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Wanting to See and Know: Positives and Negatives of Trans Visibility
A tiny Chanukah reflection
The Chanukah menorah lights up, and I think about questions of visibility.
On the “double-edged sword” of trans visibility, Florence Ashley writes:
“It helps people realize that they’re trans. You have more access to trans narratives, which gives you more space to understand yourself, and that’s very positive. But at the social and political level, it has been quite negative. We’re seeing a lot more people who vehemently hate trans people, who are even willing to harm trans people. Whereas people who are favorable to trans people largely just leave us alone.”
— Florence Ashley, interviewed by OpenMind
I think this means:
Trans people’s visibility to ourselves is productive. When we see ourselves, we have to face ourselves. There’s a reckoning, a character formation. It’s hard at times, but it’s a net positive.
Yet our visibility to others can be a net negative. Those who accept us treat us as they treat everyone else, while those who are intolerant can be intensely harmful. On balance, being seen tends to be a drag.
And so we have to manage our visibility. We want to see ourselves, but we don’t always want to be seen. We find…
