“A cliché of cross-dressing – grotesquely-too-feminine; a disguise that can hardly veil the underlying manly physique; the coarseness of the voice that deceives despite the effort to sound woman; the brazenness of a shaven chin that makes one wonders…” a cliché it is; like aforementioned, of the bizarre ideas that patriarchy can wield and instil; boxing people, tagging people, labelling people, holding prejudices, judgments, disgust.. hate? It would be unbelievable if you have not yet seen the image of a Transgender person in your wandering thoughts. Visual resemblance? A cliché! Is it only patriarchy?
“It would really take some efforts to remember all these wonderful people who are working and living as Transgender even if one cannot recognise them all.”
Over the past years… rather, it should be decades for it is not new, we have been interacting with Transgender people – a Hindu marriage celebration with the Hijras waving their mesmerising hips and arms or the event of a new born child and the Hijras clapping their hands blessing the new born; another place would be a night club with Transgender artists belly-dancing or singing; at a beauty parlour or hair saloon; a florist. Oh! And Madonne working the muscles out for a beer bottling company; Jay as a nurse in the hospital; Andrea as white-collar employee in a prestigious bank! It would really take some efforts to remember all these wonderful people who are working and living as Transgender even if one cannot recognise them all.
In a society dominated by binaries, the colourful spectrum in between is oft ignored, and we force ourselves to conform to these binaries without a shred of idea knowing how genuine it would be for us to simply be ourselves and live our identities embracing freedom blissfully.
“Freedom; or utopia?”
While commemorating the Transgender Day of Remembrance to reflect upon those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia and to bring attention to the continued violence endured by the transgender community, let us also remember to celebrate the countless still standing among us and who are day-by-day braving the harsh life of hate while changing hearts to be able to accept and love, in ensuring that Freedom is far from being utopia but a reality at hand’s reach.
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