document updated 12 years ago, on Jul 8, 2011
My role models
Trans folks
It has been hard to find anyone in my city or in media portrayals who I could consider a role model. But there are a few:
- Chris Crocker — of Britney Spears fame, now boldly speaking the truth, OMG FUCK YES it's so true I'm going to cry.
- Jasper Gregory — Decided against hormones or beard shadow removal, instead chose their own unique blend of masculine and feminine ("post-transgender" might be too showy of a word, but the idea comes across clearly enough). Jasper is very thoughtful, self-aware, and articulate.
- Eddie Izzard — is totally public about sometimes being in "boy mode", sometimes "girl mode"
- Stu Rasmussen — The fact that he came out and found acceptance in a rural town gives me great hope. The fact that he still uses the pronoun "he" (even after top surgery) suggests that a blend of masculinity and femininity is possible.
(however, the fact that he can nearly pass makes me wonder if this is just an attachment to old-school ideas)
- Quentin Crisp — really old-school, but the film about his life (The Naked Civil Servant) is very moving, he's incredibly courageous
- The Naked Civil Servant on YouTube
part1
part2
part3
part4
part5
part6
part7
part8
- although he might identify as more gay than trans (though pretty effeminate), there are so many parallels between his life and the issues that trans people face now:
- Even if Don't Ask Don't Tell is repealled, trans people will continue to be expelled from the military for the same reason Quentin was — trans people are officially classified as having a sexual perversion.
- When someone comes out as trans, their likelihood of finding people to date (let alone finding employment) is significantly reduced. Unfortunately, staying closetted forever isn't really a viable option, if you want a remotely happy life and avoid suicide.
- Baby Dee
- This is where my name comes from. One of my friends had been at an event were Dee was performing, and was so startled by not being able to figure out which gender Dee was just based on their name, and remembered the confusion quite a bit.
- their "Bilateral Hermaphrodite" outfit is AWESOME
- Google Images search
- YouTube videos
Women
I still have a lot of internalized sexism, and am surprised when I run across a woman who is quite intelligent. Obviously, this is bullshit. These are try to counteract that.