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The Transgender Tag!

Posted by Marie Reynolds on
The Transgender Tag!

Debates on professional and non professional social networking sites are something I avoid, however, a particular debate recently lured me into the gladiator arena with my net and trident.

The question : Is it acceptable and right to deny a transgender client .. and so it started.. many therapists went on a tangent about having the right to refuse men, they could not simply get to grips that firstly they are discriminating (be it black, white, gay, straight whatever!) and secondly this is not about TRANSVESTITES (not that it would matter) but about transsexuals.

I jumped in to ask if the individual had been rude or threatening? No, the therapist just felt ‘uncomfortable’. Well I am sorry, to me this is not acceptable it is down to ignorance and prejudice (in my opinion) and I have to say made my blood pressure raise!

Transsexuals are not freaks or subjects for laughter and ridicule and they certainly should not be treated in a way that they feel ashamed of themselves in ANY WAY!. The battle they have emotionally, mentally, socially and physically, in my eyes make them one of the bravest people on the planet. Do you really think they would choose to be spat at in the street or punched or neglected and shunned by friends and family?

I know of a very special person, a close friend of many years, who has spent years in turmoil and has tried to take her life on more than one occasion, not because of who she is but of the social neglect and ignorance that surrounds her. She has been kicked in the face and abused, lost family and  work but she still battles on.

Transgender individuals have to undergo huge challenges to change. They first have to live as a woman, take daily doses of hormone that not only drastically change the body shape but also places them in a huge roller coaster of emotional high and lows,  they have to change their name by deed poll and continue years of psychoanalysis before even discussing ‘The Op’.

The fact that they come to a beauty therapist for help in their transition is for me personally a great honor. Plus they make the best of clients, they take great pride in their skin, hair and nails.

All I ask of any one is stop and think of what they endure on a daily basis, the mere fact that you may feel uncomfortable will disappear when you actually realise they are human beings with feelings and emotions.

If this was a sibling of yours would you turn your back on them? after all really it is not down to what is going on with them more how you deal with it, how you react and conduct yourself speaks louder volumes.

Transgender, Gay, Black, White, Straight, Muslim, Christian… they are all labels to me… look beyond the label to the individual that is more than likely kind, funny, intelligent and more importantly AMAZING!

A survey found that 48% of trans people under 26 said they had attempted suicide, and 30% said they had done so in the past year, while 59% said they had at least considered doing so.

The Transgender Violence Tracking Portal logged 102 acts of violence from 14 countries, against transgender people in only 4 months! Among the 102-persons,  36 persons were shot multiple times, 14 stabbed multiple times, 11 were beaten to death, three were burned to death, three dismembered/mutilated, and two were tortured, two were strangled, one was hanged, one had her throat cut and one was stoned to death. These are only acts that have been reported,  I only know from experience of my fiend who lives in constant fear of being ridiculed that she has given up on reporting violent acts towards her, in fact she finds it now a normal part of her transition, which is heart breaking.

Getting back to our friend the beauty therapist, I pity  that she has such a narrow-minded view, we are all human beings and we ALL deserve to be treated how we would like to be treated ourselves – with kindness, humility and respect!

For more information on the Transgender Violence Tracking Portal, or to get involved in the initiative, please visit transviolencetracker.org.

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