2008 Woodie Awards
Transgender Day of Remembrance helps acceptance, understanding
By: Katherine Jarvis
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Features
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The 10th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20 was about more than the movement, senior Aydin Kennedy said.
"It's about memorializing those that were trying to find that corner of truth in their life," he said.
They also make transgender people visible, Kennedy said. Events such as the Day of Remembrance, as well as the Conversation on Diversity on Nov. 19, lend a voice to a group of people who often don't have a voice.
The Conversation on Diversity "Facing Trans: Inclusion, Advocacy and Empowerment," focused on how sex, gender and sexual identity are connected.
When Kennedy began his transitioning, sex, gender and sexual identity played a significant role, he said. Sexual identity was particularly important since he was in a relationship eight months before he began medically transitioning. His sexual identity was being redefined.
"My partner, at the time, was lesbian-identified," he said. "As I got closer to my external identity matching my internal identity, she got further away from her identity matching."
Kennedy sees himself as male even though he still has the chromosomes of a female, he said.
"Understanding that there are different ways of defining and understanding sex, gender and sexual identity and that however I choose to define those should be my choice," he said.
Gender roles have shifted in Kennedy's life, he said. Most of his friends are women who know his history, which affects his interactions with them. Men are taught to sexualize women, while women are gendered to be cautious and aware of that.
Shanna Jones, a volunteer for the Women's Center and Catalyst Domestic Violence Services, has been influenced by gender roles through her transitioning, she said. Many people think that because she is a woman she likes men, but that is not the case.
She sees the Chico community as being accepting, especially the younger generation, she said. People haven't really treated her differently. Most people know others who are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Yet there are people who have misconceptions about the LGBT community, said Jessica Pettitt, a social justice and diversity consultant and facilitator who spoke at Conversations on Diversity. That is part of the reason she does workshops similar to the one she did two weeks ago.
Some people think transgender people are predators, sick and confused, Pettitt said. These ideas are similar to the ones some people have about lesbian, gay and bisexual people. But people think this because they're scared and don't understand transgender issues.
"It's much easier to judge other people than say you're wrong," she said.
People shouldn't be put into one group because of one trait they have in common, said junior Briana Beaver, who attended Conversations on Diversity.
"Labeling people isn't the best way to try to understand people," she said.
Exposure to diversity such as racial, cultural, sexual and gender identity as well as those with disabilities helps people better understand others, Beaver said.
"I think we all have things that make us unique and different in our own ways," she said. "So the more exposure we have to diversity, the greater appreciation we'll have for one another."
Katherine Jarvis can be reached at
kjarvis@theorion.com
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