Why Transmedicalists are Wrong

I am a binary-ish trans woman. About the most visible of the trans identities, people like me receive a lot of airtime, for better or for worse. Our struggles are more well known than most others under the trans umbrella, and the most frequently traveled path of our ranks is often framed as a guideline or common narrative for the trans experience. We (binary trans women) often seek particular changes to our body, tend to have gender dysphoria, and we are seen and represented in media through actresses and activists like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, Jazz Jennings, Carmen Carerra, Amanda LePore, Andreja Pejić, Chelsea Manning, and a number of other high profile trans women. That said, these women all have something in common: their experience is binary and tends to make more sense to the general population than non-binary trans experiences. The narrative surrounding trans feminine people is abundant and readily accessible by the masses through shows like Orange is the New Black, Sense8, Euphoria, and Pose, while other demographics of the trans community are quite overlooked.

To get to the core of the anti-non-binary methodology, you need to first understand three tenets of trans representation:

First — Increased visibility/representation correlates to increased public scrutiny

This visibility for trans woman is hard-fought, and visibility for one group cannot be seen as a bad thing in light of another community being overlooked. With increased visibility often comes increased scrutiny, so the representation afforded to trans women can often seem like a double-edged sword. We are more in danger of being taunted and attacked. Trans women of color are particularly at risk for being on the receiving end of hate crimes and face one of the most statistically disturbing demographical murder rates on the planet. We don’t always assimilate well or blend into society’s expectation of what a woman should look like, while trans men often do with the ability to grow a beard and the deepening of their voices when on testosterone.

That said, trans men receive far less news coverage than their trans femme counterparts, and their celebrity rankings are far less prolific. Chaz Bono, Ian Harvey from Transparent, and porn star Buck Angel are some of the only trans…