Trans1-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights

Arturo Arvalo, B.A.2

We have a history of people putting Maori under a microscope in the same way a scientist looks at an insect. The ones doing the looking are giving themselves the power to define. Merata Mita Briefly said, we trans suffer from two kinds of oppression. On the one hand, the social oppression based on the collective imagination about what a trans is: mystery, concealment, perversion, contagion, etc.... On the other hand, we suffer institutional violence. Lohanna Berkins They are part of the underworld, my father would say. They are barbers or dancers, my mother would say. As for me, I would say: they live how they can, wherever they can. They live in tiny concentration camps, of which, other people, the regular people do not even see the barbed wires and the watchtowers. Society makes them illegal. Prisoners of their own skins. Like me. So let me choose my own skin. Marie-Thrse Cuny

Abstract

This research study examines socio-cultural elements key to the construction of trans identity, within the Translatina community in the Americas. Focusing on the body transformation process, the role of sex and sexuality, and, family relationships, socialization and affection, I will document the unique lived experiences of Translatinas in Boston, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Mexico as they construct their gender identities. The purpose of
Trans: abbreviation for transgender, transsexual, or some other form of trans identity. Trans can invoke notions of transcending beyond, existing between, or crossing over borders (www.soaw.org/article.php?id=629, 2010). 2 Sociology and Womens & Gender Studies, Documentarist Researcher at University of Massachusetts Boston. Arturos work focuses on the conceptualizations, purposes, and disseminations of certain group identities.
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Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

this research study is to provide a cross-cultural perspective on the challenges and vulnerabilities faced by Translatinas. Of special interest is the impact of discrimination and marginalization on Translatinas sexual risk-taking and susceptibility to contracting HIV. The implications of this research for promoting the health and well-being of Translatina populations will be discussed. Keywords: discrimination, erasure, health care access, marginalization, ostracism, social exclusion, stigma, trans.

Exordium The term trans will be used in this study to refer to those who transgress the traditional understanding of gender. As a consequence of trans marginal status and especially because trans individuals are hetero-symbols that question social norms, with their different representations of being and as a result of their different notions of femininity and masculinity. They transgress political boundaries causing breaks with their gender and sexual practices not accepted publicly nor assimilated violence. that is socio Their culturally, health is therefore then not creating a constant symbolic and material considered a social good but a commodity acquired through market mechanisms, particularly affecting the trans community who are treated as second-class citizens and consumers. The trans community is complex and not enough research has been conducted with Translatina populations, they have higher rates of HIV and HIV-related risks than any other race/ethnicity and gender in

South & North America (CDC, 2008). Social stigma is hypothesized to be the origin, producing societal factors such as discrimination, low self-esteem, and health-care provider inexperience with trans emotional and physical health. These societal factors produce mediating factors such as poverty, sex work, substance abuse, gender identity validation through sex, and provider hostility/insensitivity. The final products of these mediators are direct HIV risk factors including unprotected sex, lack of negotiation for safer sex, low perception of risk, IDU (Injection Drug Use) and viral transmission risks, lack of insurance and barriers to access to care (Bradford, 2005). This study uses the category trans that embraces many terms used to describe living, dressing, or identifying as individuals who live predominantly as the gender opposite to which they were assigned at birth by Western binarism. Especially when looking at portrayals of trans individuals who existed in the ancient world where they where both accepted and respected (Bullough, 1997),

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and were not overdetermined by a binary classification of gender. Trans is compiled of various unique forms of gendered embodiment, and power relations, or in other words, those who transcend typical gender paradigms (Ryan & Futterman, 1997). This study is not looking for gender polarity, or to go from black to white or vice versa, but rather to exist in the hybridity or better yet to think of the possibilities that now seem unthinkable. The research suggests that identity and sexuality with their practices have an inherent connection to the culture, understood as an organizational system consisting of symbols and imaginaries produced, generated and assimilated into the interaction with other social factors. It is from these circumstances within the context of social otherness as an identity project; where individuals create the norm and designate what they believe is outside of it, by building accepted collective identities such as minorities that build themselves from discrimination. In the specific case of this research, trans are characterized by a sexual identity different from the hegemonic class in todays society who are able to express in the form of a corporeal transformation and in the alteration of gender roles imposed by a heteropatriarchal society.

The first point in the discussion is the health care for trans individuals and the existence of international and national medical classifications that define trans as a mental disorder. People who identify as trans are recognized by the mental health community in two significantly heterogeneous categories, DSM and ICD (WHO, World Health Organization, 2009). DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) includes the term (GID) Gender Identity Disorder as a mental health disorder. A term to describe people with significant gender dysphoria, i.e., dissatisfaction with the biological sex they are born with (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). And, ICD, (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) where trans is listed as a mental disorder and behavior. Trans individuals are at-risk for a large amount of physical, emotional, and social health problems. They have higherthan-average rates of depression, suicide attempts, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, school failure, family rejection, and homelessness (Rodrguez Madera, 2009). Trans people may end up on the streets, where they may engage in survival sex and become at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (Klein, 1999). Particular subgroups of trans communities including Aboriginal trans people, newcomers, and youth can experience compounded challenges

Background and Significance

Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

because

of

intersections of

with

other (Katz,

belong, therefore creating a potential existence of associated trans populations. There has not been much ethnographic studies whose only focus is Translatina populations, however the case of oral history projects have had direct attention to the lives and experiences of Translatinas within the non-academic context. Jaime Cortez s novel Sexile4, is based on oral history interviews and discussions, tells the story of a Marielita (faggot) Adela Vasquez, her childhood in post revolutionary Cuba and her experience of the Mariel boatlift, AIDS, drugs and sex work in the US. Vazquezs vibrant story is one of the numerous Translatinas in the Americas. It is imperative to challenge the academia by recognizing the existence of US Translatina projects that show their cultural expression, community building, and organizing. The argument has to focus exclusively on the lives and social worlds of Translatina people themselves, along with HIV supervision and prevention, and finally ethnographic, oral history, and cultural studies that includes the accounts of Translatina communities. There is a broad range of literature on Translatina populations embedded in various social, cultural, and historical contexts, but they are easily overlooked, a more disciplinary approach is essential to delivering

experiences

marginalization

1999; Garofalo, 2006; Lombardi, 2001). Burgess, (1999) has suggested that the descriptions based on the self-selected trans who seek treatment have led to a pathologizing stereotype of these individuals, many trans who have used hormones to develop desired sex features, have obtained them on the street, fearing negative reactions from health care providers. Thus leading not only to serious health issues but have put trans people at risk for HIV infection due to infected syringes, it is critical that non-judgmental counseling and hormonal therapy is lifesaving for trans individuals. This raises an important issue about inclination, and preference, how and why these issues are regulated by psychological and psychiatric authorities, and the implications of this persistent regulation of sexuality and gender. Trans people have held more interest when encountered in Latin America than among US Latino populations (Ochoa, 2010) due to of and greater differences common and the in denominators transphobia homophobia

configuration of public and urban spaces. Often times, Translatinas are considered part of el ambiente3, a social world to which many Latino gay also feel they
El ambiente, in Mexico City has been examined as a queer masculine space or subculture. El ambiente is understood as an affective network of individuals that congregate in temporary and more established spaces (Garrido, 2009).
3

Sexile, was published in 2004 by The Institute for Gay Mens Health, a partnership of two organizations (Gay Mens Health Crisis and AIDS Project Los Angeles) that focus on HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts, particularly among queer communities.

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systematical populations.

visibility

for

Trans

and cultural issues, Mauss, 1979). Their sexual and gender identity different to that allocated socio-politically, which is repudiated, but is also demanded and used, therefore, they suffer most directly from multiple forms of discrimination and violence. This must be framed within the complexity and ambiguity of the exercise of power in relation to the body, sexuality, gender, identity and violence. The point is also made that there is no one trans community but a series of communities, networks, and identities. Namaste (2000) is particularly critical of how many institutional, academic, and trans-gender activist discourses have organized themselves in such a way as to invalidate the lived experience of trans persons of multiple non-dominant cultural identities (persons of color, persons who are bilingual or do not speak English, sex workers, poor persons, youth, survivors of domestic violence, persons living with HIV/AIDS, homeless persons, alcoholics, and addicts). Namaste that cites several original studies legitimize

Trans individuals with their unique body language and expression come into collision and opposed to the society they belong, and these cultural symbolisms have enabled them to assume and construct their differential identity in the urban space formed by cultural, sexual, and symbolic diversities. Trans individuals negotiate their identity in what might be called secondary genitalia, this particular kind of transforming their bodies, which imposes the notion of femininity or masculinity intended culturally to the other gender; they support their particular reconstruction of identity, and finally their own specific negotiations (Camacho, 2007). Trans alter culturally the most visible part of the body, the most sexualized, which is directly linked to sex and the eroticism of the body itself as well as the transformation of the face becomes a reality from the universal iconography of what is considered beautiful within Western culture. They live in a permanent state of vulnerability in society. But despite this fact trans have created dynamics of momentary empowerment and minimal political agency demanding that they be recognized as different people with specific needs. They are exposed completely in the public sphere with their crossed corporality, (corporality is understood as an approach to an analysis integral to the study of a number of social

unexpressed voices and show repeatedly how trans persons are erased through the social structures of public policy, homeless government administration,

shelters, HIV/AIDS programs, and so forth. Namaste's writings about trans can be condensed in the following quote, which carries a critical message for all of those interested in the lived experience of trans individuals:

Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

Indeed, given that trans people are always reduced to an object of study (whether that object is deemed to be fascinating, horrific, tragic, or transgressive), I suggest that we demand that researchers on trans people tell us how trans people validated their interpretations, findings, and conclusions. Trans people must be actively involved in the construction of academic knowledge about our bodies and our lives: anything less advocates a position wherein knowledge is produced, in the first and last instance, for the institution of the university (2000).

surroundings. It is a fundamental aspect for understanding trans, that their body is an area of resistance, their body is a vehicle for subjective, social, cultural and political manifestation (Rodrguez Madera, 2007). We have fallen into the reductionism of homogenizing masculinity and femininity to make it synonymous with machismo, marianismo, familismo or even worse violence. Trans individuals have become Even invisible more, and/or they are pathologized.

excluded from the institutionalized world through public social policy, which has made sure to erase them from the citizens view (Namaste, 2000). An important catalytic agent to the rejection of the trans community was certainly the HIV epidemic, gender and sexuality became an inseparable duo. Sexuality is not limited to the physical dimension but rather to a social construction from knowledge that is attained in the relations of power, that is who controls them and their impact (Foucault, 1998). Foucault understood power as a force that manifests in all relationships. Therefore sexual diversity is conceived, as something that deviates from the norm, it constitutes a menace to society. Sexuality has become a device of human society used for private purposes. This pathologization, stigmatization and condemnation is the effect imposed to the trans while it becomes a significant

The reality of gender identities are not being acknowledged, public policy laws need to recognize the existence of trans peoples citizenship, in order to articulate promotes discrimination legitimate and measures that difference between marginalization

(Rodrguez Madera, 2009). What is it like to become something different? When it comes to understanding trans identity, is the conjunction of opposites in which each part acquires meaning based on how the other part is seen and/or constituted. There are certain impositions made by the conjunction of masculinity and femininity but what represents to escape from the impositions made to the body? It means responding to the legitimate possibility that exists between the poles of feminine and masculine, and the need to dismantle certain categories that lead to an essence socially created to provide meaning to our

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disruptive society/sexuality under control (Rodrguez Madera, 2009). The distinction made by a person to define her/himself as feminine/masculine is the basis of a principle of organization for every human culture (Lipsitz, 1992). What might be considered gender adaptation in one period of history may become a gender norm in another. At one point, pink was seen as a more decided and stronger color, and thus more suitable for a boy, while blue, viewed more delicate and exquisite, was commonly worn by girls. Probably this choice was affected by the fact that blue, was associated with the Virgin Mary in Christian Europe. Painters often used lapis lazuli into paints to depict what was considered the most sacred feminine icon. In the 1950s there was a color explosion, dressing children in pink and blue to specifically denote gender suggested the rising middle class and above (Frassanito & Pettorini, 2008). History has told us that names are given by parents; this reflects tastes, priorities, values or expectations. Why? As soon as the child is named, their demands and expectations are implicit by their caretakers. This occurs similarly when a trans individual chooses a name to be identified with. The difference is that generally the social burden to this name is imposed by the person itself, the name they choose will have an effect on how people relate to them, and in some cases, can even affect their ability to assimilate.

Before

birth

gender

identification is

already perceived as natural since gender is placed on an individuals anatomical sex. The criteria by which women and men are constructed (Wallach-Scott, 1999) are registered in the category of gender. I have mentioned that gender is one of the most important control categories in a socio-cultural context. Therefore fragmenting individuals in society in two spaces corporeal (carnal) and subjective: women and men. This is the basis where all the distribution of unequal power between the two genders emerges. Trans is the equivalent to the term transformation of identity and body, which then implies accepting an unconformity with a sexual anatomy a gender that places them in an undesirable position. Such label can be conceived as a form of resistance (Brown Parlee, 1998). One cannot forget the social institutions such as family, science, and church that have assumed an active function in favor of sexism as hegemonic (Rodrguez Madera, 2009). These institutions discourses generate what is embedded in the formation of individuals and their attitudes. They are directly responsible for negative approaches towards diversity, such as: rejection, social prejudice, homophobia, and transphobia. According to Derridas conception opposites are defined in a binary system (Namaste, 2000), man is one who uses his penis, taking us back to the traditional discourses about male dominance in terms

Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

of sexuality that states that man is the one who penetrates, assumes an active role and gives pleasure, women are set as the one that does not penetrate. Therefore in a same gender relationship, who assumes what role in the sexual relationship? The traditional family is ensured through the allocation of specific roles to each gender, especially those related to reproductive roles, and thus to the heterosexualization of the relations (Butler, 1990). Some scholars propose trans as an expression of one of the two available genders in society: masculine or feminine, even if their practice alternate between one or another gender according to certain situations of social interaction (Barreda, 1993), or integrate in a continuum of male or female (Ekins, 1998). Marjorie Garber uses the category third gender as a source of uncertainty among trans, orientation, sexual behavior, etc., from the difference between gender construction and sexual attraction. Garber (1992) claims that:
The cultural effect of trans is to destabilize all the other binary categories: not only masculine/feminine, but also gay/not gay, sex and gender. This is the radical sense in which trans is a third.

identity. Barreda (1993) problematizes the category of third gender as another possibility in the organization and representation of gender, as a third sexual status, that is, can we efficiently think of a gender with complete disregard of sexual difference? The construction of gender that a trans performs consists of a multifaceted symbolic and physical process, first by adopting exterior signs, then the body transforms, finally a new image is formed accompanied by a name. Barreda argues that, being a body and have a body is not the same. The body reduces to a sum of signs without history, without qualities, just volume. The trans according to Barreda interprets, models and experiences its body as a text that can be read from the feminine gender or from the male sex. Lastly I will use Judith Butler to aim to the idea of a deconstructive perspective. To analyze trans as belonging to one gender or the other is reductionist and creates confusion about the relations between gender and sex, gender and sexuality. Butler in her book, Gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity (1990), introduces the following question: Doesnt the concept of gender register in the same regime of discourse that seeks to answer? According to Butler the relations between sex and gender in the feminist conceptualization are too overdetermined by the duo nature/culture. It makes no sense to define gender as a

Trans is direct indication of how gender is formed, Garber says it has extraordinary power to disrupt, expose, and challenge, putting in question the very notion of the original of stable

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cultural interpretation of sex, if sex itself is a category already generalized (Fernandez, 2004).

Collection and analysis of existing data Analysis of Literature Review, this study will be conducted based on an exhaustive search of the available literature to examine both, the methodologies

Study Design and Methodology The purpose of this research study is to establish elements that affect the experiences of trans individuals, who either identify as trans or describe their gender expression as atypical. It is crucial that the experiences related to gender identity, gender presentation and sexual orientation also examine the vulnerability trans people face, when it comes to marginalization, discrimination, and access to health resources. The primary research questions for this study are: (1) what is it like growing up trans in a gender-fixed society today? and its social determinants, race, class, education, employment, etc., and (2) How their do trans gender populations identities? construct

employed by other qualitative studies and their findings with regard to the research questions. Focused (Semi-structured) Interviews This technique is used to collect qualitative data by setting up a situation (the interview) that allows a respondent the time and scope to talk about their opinions on a particular subject. The researcher decides the focus of the interview and there may be areas the researcher is interested in exploring. During a semistructured interview, a researcher asks an interviewee questions based on a prepared written list of questions and topics. At the same time, the researcher encourages the interviewee to freely express ideas and provide information that the interviewee thinks is important. The objective is to understand the respondent's point of view rather than make generalizations about behavior. researcher With can this flexibility, the obtain unexpected

Secondary questions include what are the risk factors precipitating HIV infection, how trans individuals currently access routine medical, trans-related, HIV-related services: what experiences have they had with their providers, what barriers to access have they encountered, and what are their service needs. The themes will be kept general to allow participants to take the discussion based on their knowledge and experience.

significant information as well as answers for prepared interview questions. The researcher tries to build a rapport with the respondent and the interview is like a conversation. In addition to asking questions, researchers usually take notes

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Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

and audio-record interviews for later analysis. The semi-structured interviews will be categorized in two major areas: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation and Vulnerability and Health Issues. Participants On phase I of the research study three interviews were held in the Boston area, and due to the sense of hiding identities, it is difficult to recruit participants from the trans community. A gatekeeper, a Translatina leader, activist and agency coordinator agreed to help make possible the recruitment process; she also served as a participant. The remaining two Translatinas were randomly chosen. The average age was 32 years. They all identified as Translatinas, and presented their gender identity openly. None had undergone a sex change surgery, except for mammoplasty; also known as, breast augmentation. Since being a woman with penis is their main attraction.

anatomy; HIV

in

terms of

of

HIV

related All

information, they all had knowledge of modes transmission. participants at some point in their lives expressed being victims of all kinds of social barriers, i.e., prejudice, jobs difficulties, difficulties accessing social services, arrest for prostitution, as well as informational and institutional erasure. A participant elaborated on this theme.
About society, what can I tell you, they look at us as clowns, as x-men, the cartoons, you know? Sometimes they look at us like we are from another planet. Oh my god, are from Mars? Are we from Neptune? There is no respect. Its time for respect, for all trans in society a job, you dont know how long Ive been looking for a job, ah, for being transsexual unfortunately we are invisible5

When asked about life stability and heterosexual privilege or the idea of just walking in broad daylight in public.
Is horrible, sometimes the girls have to go through so much that I say, my God, for being like this, is a sin. For being this, the other, is a sin for loving the same sex. To what I say, every cook with its seasoning, there are many girls who are like us but who like voyeurism, I repeat it again, every cook with its seasoning. Basicly, I have my partner who is a man, from heterosexual he jumped to bisexual, and from bisexual hes been with me. He was an escort, just like me, hes not anymore. He is working as a bar5

Results Participants transgender ostracism, offered several and sexual struggles

commonalities, detailing features of the experience. financial and Stigma distress, identity

objectification,

among others were constitutive of the unique socio-cultural context in which they live. All participants informed of being born with a masculine (penis) sexual

Translated form Spanish by Arturo Arvalo.

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11

atender in Santo Domingo. Then we have a, hes there, Im here, I have to be traveling there, but if God allows, well see if he gets a visa to come here.

dressed, how we put on make up, and I always tried to go by the more feminine side.

The process of gender identification starts very early in life. Before the birth of a child, is understood that it is natural that her/his gender be placed on its anatomical sex. Parents, as active agents of socialization, they take the task of building men and women to their offspring. It is important to highlight how participants perceive the gender with which they identify by responding to the values they have internalized through their exposure to social discourse. The criteria by which women and men are constructed (WallachScott, 1999) are registered in the generic category.
At birth I was assigned a masculine sex. The environment in which I lived was always, I was raised by parents, I had the image of my father, of my mother, a sister. But during the course of my childhood parents always instilled what was the image of a boy and girl, as sibblings, then my growth process was more the way they wanted. Quite strict, especially my dad.

I identified my gender with others, at a very personal level, I wanted to let others know the way I was and the way I thought of others, risking a lot to an acceptance, a rejection of many people, especially not everyone has a very clear concept regarding transgender.

In summary, participants described the trans experience as a difficult one, marked by stigma and ostracism, but taking gender construction issues into consideration is a significant step in developing adequate strategies gender for the welfare in of trans and populations. Especially addressing

construction

issues

approaching social discourses that prevail in specific socio-demographic contexts.

Discussion And Limitations I believe there is also the need to include discussions about research studies that have studied, empirically, the experiences of individuals who identify as trans. A number of empirical studies have been conducted of to sexual examine orientation the to relationship various

Since chilhood I started to have a closer approach with eveything that was feminine, heels, dresses, makeup. It was something I identified more as a person at the time. I shared my time with my sister, in games, the way we

gender-related

characteristics.

Doorn, Poortinga, and Verschoor (1994) found that the development of a feminine gender identity system was present at an

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Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

early age for male trans, although the individual may not be aware of this identity until later in life. Findings have indicated that masculine childhood gender identity in females is less predictive of adult same-sex sexual orientation than feminine childhood gender identity is for males (Bailey & Zucker, 1995). Mallon (1998) found that not only was gender atypical distressed behavior family not acceptable acted to to relatives and family members, but these members discourage the expression of gender nonconforming ideas. Cooper (1999) has noted the serious challenges to families that trans pose; the redefinition of an individuals gender may well be more difficult than the challenges faced following an individuals coming out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Within the context of trans experiences, in the study conducted by (Grossman & DAugelli, 2006), trans were asked who knew of their gender identity or gender expression, two-thirds (66%) indicated that their immediate family knew (parents, and siblings). The two largest groups that trans had disclosed their gender identity were friends and teachers, (83% and 75%). And also, one-quarter (22%) trans described that they knew of relatives who were also trans. Half (54%) indicated that they spent time daily with other trans people. lastly when asked to indicate the percentage of people who were currently aware of their trans

identity, almost half (48%) indicated that more than 75% of the people that they knew were aware of their trans identity. Some of the limitations that researchers have found was the the use of convenience samples pulled from specific places such as recreational facilities for trans, this was due to economical challenges that did not allow for random sampling. In addition, participants who identified as trans, made themselves evident and also offer to take part in the study. Therefore creating and a more collaborative 2006). In the study conducted by Rodrguez Madera (2009), interviews of two trans individuals were carried out. A guide of semi-structured questions was used, a format that promotes a more relaxed and fluid participation than other techniques (Johnson, 2002). The guide was divided in two sections, the first dealt with bodily issues, and gender identity, the second focused on socio-structured barriers encountered by trans individuals and social vulnerability factors. These areas were fundamental in order to understand the trans the experience. information A CAD (Critical through Analysis of Discourse) was conducted to generated interviews (Frohman, 1992). A CAD is an analysis that focuses on how social power, domination and inequality are reproduced and resist within a specific social and forthcoming

environment (Grossman & DAugelli,

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13

political context (Schiffrin, Tannen, & Hamilton, 2003). On the study, four macro-categories Existing discourses facilitated on gender the and organization of the information, they were: sexuality, the personal dimension, the body as an instrument of visibility of gender and socioestructural challenges in their everyday experiences. In this sense, these discourses are reflected in the personal dimension of these individuals lives, i.e. who they are, their life story. The last category is the social response to what trans means and the actual effects on their lives and their function as citizens. Studies substantial individuals suggest are that due to trans socially stigmatization, extremely

economically persuaded to engage in barrier-free sex (Boles & Elifson, 1994; McGowan, 1999; Nemoto, Operario, Keatley, Han, & Soma, 2004). A study of trans sex workers in Atlanta, GA found HIV incidence to be 68% (Elifson, Boles, Posey, Sweat, Darrow & Elsea, 1993).

Ethical Implications and Suggestions so what?, now what? Some considerations are important to consider for the development of public policy and the spaces of resistance, those who cross the gray areas of polarity male/female challenges. face Social more resistance difficult occurs

roughly towards people who prefer to navigate in the uncertainty or, better yet in the certainty that there is no need to be located at the extremes. Nowadays trans are more visible in the media; but continue to be invisible in the exercise of citizenship; in order for trans acceptance as a legitimate option it requires the support of important sectors within society. The academy, has the opportunity and ought to have the commitment to contribute to the development of knowledge that are in tune with the criticisms and responses to modernity and its conception of humanity, in the light of social changes that have occurred in recent decades6.
Feminists movements, exaltation of sexual diversity, globalization, computing.
6

marginalized and face discrimination, violence, and multiple barriers. Not to mention they are mistreated not only with regards to HIV prevention and treatment services, but also with access to regular medical care and to trans-related health care. HIV widespread presence among trans has been found to be extremely high, ranging from 14% in San Juan, PR (Rodrquez-Madera & Toro-Alonso, 2000); 21% in Chicago, IL (Kenagy & Bostwick, 2001); 22% in New York, NY (McGowan, 1999); 32% in Washington, DC (Xavier, Bobbin, Singer & Budd, 2005) and 35% in San Francisco, CA (Clements-Nolle, Marx, Guzman, & Katz, 2001). Trans sex workers are at particularly high risk, since they are often

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Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

An observation on the invitation that Foucault unveiled when interviewed about his role in the production of knowledge (Garca Canal, 1982),
My role (and this is a word too emphatic) is to show people that are much freer than they feel, they accept as truth. As evidence (some issues that have been built for a certain time in history), and that this alleged evidence can be criticized and destroyed. To disarm this perspective is the role of the intellectual.

epistemology, Tol Foster argues that, a specific work is necessarily incomplete if it does not have multiple perspectives and voices within it and is even incomplete if it does not acknowledge voices without as well. Without a doubt the academy is the site of political struggle and where radical renovation ought to have place, it is vital that education of becomes the 1970). a critical awakening capital consciousness, Indeed, the

knowledge should not be an accumulated (Freire, academic culture is a ground of struggle, and within the classroom, students and professors ought to develop a critical analysis of how experience/knowledge is labeled, constructed and validated (Mohanty, 2003). Knowledge as the very act of knowing through experience or education, and how is related to selfdefinition and the construction of knowledge by means of depoliticizacing the academy (western epistemologies). We need to embody knowledge as a tool to incorporate and appropriate spaces of resistance. We cannot allow society to impose its dominant ideas, values, norms, and patterns of behaviors onto us; it should not determine who we are. Certainly, the concealed, rigid purpose of social institutions (academia) is to entice and persuade us to accept and embrace their ideas and values, despite that, we as individuals maintain our natural wit to accept, reject, or re-define that

Finally an open invitation to reflect on the forces that extend across and constitute our bodies daily and to explore to what extent our behavior, our sexuality, our very anatomy is defined in an autonomous way. That, the appearance of femininity denoting female sex and masculinity denoting male sex is so ingrained in society that we take it for granted; and all we have to go on is appearance (Woodhouse, 1989). For centuries western secular and religious beliefs have categorized our social gender system, instead they have institutionalized the term gender dysphoria rather than the concept of gender diversity. How can we and then by decolonize, such western depathologize approach destigmatize

introduced

epistemologies? How do we understand the distinctive knowledge, the cultures and politics that trans communities promote? In order to decolonize both knowledge and the methods produced by western

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15

experience/construction

of

knowledge.

to situations (Epple, 1997), regardless of our gender and sexual practices. People are to be perceived in the context in which they emerge; therein, their actions obtain meaning. Our sexual and gender practices must be discerned in the context in which they transpire. But is it important to demonstrate what that meaning means to others? People are judge by the construction of meaning; thus promoting disparities and exclusionary categories that damage the other. It is critical EuroAmerican scholarship shifts their focus radically, from the categorical to the dynamic. Everything is an alternate. But how do we challenge and dismantle gender categories? By adopting new, stronger and enduring epistemologies that are processual, interconnected and dynamic. It is essential that history becomes art, the political becomes transformative, and the personal becomes universal (1997).7

Western epistemology have taught us socialization as a process of teaching and learning societys culture, but is nothing more than conditioning and programming process and its dominant strategy of repetition and reinforcement. As a consequence of this socialization process we end up internalizing and accepting societys central ideas and values that they become truly ingrained in us. Unconsciously we keep supporting the same ideas, values and norms responsible for defining, controlling and confine our human lives. To conclude, trans people burst in many societies as an atypical trend that bothers society and challenges its margins. The overflowing identities of trans people (Lemebel, 1997) can be understood as a third, not so much because it lies between two poles of a continuum but because destabilize all binary characteristics (Garber, 1992). There is nothing that distinguishes trans from other groups that legitimately demand their right to explore and live freely ways of feeling, of being and doing that our gendered and biocentric societies do not accept. Without a doubt the mysteries of human desire and sexuality are a sustained and lively interrogation of the meaning and mutability of gender set within the backstage world of trans. We, as individuals are as interconnected as inseparable, we respond

Craig Hickman, Gay Community News.

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Trans-identity, Different Bodies, Equal Rights __________________________________________________________________

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Arturo Arvalo
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