high on high heels

While Jenn and I were perusing the contents of the Gay and Lesbian channel, LOGO, web site the other day (a channel btw, I hadn't even heard of until then since I haven't had cable in 15 years and that station isn't even offered by the only cable station in the area), we stumbled upon a trailer for an interesting show about a group of transwomen brought together to put on a trans-oriented version of "The Vagina Monologues," called Beautiful Daughters.

The show looked very interesting, but one thing struck me as they showed all the girls auditioning for the parts in the play (and more specifically as they showed them in the promo shot all walking in a group in slow motion): they were all wearing dresses and high heels and generally presenting themselves as the very "girly" type. This included some high-profile, trail-blazing women in the community such as Calpernia Addams and Lynn Conway.

Now please don't get me wrong - there is absolutely! nothing wrong with being girly and wearing high heels - I like to indulge in it on occasion - it's just not normally my thing; I prefer a t-shirt, jeans and a comfy pair of Mudd shoes in most instances. However, what struck me as I thought upon all the instances of trans-exposure in the media I am aware of, was an absence of those whose gender expression is less oriented to the "traditional" female stereotypes (i.e., make-up, high heels, dresses, and conversely, of less "macho" transmen). In other words, it seems to me that the media (and by extension, our wider society) gravitates to those in the trans community who most closely adhere to the extreme ends of the traditional dual-gender model, leaving those of us with more nebulous outward appearances out in the cold so to speak (or perhaps we just haven't spoken up enough?).

Part of the reason for this, I'm guessing, is that those of us with a more androgynous appearance are harder to categorize and thus harder to relate to since much of how we first relate to people has to do with how they look - this provides us, rightly or wrongly, with queues as to what to say and how to say it (this probably also applies to those who don't consider themselves part of the trans community but that don't adhere to traditional gender appearances either). I think humans much prefer things that are easily categorized, easily labeled (and I supposed from the perspective of a lazy thinker, more easily understood). After all, labels and categorization are the whole basis for human communication systems. There is no way around using them, but we can fight to apply and define our own labels and make sure those labels are not used to judge us when used externally.

As I reread the above, I realize I have not communicated my scatter-brained ideas well at all, but I don't have the time at present to overhaul, so it'll have to do for now.