News
Trans* Workshop takes on topics such as binaries, pronouns and bathrooms
By Rylee Carrillo-Wagner ’19
March 31, 2016
Tags news
On Tuesday a handful of students met in KJ for the second trans* training of the school year. Seeing as last semester’s training was so successful, and that there were more questions than time available, the conversation began on an excited note from the start.
The training was led by Davey Shlasko, founder of Think Again, a business that specializes in training and consultation around various social justice topics. Shlasko had two presentations, one for students and another one for faculty.
Prior Tuesday, Shlasko had collected questions from Hamilton students and formatted the presentation after those questions and concerns. Shlasko divided the talk into four sections: Global Gender Cultures, The Medical Model, Pronouns and Political Tensions.
“All cultures have a gender system,” began Shlasko, but not all of these gender systems are the same. Some parts of the world used to have three or four different genders, but because of colonization, the European gender system — including gender binaries— initially disrupted the systems in different cultures, labeling the unknown as sodomy.
At this point, some cultures have tried to bring back their original styles, although they face the challenge of digging up history, as well as the lasting effects of colonization and the medical model suggesting that there is something clinically wrong if one does not identify within the European gender binary.
As a consequence, bringing back old traditions proves extremely challenging and many continually receive backlash for doing so. After laying down this history, Shlasko then showed photographs of various gender groups that are not present in America’s binary system, including Hijras from India and two-spirited Native Americans. Caroline Kreidberg ’17 commented, “I liked that Davey talked about the gender binary construction as product of western European colonialism and how different gender constructions exist in different locations and contexts.”
Shlasko spent less time on the medical model, but quickly explained that for years being trans* was considered a medical disorder. While this is no longer the case, in order to receive any transitional surgeries, one is required to first get two physiatrists to verify that they can consent to the operations. So while plenty of people can chose to get cosmetic procedures like nose jobs, if it is related to transitioning, one needs two physiatrists to sign off on the same operation. Shlasko used a comic illustration to reiterate the point. In the comic, one person asks, “how many trans* people does it take to change a light bulb?” The response? “Only one, but they have to live for a year in the dark to be completely, absolutely sure it needs changing and have the confirming opinions of two electricians, at least one with a PhD.”
The conversation surrounding pronouns was quick. Shlasko used an analogy towards the end of the discussion that helped summarize the conversation. “Messing up pronouns is like having your zipper down:” you fix yourself, but then move on as fast as possible. You’ve embarrassed yourself; it was your mistake.
The conversation then shifted to focus on political tensions, at the forefront of which was the new, controversial North Carolina bathroom bill. In retaliation, many trans* people have posted photos of themselves online asking if you would want them in the girls bathroom (the photo featuring a large man with a full-grown beard) or the boys room (conversely these photos feature small, innocent-looking girls).
The tension that this creates within the trans* community is rather substantial, however, and Shlasko explains through another comic, “the argument that trans women ‘look wrong’ in the men’s room because they look stereotypically feminine perpetuates the idea that trans people’s rights and safety only matter when they ‘pass.’” Furthermore, that bill enacted many other controversial decisions, such as making it illegal for towns to raise the minimum wage above the state minimum wage, and people can no longer go to court on account of being discriminated against (and that does not only include being discriminated against for being trans*—it covers all forms of discrimination).
“So why is the media just focusing on the bathrooms?” asks Shlasko. Maybe, it’s because that can be turned into a huge drama, “a distraction” to ignore the other issues—while the bathroom decision is significant, most conversation surrounding is targeted at a cisgender audience, suggesting that whom one shares a bathroom with is more scandalous or important than the other laws created.
The list of things to talk about that day were unending and many participants hoped for future workshops. But the round of applause at the end spoke to the student’s appreciation for the time Shlasko spent presenting that day, and for the new knowledge that they held.