There is something all female-identifying people have in common; that is the experience of being female. The only difference is that cisgender women experience that baggage of living female much earlier than transgender women. In a world today awash with transphobia, my heart bleeds. Feminist ideologies that should protect women are now being exclusionary. But how does life feel being transgender in a sexist world? Let us discuss.
As kids, our hearts were very innocent. We loved the toys, the attention our parents showered us. But even children recognize gender. This recognition starts when they watch their parents. Daddy is more masculine, and mom has a softer, feminine phenotype. Usually, parents also begin by inculcating gender roles in children through words like, “You are daddy’s little girl” or “That is daddy’s big boy.” Depending on gender too, children are treated differently. There is that barbie house for that girl child and that superman, a science-tech toy for the male child. Most children fit into these gender roles and behaviors, while some do not. For those children who do not fit into this role, society begins to ostracize them very early. It is in words teachers and peers use to describe them. If they have religious parents, then they face even such hate for their identities at home. Transgender kids hear words like, “You are a boy, stop acting…
