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Yes, once again, the clown prince of transgender silliness has posted another hilarious bit of humor. Unintentionally, of course. "Autumn" Sandeen's latest, can be found at the Huffington Post, which has, of late, become a major source of transgender propaganda. Entitled, "Violating Sex And Gender Norms While Traveling," it contains some of Mr. Sandeen's classic jokes, as well as some new material that will have you rolling on the floor, convulsed with laughter.
He starts off with his classic joke of saying, "I'm a transsexual who also identifies as transgender." Now, that's a real knee-slapper right there. I mean, seriously, Sandeen? A transsexual? Seriously, how does he make this stuff up? Claiming one is a transsexual while writing an article on violating sex and gender norms is classic absurdist humor. The whole point of being a transsexual is to conform one's sex to one's innate gender, and to fit within society's norms. Granted, he does add that bit about being a transgender, but in order to really fit what he describes, a transsexual would have to act in accordance with their birth sex. In fact, what a transsexual does, when he/she transitions, is to stop violating sex and gender norms. But hey, this is Mr. Sandeen, so we have to expect truly absurd, off the wall silliness.
Next up, Mr. Sandeen delights us with another of his classic lines, "Let me begin by saying that I "pass" as female in almost all settings -- that's including in bathrooms." Mr. Sandeen, as well all know, does not "pass" at all. That is, there is no more chance of him fooling anyone into believing he is anything more than a silly man in a dress, than there is of any other crossdressing comedian, say "Benny Hill," or "MIlton Berle" to name a couple of classics. To add to the hilariousness of that claim, Mr. Sandeen does not offer his readers a clear recent photo of him, so they can judge the veracity of such a claim. That is a shame, as I am sure they would love to compare it to him in typical attire that looks nothing like what a woman his age would actually wear. Better yet, would be a video, so they could get the full effect of him flouncing about in his unique parodying of a woman. He does, however provide a picture of him being dragged away in his female Navy uniform that does not really show his face very well, and this older picture of him. I apologize in advance if it leave any readers with nightmares.
The new humor includes this rather bizarre bit:
When going through a body scanner I actually left seven cents in my right front pocket. So, the TSA officer who was at the scanner station said I was going to be given a full body search. I was taken to a separate room with two female TSA officers. Before they began the search, I disclosed that I was transgender and that they may feel something that wasn't normally expected by to be on a female body when they touched my crotch. They asked me then if I wanted male officers to conduct the search, and I said no: I said I'd prefer female officers to do the search. I was pleasant and smiling when they did the search, and they were pleasant in return.
All joking aside, I honestly feel sorry for the two female officers who were subjected to Sandeen's perversity. I can just imagine his excitement at the idea of a couple of women being forced to grope him. I bet he really loved getting to tell him about the "special surprise" waiting for them in his crotch. Had I ever had such an experience, I would not have been all smiles. I would have been completely mortified, and would have had the decency to ask them if they would be comfortable performing the search. But for a freak like Sandeen, it was a "teaching moment." Yes, he got to leave them with a false impression of what a transsexual really is, as I am sure he emphasized the lie that he is a transsexual.
Thankfully, on the occasions I flew before I completed my transition, I never faced such a situation. I did have my purse searched once, because a handful of Hershey's Miniatures showed up on the X-ray, and looked like they might be explosives. The officer who conducted the search and I had a good laugh over that. But, even though it was not a primary reason, never having to worry about such a mortifying experience played a very small roll in my need for surgery. I imagine for Mr. Sandeen, he would not want to miss out on future teaching experiences....
A week or so ago, "Cristan" Williams, self-appointed alpha gender fascist, was crowing about how he had been asked to take over as managing editor of Transadvocate by Marti Abernathey. Well, now Mr. Williams has posted one of his typical bits of drivel...and it is certainly destined to be a classic example of his skill at avoiding the real issue.
Titled Insidious: Extreme Pressures Faced by Trans People, it starts off with this rather ominous sounding lead paragraph:
Studies show that the trans population lives under extreme psychological pressures unseen in even active military personnel. Fifty-five percent of trans people [1,2] were found to live with social anxiety. Within the general American population, similar types of anxiety are experienced by only 6.8% [3] of the population while these levels of anxiety were found to exist at a rate of 8.2% among military personal.
Wow, sounds horrible, doesn't it? Those poor, oppressed "trans people"... What Mr. Williams does not mention is the fact that the vast, overwhelming majority of "trans people," who are living with this terrible social anxiety, choose to be "trans people," and are, as a matter of choice, acting in a manner that they know is contrary to social norms. In another words, it is their own fault.
In fact, I would venture to say that the percentage of so-called "trans people" who actually suffer from social anxiety is actually higher, as it is possible that the statistics cited my well include more than a few transsexuals who might not actually share the same issues as "transgender" people.
Think about it. The people Mr. Williams is talking about are overwhelmingly men, who choose to engage in behavior that is offensive to a majority of society, and which is actually intended, by choice, to offend others. These are not innocent victims. Their identity is rooted in transgressive behavior. They could easily avoid much of the problems they face, if they chose to, but for various reasons they prefer engaging in the very behavior that results in their social anxiety. Worse, people like Mr. Williams refuse to compromise to protect the safety and comfort of women. They prefer a world where the ladies restroom is wide open to men, with no regard for privacy or safety of women, even though the boys in dresses like Mr. Williams demand to be accepted, and treated, as "women," well at least as "trans women."
Now, these are not people who are actually trying to become women. Their identity is as "trans women" which means that they have to hang on to their identify as men, in addition to their supposed identity as women. They are, more often than not, demanding that society accept them as "women with penises." I remember reading about this in Robert Stoller's book Sex and Gender: On the Development of Masculinity and Femininity. At the time, I thought the idea was absurd, but I have come to realize that there is at least some truth there. I mean, there is really no other way to explain the behavior of kooks like "Autumn" Sandeen, "Monica" Roberts, and others. They revel in their penises even as they claim, quite humorously, to be women.
And yet, we are supposed to believe that these perverts are victims of discrimination. Again, they choose to engage in behavior that most people will find disturbing, but they are the victims. And yes, in spite of denials, like one posted on Transadvocate, for the transgender crowd, it is a choice. The denials are billed as "humor" and perhaps they are, because they are certainly not related to reality. The first talks about trying to achieve passability.
Seriously, so many transgender types may imagine that they actually pass, but they are often mistaken. And even the ones who look reasonably credible lose any hope of "passing" the moment they start talking. It does not take long to realize that they are not women mentally. Their thoughts and behavior are 100% male.
The next reason given is cost. Of course, this does not remotely apply to transgender people who have no plans to actually transition. And for many, the costs of things like hormones are relatively negligible.
The third reason is "success." That transgender people lose out on jobs and such. Of course, again, this is not true for those not full time. And the number of transgender activists who are on disability, usually for mental health issues, speaks for itself.
The next two have to do with being forced to "explain" and being "gossiped" about. Hello? Look at the behavior we are talking about. This is what they are LOOKING FOR!!! They want the attention being "transgender" attracts.
The sixth reason speaks of having exhausted reasonable options. This of course is typical transgender co-opting of transsexual's experiences. Yes, for those of us who are transsexual, this is true. We reach our limit, after having led very miserable lives. For the men in dresses crowd, after long, successful careers, during which their crossdressing is a part time hobby, they decide to go full bore. They were not desperate. They just decide that the thrills need to be upped.
In the seventh reason, the person whines about how much harder it is to be a woman. This, of course, is also part of the motivation. For a transgender, the "lower status" is part of the game. Ever notice how transgender types seem to be very chauvinistic men? They think being at a lower status make them more "womanly" and they delight in it.
The eighth reason has to do with being alone. Again, a transgender trying to co-opt something that some transsexuals experience. Yes, dating can be hard. Then again, since my surgery, I have never revealed my past to anyone I dated. Now, if you are "out, loud, and proud" you might well attract chasers, of which their are plenty. But most of the men in dresses crowd are into women, and unless they can find someone who is as perverted as they are, or who has such low self-esteem that they will put up with a boyfriend who calls himself a woman, they are generally out of luck. But then again, they are the woman of their own dreams. For them, this is about sex, and well...I really don't want to go there. Disgusting.
The final reason is pain. Again, if you are a transsexual, yes, you may go through some pain. Surgery does hurt. Electrolysis is no fun. But for the men in dresses crowd, surgery is not a serious option, and increasingly, they don't bother with electrolysis. I mean, why give up that option of really freaking people out?
Interestingly, I worked with some of the people involved with one of the studies Mr. Williams cites. I conducted surveys, and I know the sort of people who were questioned. A lot of my opinions on "transgender" silliness came out of that experience. I saw first hand the sort of people Mr. Williams is trying to claim are "really women." Interestingly enough, you don't see the same sort of thing with FTM transsexuals. Most of them simply transition, and get on with their lives. There are a few rare exceptions, but most of them can easily assimilate and move on with their lives. Those who choose otherwise tend to openly identify as "gender queer" and tend to claim a "none of the above" type of gender identity...insisting on silliness like "gender neutral" pronouns.
No, the "social stresses" are not because they are victims, it is largely because they are transgressing societal norms and experiencing the resistance that naturally follows such behavior.
"Autumn" Sandeen is either completely clueless, or he is a liar. I'm not sure which, but after yet another incident that should tip him off that he is not remotely credible as a woman (i.e. to put it in trans-speak, he doesn't "pass") he decided to identify himself correctly. I love his internal debate, as he rejects a couple of outright lies, before deciding to be honest....
I could’ve answered “I’m a woman,” and perhaps added a invective epithet to the end of that line, but I didn’t.
I could’ve answered “I’m a woman, but I’m also a male-to-female transsexual,” but I didn’t.
Instead, I looked him straight in the eye and said without weakness or animosity, “Well, I’m transgender.” I chose to fully embrace my sociopolitical trans identity in my answer to that young man.
It’s clear what he expected from me to feel was humiliated at the asking of his question. It’s clear that he expected me to embrace internalized transphobia. He didn’t expect me to be matter of fact regarding my trans identity; the young man looked somewhat taken aback at my answer.
Sandeen is not a woman, so the first would have been an outright lie, and given the fact that he had clearly been read, would have been sort of silly.
The second would have been two lies, again not a woman, and no, not remotely a transsexual.
No, Sandeen actually told the truth. He is not a woman, he is not a transsexual, he is simply a man with "sociopolitical trans identity." That is, he is a man who likes to play dress-up, pretend to be a woman, and make some sort of bizarre sociopolitical statement about rebelling against society's gender norms.
I doubt the young man was as taken aback, as he was just surprised that Sandeen, for a change, was actually honest.
But that is not the point of Sandeen's blog post. He wants "trans people" to be out, loud, and proud like he is. Of course, in his warped view, he includes transsexuals (after all, he falsely claims to be one). Now, if someone who is truly transsexual wants to be "out," that is, I suppose, their business, but Sandeen, as always, remains clueless.
You see, if you are "out, loud, and proud," you are effectively undoing whatever you have accomplished by transitioning. It has been the same story since Christine Jorgensen was outed back in the Fifties. She could never live a life as "just a woman." The same is true for ever other public transsexual. The more out you are, the less you are able to live as a woman, or a man in the case of an FTM.
Of course, for someone like Sandeen, this is not really an issue. He does not remotely want to be a woman. His desire is to be transgender. He enjoys parodying women, but he is not one himself, and makes no real attempt to be one, beyond engaging in some of a caricature that is more akin to drag, than to womanhood. Simply put, he is an insult to women, not one of us.
He talks about protections based on "gender identity." What that actually means, is protections based on a claim. You say that you have a "gender identity" at odds and poof, you get protections. You don't actually have to even be telling the truth. It is a totally subjective basis for protections, and in effect, makes little, if any, sense.
I think that transsexuals should be protected under the same laws that protect anyone from being discriminated against because of a medical condition. But people like Sandeen should take responsibility for their choices, and accept the consequences. Like someone who identifies as a Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Communist, or Nazi (other examples of sociopolitical identities) Sandeen should accept that he does not have a right to protections based on how he sees himself.
An article on Bilerico shows a perfect example of what is wrong with the thinking of many transgender activists. In this article, a post-op by the name of Sera Wohldmann goes into a major rant because of being turned away from selling blood plasma.
Said person is sexually involved with another transgender "woman" and has been since before surgery. Now, this would be, in the eyes of the blood bank, and example of a male who has had sex with a male since 1977, and therefore someone who is ineligible to give blood. It may not be a fair rule, but it is the current law as required by the FDA.
The issue here is not whether the rule is right, which I believe it is not, but that this person seems to think that it simply should not apply. The issue, instead, is the mindset that holds that the law should somehow give someone who identifies as transgender a special pass, simply because they identify a transgender.
Worse, in this person's case, there was a deliberate attempt to be dishonest by trying to claim a "transwoman" as a fiance, implying that they because of being a lesbian there was no possibility of having had sex with a man. Since the "fiance" was apparently not passable, that made it obvious that there was not only a violation, but a deliberate attempt to be deceitful.
Perhaps the saddest part of the whole story is how, upon finally departing, this person decides to give them "the finger."
No, people who are transgender are not entitled to special treatment. Again, I don't agree with the idea that gay men should be permanently banned from giving blood, but they are not alone. I have a friend, totally straight, who cannot give blood because he served in the military and was stationed in Europe. The concern in his case is that he might have been exposed to Mad Cow Disease.
On the other hand, I have regularly donated blood on numerous occasions. In fact, I am regularly contacted when I am again eligible. I am listed as a female at the blood bank, and I have no problems.
Passing...it is a common concept for many who are HBS, transsexual, and even transgender. It is not uncommon, particularly in the early stages of transition, for those who suffer from HBS to speak in terms of "passing," meaning that one is perceived as being a member of their "target sex." The actual term "passing" seems to have originated in the 1920s in reference to African-Americans who were light-skinned enough to be perceived as Caucasian. It has become something of a sociological term for the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of a combination of social groups other than his or her own.For those born with HBS, the concept of passing may be a part of the early stages of their transition, but they usually outrgow it quickly as they become more confident. For those who are transgender it either becomes a way of life, or an anathema to be condemned at all costs.An example of this latter attitude can be seen in the "Autumn" Sandeen's article on Pam's House Blend, "Four-Year Transactivists." One has to remember, Mr. Sandeen identifies as an out, loud, and proud "transgender activist." In the article, he bemoans the fact that many transsexuals come to realize that they are able to be accepted as women, and then decide to stop being out. And, of course. he simply cannot comprehend the simple truth that a woman simply might realize that she has no reason to continue to be seen as a man. As is typical of the gender fascists, Mr Sandeen has to spin this as a negative thing:
Welcome to the reality of how "passing" impacts individuals in the trans community; welcome to the broader concept of how there are individual members of oppressed, minority populations who don't appear to be members of their population(s), and "pass" as members of the unoppressed, majority population.
Like other "transgender" activists, he believes transsexuals are not really women, they are members of an oppressed minority population. He recoils in horror at the idea that one might actually succeed in one's transition and move on with one's life as simply a woman.Mr. Sandeen goes on to whine about how he is treated:
Personally, I've been called Mr. Sandeen, "Autumn" Sandeen, and called by male pronouns by both people on the religious right and by people who would seem to be my natural allies. To trans people who take the public stage, I tell them "expect to be hit by a lot of lighting" -- similar names to what folk on both sides my transactivist peers are called are what they should expect to also be called.
Sadly, he simply cannot conceive of the glaring error he makes here... He simply cannot, or perhaps refuses to concede, that those who refer to him that way are not at all his natural allies. We are quite opposed to what he is trying to force on people. I share few, if any of his goals. I do not want to see gender "deconstructed." I do not believe that the criteria for being a woman should be that you say you are. I do not believe that women should have penises. (Yes, some of us are born with them, but if you want to keep it, you are not remotely a woman.) I do not believe that people should be able to change their birth certificate without having completed surgery. I do not want to see ENDA passed in a form that would acceptable to Mr. Sandeen. I do not want to be called "transgender." So where this man gets that I am his "natural ally" is beyond me.In any case, for those of us who are HBS, and not "transgender" do move on from the concept of passing. We realize that to say that we "pass" would be to give in to the silliness of those like Mr. Sandeen who are not, and ever will be women, and who are all too aware of this. I mean, simply put, one cannot pass as what one is.
Yes, it is that time of year when the transgender community starts whining about the Michigan's Womyn's Music Festival. Historically the Festival has a "womyn born womyn" policy that has been interpreted as excluding HBS women. In more recent years, that policy has been relaxed somewhat, and it stated as a matter of conscience, not a rigid policy. Of course, HBS women have attended the festival over the years. The real issue is the presence of transgender people who claim to identify as women.In a recent article on Bilerico, the author states "In my personal opinion, if one feels as though he or she has been born into the wrong body than that's enough to qualify as Trans, or the new, less technical term GenderQueer." Such a statement is, in my personal opinion, highly offensive. The only criteria by which a person qualifies as "Trans" or worse, "GenderQueer" is if that person chooses to identify as such. I do not, and personally I consider having either term forced on me to be highly offensive. He goes on to state, "Although The Womyn's Music Festival vows to not do any "panty checks" it seems as though the inclusion of Transpeople to a festival like this would have to be all or nothing. Being pre-op, half-op or even post-operation male-to-female transgender simply cannot matter. Who is to say that being pre or post op makes one more or less of a woman? You simply can't." He has a point, though he misses a bigger one. While a person who has Harry Benjamin Syndrome but who has not had surgery is still mentally a woman, there are a large number of men who call themselves "pre-op" who actually have no intention of ever having surgery to become female. They are not, in my opinion (and in the opinion of the vast majority of society) women, and never will be. So yes, surgical status does make a difference. I can certainly understand the MWMF not wanting to allow so-called "women with penises" into their midst. If a woman with HBS can assimilate well enough to attend, and she is sufficient identified as a woman to not feel the need to inform people that she was born male, then I see no reason why she should have a problem attending. And quick frankly, many have done just that. And any so-called "pre-op" who would wish to impose his self on such a gathering does not belong there anyway.
And no, that is not "passing" as many transgender types love to claim. The term "passing" implies that one is fooling people into believing that one is something they really aren't. But then, that is the whole point. For an HBS woman, it is not fooling someone. It is simply being what they are. Of course, I realize some can't quite grasp that.
Now, personally, I don't agree with a lot of the views of the founders of the MWMF, but I can understand why they might feel the way they do. Ironically, the person who caused a lot of this controversy could have simply kept her mouth shut. By telling her past, she raises questions as to whether or not she is really a woman.
Still, the bottom line is, this group does have a right to associate with who they wish to. Personally, I would not wish to attend this event. It is simply not my cup of tea. But that is a my feeling, and other women feel differently. In fact, a close friend, a "woman born woman" who is lesbian-identified went this year.
The bottom line is, many of those who are the most upset about being excluded are, ironically, the very sort of person I can understand them wanting to exclude. And the real irony is, I bet those who are the most upset have no comprehension of that irony.
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