A Letter for Bio-Essentialists, Whether Liberal or Conservative

Dear bio-essentialist, who is definitely not an essentialist because they heard the word transgender for the first time (wink),

Life is cruel enough as it is. We get it, okay! We get it! We cannot choose our parents, what socio-economic status we are born into, or the culture we inhabit. We are categorized and assigned roles and labels before our skull plates knit together. WE GET IT!

No need to remind us how fucked we are from birth. We should at least be allowed the dignity to self-determination. Let us flip the script on our own lives. Let those of us who reject your nihilism move on without you looking over us. Grant us some small comfort. Allow a tortured soul some succor! Don’t constantly use our past as a cudgel.

Please!

Don’t think of this as begging. No one needs your permission to live. However, if we are going to be stuck with each other, we should at least be able to tolerate each other’s existence.

Since some of you reading this may consider yourself a “centrist,” “classical liberal,” or whatever other disingenuous nonsense you would like to call yourself, you will appreciate this little concession I’m making on your behalf. The “truth is in the middle,” right? The fairer choice is the one where both parties are unhappy, if I’m not mistaken.

So do not think of this as losing. Think of it as an opportunity to improve on your humanity. Show us that you are someone worth acknowledging, let alone listened to. Give trans, intersex, and non-binary folk some time. Think of other things that are more important than whatever it is you think you are doing. Don’t pass judgment on us so soon.

Prove to everyone your own humanity by refusing to diminish the humanity of others.

Thank you for your time.