by Gosego Monoane
Trans erasure simply means that “we the people”, transgender people, are being erased effectively from public awareness merely due to assumptions that everyone is cisgender, or that transgender people are rare.
I identify as a rural transgender woman of colour, I use the term rural because I would like to distance myself and my struggles from those transgender women who are middle or higher class, or someone more privileged than I am, and simply because I come from a rural area. I also use ‘woman of colour’ because being a certain race comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. As a transgender woman, it is very difficult to take up space, maneuver, exist and get access to crucial public services such as healthcare because our inclusion is rarely prioritized.
This is admittedly an extremely personal topic which makes us trans identifying individuals very audacious. When you have audacity, you allow yourself the courage to go all-in for things that some may deem seem unreasonable. Audacious because I can ignore “cold hard facts” or opinions that seem to prove that something can’t be done
I have been consistently discouraged from existing in certain spaces because I come across as too feminine or simply because I draw certain unwanted attention, this has happened all at the expense of my comfort. I have been declined many opportunities simply because I am living my truth. My entire existence is constantly erased in so many spaces. I once attended a seminar where a gay identifying man made a comment saying that he would like to hear “other stories” besides trans stories because they are represented more often. That statement on its own is very problematic and transphobic, it shows how trans erasure also exists within our own community as LGBTIQ people as well. People can’t bear to see the ways that trans people’s struggle is directly linked to and interconnected with their own. This proves that we still have a long way to go in establishing mutual respect within our own community as LGBTIQ people.
I have a bit of knowledge in psychology from my time as a student at North-West University because it was included as a module in my 1st and 2nd years of study. I took a keen interest in psychology and sociology and read a few books on these topics in addition to other books. In terms of social issues, transgender persons were covered in one page sporadically under the LGBT section. Some books would cover some of the identities within the LGBTIQ community, but not transgender people were rarely considered, reflected or represented in these academic books. Apart from being erased in books, we’re also erased in student leadership structures like university student representative councils.
University spaces are not accommodating to transgender individuals nor are they safe for us. There are many other issues that I could also mention, such as the gender marker on my student card which still addresses me as “Mr.” despite this not being my gender identity, or the lack of gender-neutral toilets which are a necessity.
We also tend to forget that gay sub-cultures exist within our community. I once had an argument with a lesbian identifying woman who employed right wing ideology and talking points to defend and excuse her transphobia. For example, she claimed that historically our community was LGB “without the T” implying that transgender was not an official term, thus meaning trans people didn’t exist.
Erasure also reduces access to healthcare services and health information for us as trans and gender non-conforming persons. As a trans woman, I must carefully decide how and when to disclose my gender identity to health facility staff due to fear of discrimination. The decision to disclose is a profound burden because failing to disclose may result in unfavorable health outcomes due to avoiding treatment or withholding information. We face unique challenges when accessing quality healthcare and we disengage from using these services. Healthcare professionals express negative attitudes, transphobic behaviors, physical and verbal assault or even direct refusal to provide services to us. A nurse in charge once assumed I was a sex worker. She referred me to substance abuse programs when I was neither using illicit drugs nor involved in sex work.
Cisgender people should try to understand that in a cohesive society that respects human rights for all, they also have responsibilities towards including transgender people, either in schools, corporate spaces and churches. They should consider and highlight the existence of people who do not identify with binary genders. Cis women should include transgender people in their privileges and allow equal access to spaces. Guidelines at provincial levels should be implemented in order to protect transgender individuals from discrimination.
The incorporation of trans-competent care in higher learning especially in the medical field should also be highly considered.
We need cisgender people to transform the ways that they think about how we all co-exist within our spaces and lives. They should be ready for possibilities of existences that does not fit in strict division between men and women or males and females.