Transexuality, reality, diverse

This is the report of the first research project undertaken with the trans community of Madrid Community. It has two objectives; the first, considers the reality of the trans community, unknown previously by most of the population. Secondly, it shows the diverse reality of trans people, and presents some of the knowledge needed to help when providing for trans people.

In the first part of the report the authors develop some of the main concepts. Each chapter then allows the community to talk us through the central topics, guided by interviewers. For the author it is clear that she wishes to allow people to speak about their lives in their own words. There is one part, dedicated to the stories of trans men, otherwise often the most unknown members of the otherwise diverse trans community. Also the book talks about the community’s relationship with the media, and it has importance, through the images we are shown of trans people. Finally the report finishes with some conclusions about trans people’s lives in Madrid and then goes on to make recommendations which could help their concerns.

Defining transsexuality is very complex; there are a lot of voices and views about it. The most common says transsexuality is not only a way of living, but also an event that implies suffering:

“it can also be positive, whereas most people don’t have the experience of being educated in one gender, and living their adolescence in another gender, these circumstances make for a much rich gender system”, JuanaRamos (35).

Trans people try to explain themselves through ideas of social construction, biological identity or anthropological explanation. There is not just one definition of transsexuality though, what most agree is that though they may not be able to say who they are or what made them this way, they are very clear they’re not homosexuals or simple cross dressers:

“... I don’t feel like a homosexual, I feel as a heterosexual woman because I like men, and see myself as a woman, anyway” (36).

“... Homosexuality is associated with transsexuality. I never feel I am homosexual and I think of none of us as homosexuals in our daily life, and also we don’t behave as if we are” (36).

“...I read novels about homosexuals (...) but I didn’t recognize myself in those stories, I didn’t recognize myself in them because they are about relationships between two men who were conscious of their masculinity, and I want to run away from that” (37).

“... transvestites think I am the same as them, it’s wrong, there is an abyss between transsexuals and transvestites...” (38).

Most of those interviewed said they recognized the conflicts between their biological sex and their gender identity very early in their lives. They didn’t know how to tell anyone about it, but somehow they managed to identify themselves as transsexual.

There has been a generational change in recent years. Before the 1990s it was impossible to talk openly with one’s family, and transsexual people were forced to break down any family bonds, retreat into silence and rejection, which in turn made it very difficult for them to accept their identity:

“one of the most painful things of being transsexual, was that you can’t talk with anybody about it”(39).

Newer generations of trans people have found more people accepting them, sometimes even supportive and also understanding of their gender identity.

The self recognition process of being trans has many levels. Firstly, strong feelings of belonging to the other sex, secondly, accepting ourselves as we are, trans people, in front of others, and finally, finding the external answer to our feeling which will sometimes mean making physical changes to our bodies. These will include changing our appearance, by hormonal treatment and genital surgery. It is this last one, that is most controversial, and there have been many opinions expressed about it:

“... the idea of an ‘authentic transsexual’ is a person who wants to be operated on to become a man or a woman,” (53)

“... I feel as if I am a woman but I don’t need vaginoplasty, I’m not going to change to reduce my sexual capacity (...) people who don’t understand my rejection of the surgery say “how can she feels like a woman if she doesn’t want to go into surgery?” (53)

This point of view shows the difficulty people face when asked to conceive what it is that makes a woman or a man. There are also many differences between trans men and trans women. [1]The most significant is that of visibility. The researchers explain that trans men have the positive experience, early on, of no longer looking ‘transsexual’, so they experience fewer problems of exclusion and marginalization. They can easily slip into social spaces without being known as being trans. There is also the view that trans men are more accepted because their changes means a rise in the social sex status. On the contrary, one reason why trans women suffer social rejection is their stepping down from the patriarchal social position of men. They also have the problem of being very visible as trans women and so socially unacceptable, and they are often associated with, or are engaged in, prostitution, something very few trans men take part in.

“... it is about machismo, we are always the same. If we were not in a patriarchal society there would not be problems between men and women, people couldn’t say that a man is better than a woman, or that a woman is inferior. All status is the same, all is formed by patriarchal and macho values”.

“... the changes are better in them, in physical appearance, nobody says is that a girl or a man, she is who she is, but macho values ensure that transitioning from male to female is frowned upon, because being a woman is devalued in our society, it is a social prejudice...”

The report, like other reports, says it is easier for trans men to find a partner because women, unlike men, are more open to make bonds with trans people. In all cases, however, being trans is always complex because they suffer discrimination throughout life and society .

This is an interesting study, that could shed some light on the situation of trans people in Madrid. It also invites reflection on the lives and experiences of trans people. It is a good read and should encourage further work both throughout Spain, and in other countries.

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[1] In this book they say that feminine transexual is a person who identify as a woman as her choice, means that is a man biological that became a woman social; in the other case of masculine transexuality it is a person that is a woman biological and became a man. Bulletin T-Informa also has adopted this convention to name trans identities.