The Male Gaze, a constant presence in a trans woman’s life

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — The object of desire. One of the things trans women come to realize somewhere along the transition path is the constant stare from cis males. Also known as the Male Gaze, it is a sort of a visual harassment. While not everyone finds it distasteful as many invite the Male Gaze, its presence in women’s lives is constant and permanent.

For cis women, the Male Gaze is so prevalent, many forget it’s there. For trans women however, the relatively sudden onset awareness of the ever present Male Gaze can be troubling.

“[a cis male] sees not merely the object of the gaze, but sees the relationship between the object and the self. He sees her as a creature of his domain, under his gaze of possession — simultaneously admiring and pejorative, but always as an object of his desire in his domain.” - St Lawrence University glossary

Being an object of desire is especially dangerous for trans women as a hair-trigger exists for some cis males at the moment they’ve read you and you’re now a target for violence.

I’m thinking that for many trans women, they come to realize that “passing” was never a prerequisite for gender change and have adapted themselves to living with the expectation of being “outed” by a cis male at any time resulting in the Male Gaze being somewhat masked.

For those that do pass, some find the Male Gaze some sort of affirmation, or a thrill, a or source of income, for others though, the Male Gaze is an unwanted invitation into the minds of the often-ugly cis male.

I’d be happy to hear your thoughts or experiences on this.

This is a pretty good read: Autostraddle — On Display: Navigating the Male Gaze As A Lesbian Trans Woman.

http://it.stlawu.edu/~global/glossary/gaze1.html

Male Gaze (Photo: jnwallphoto.com)

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Filed under: Law Enforcement, Police, SRS, Sex Reassignment Surgery, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, cis male, Male gaze, passing, transition, violence, visual harassment

Yep, it’s still dangerous to be transgender in America

Gunner Scott (Photo – Boston.com)

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — While many of us are already sharply tuned into the current state of being transgender in this country, Gunner Scott, the director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, does a pretty nice job summing it up in a piece for The Boston Phoenix. I thought I’d touch on a few of the topics he covers in his article.

1) Transgender men and women who are visibly different from cis men and women are at higher risk for harm.

Not everyone “passes.” Some are at the beginning of their transition, posing additional difficulties. In the psychological sense, passing doesn’t matter – you are what you are and I agree with this. However, when it comes to the risk of being harmed, those that don’t pass face a higher degree of risk. This is something we just don’t talk about enough. I’d hate to suggest that we better start passing, or else! But the rate that we are being harmed, beaten and killed is staggering. What is the solution here?

2) Research indicate staggeringly dismal employment conditions.

These stats taken from a 2009 National Transgender Discrimination survey show unemployment rate for trans people at double the average and are four times likely to be surviving on less than $10,000 year than non-trans people. These conditions likely are the result of discrimination. This is also likely the cause for many trans people becoming sex workers. The recent EEOC ruling should help reverse these conditions and its something many of us are going to monitor closely.

3) The evaporation of rights one had before transition.

Scott: “It is frustrating to think that, before I transitioned from female to male, I had these rights and protections, but once I came to terms with who I was and began to let the rest of the world in on my reality, these rights and protections I’d grown accustomed to — like being treated fairly when trying to rent an apartment — evaporated.”

This is something I believe that we need to turn around and use it as an argument FOR equality. Rights should never be taken away from people. It’s amazing to me that we’re stripped of rights in the first place and we’re letting them get away with it!

Gunner Scott’s article: http://thephoenix.com/boston/life/139051-trans-activist-gunner-scott-says-despite-increase/#ixzz1vlZ3cZIB

Gunner Scott (Photo – Bay Windows)

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Filed under: Discrimination, Equality, Civil Rights, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, dangerous to be transgender, Gunner Scott, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, passing