Recently, the
Lebanese media has taken a special interest in
transsexuals, featuring at least two talk shows on the
topic; one on LBC and the other on New TV. Again, taboo
topics sensitive to our population’s eyes and ears are
treated in a sensationalist manner. The purpose of these
features, I believe, is to showcase individuals that are
believed to be “freaks of nature,” in the hope of
attracting viewers and increasing TV ratings.
The main problem with these, as well as other shows
discussing homosexuality, is that the media outlets
couldn’t care less about tackling the issue from the
sociological, cultural, or psychological perspectives of
improving the lives of LGBTQ individuals or changing
society’s attitudes towards them. Even the “impartial”
presenters stand there with stern, disapproving looks on
their faces, overshadowed only by their looks of
self-righteous pride.
Still, my problem with the recent shows about
transsexuals is not so much the TV stations’ attitudes,
but rather the attitudes of the transsexuals themselves:
“We are not gay! We were just born in the wrong body.”
Most of their speech asserts that they are not
homosexuals, using words like “qawma loot” or “shawaz,”
and by doing so, they are endorsing society’s prejudice
towards gays and lesbians as sick and deviant. “We want
to be normal” is something they have also repeated when
asked about why they want to change their biological
sex.
I personally have taken giant strides towards
understanding and respecting sexual identities that
differ immensely from my own lesbian self, but why
transsexuals would be homophobic is beyond me. They
might view it as a strategic argument to claim that they
want to conform to society’s views, and that by changing
their sex, they can do so. They might want to integrate
into the society they call “normal” using their
post-operation gender. But they, of all people, should
understand the devastating consequences of
discrimination, of hate crimes, and of being called
freaks just because they are different.
Where is the solidarity that we often assume when using
the term LGBTQ? Granted, different sexualities have
different battles to fight, different arguments to use.
And it is a possibility that transgender and transsexual
individuals have faced so much discrimination from the
gay community itself that they want to alienate
themselves from such association.
Have we failed, as LGBTQ activists to understand and
tend to the needs of our “T” community? Or have
transsexuals opted for what they think is a more
persuasive argument to straight people, “We want to be
just like you?” Sadly, in our Arab understanding, that
statement can only mean “We hate homosexuals too.” |
