in Turkey (a
country where things seem incredibly bad) reports of another
transphobic murder. What’s worse, this representative often reports
these are so-called ‘honour killings’ where a family member candidly
admits to the murder. Regardless of the motive, recent reports from
countries such as the USA and France of vicious transphobic crimes
show a long road ahead to achieve the basic human right of physical
safety.

I know many trans people find TDR very uncomfortable due to these
themes. I believe we need to face the reality that these issues exist
and by standing together we can ease the discomfort.

Last year’s event organised by YGender (a support network for trans*,
genderqueer and gender questioning young people) was a great example
of this. While the details of different murders from around the world
including Australia were read out, having the community together did
help and I know I felt stronger at the end of the event.

So what can we do to go further forward? Many years ago, Paula Gerber
– the then Amnesty queer representative and until recently VEOHRC
board member – stated adamantly that in this increasingly linked
world, when, for example, Australia takes a step forward, this gives
hope to people where life is worse. I believe being proactive and
assertive regarding trans rights can make both a difference, both
practically and spiritually for trans people elsewhere.

So on November 20, remembrance takes various forms. Take a moment to
remember those lost through transphobia, both in direct violence and
due to prejudice that leads to death in other ways. I personally also
remember those trans people who have left us for any reason. Also take
a moment to remember those trans people whose courage and originality
are making a difference. Courage in this case definitely includes
those trans people who simply come out. To allies of trans people,
challenge transphobia whenever possible.

Remember, any steps that ‘act local’ will end up being global.

N.B. The significance of the asterisk in trans* is to make it a more
inclusive term.


http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/feature/ft-national/9742-traversing-the-memory.html