I prefer to remain optimistic. I have commented before regarding the current wave of hatred and anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeping the Country. I believe it represents the dying gasp of a vocal bigoted minority trying to hang onto an archaic social paradigm that is quickly becoming a relic of the past. For the most part, the younger generations do not hold to the populist Christo fascist perspective of many boomers.
To provide a counterpoint to the disheartening news stories you shared, my experience, especially with very young children, has been uniformly positive. I am a passable trans woman. The only thing that makes me stand out a bit is my height. I am 6‘1“ tall. That and my voice are the two things that are impossible to disguise. But they also present opportunities. Children seem fascinated by how much bigger I am than the other women in their lives and the odd deepness to my voice.
Recently, my friend Jen and I spent a little less than two weeks in the Marriott Village next-door to the theme park hotels at Disney World. We were not there as tourists. We had fled hurricane Idalia. Going down to the breakfast area in the morning or eating out at the local restaurants, it was not uncommon to run into families with young children. This was a week or so before Labor Day. Whether eating in the hotel, or out at one of the many restaurants, young children would frequently stare at me, and sometimes try to attract my attention to show me something that they were holding, a bit of food or stuffed animal or something they were coloring on their placemats. I always showed interest, and they responded positively.
Many times the adults were oblivious to the interaction, but when they became aware, they would spend enough time to determine that there was no threat to their child and go back to their conversation. These children were too young to have any opinion of trans people, much less an understanding of what they are. But they were curious and knew something was going on. I was somehow different from the many other women around them. I would like to think that the positive nature of my interactions had some sort of lasting effect upon these young minds.
At some point in the future when someone tries to make fun of the LGBTQ community, perhaps an emotional memory will give them a sense of revulsion as to what they are experiencing—an inoculation, as it were, against future hateful behavior. I would certainly like to think so.
When I read the constant litany in the news of all the horrible things that are being done to the LGBTQ community at large and its members individually, it is easy to despair. It sometimes feels like the whole world is against us. But then I remind myself of what my day-to-day life is like. I almost never encounter a situation where I feel uncomfortable out in public. People are uniformly polite and friendly.
When I start frequenting a new place, such as a restaurant, quickly the wait staff warms up to me and are always pleased to see me return. I treat them with kindness and tip generously. Being a thoughtful, decent human being goes a long way towards overcoming any discomfort people may have with the new and unfamiliar. Someday in the not too distant future, I suspect trans and other LGBTQ people will become as unremarkable as any of the other types of human beings we each encounter on a daily basis. We will be no more unusual than a person of color or Hispanic heritage, a Jewish man wearing a yamulike or a Muslim woman in her hijab. We will just be people . That day cannot come too soon.
