Sexualization of the Transgender Community
** THIS POST WILL COVER TOPICS THAT ARE SEEN AS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THOSE UNDER 18. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK **
It's kind of accepted that, on the internet, if something exists, there is probably sexual content for it. This is otherwise known as "Rule 34", and does not exclude transgender people. Much of this sexualization stems from the past use of the word "transsexual" rather than "transgender" to describe trans people.
However, pornographic content including transgender people, or sex work in the transgender community, it's not really discussed. How does it affect the transgender community as a whole? How does it change how the general public sees us? Most importantly, has it gone too far? I'm here to have a discussion about this, and I would seriously love to get some input from other people, both trans and cis people, in the notes!
In this post, I will be discussing:
The sexualization of the transgender community
Sex work in the transgender community
It is difficult to discuss the sexualization of the transgender community without first facing a wall of inherent disdain from A LOT of people - and for good reason! In today's modern world, over-sexualization of any group is extremely damaging to said group! It turns people into objects through the eyes of society, rather than living, breathing and independent human beings.
Sexual Content of Transgender People:
This all begins with our views of sexual content including transgender people. Is it okay? Or should we view it as inherently negative? The thing is, including ALL groups of people in sexual content, it normalizes these groups of people. Personally, I don't believe the sexualization of the transgender community is inherently negative - but it has gone too far.
The sexualization of the transgender community, in today's world, is in a dark place. Being transgender is seen as a fetish to a lot of people. This leaves the community in a horrible spot - one where we are not accepted, but fetishized anyway, almost as a "taboo" fetish. We are seen as objects, not people.
Note: Chaser (noun) — someone who has a “fetish” for transgender bodies.
Those who fetishize transgender bodies are participating in a culture of transphobia that deems our bodies as important solely when they’re sexualized. This is rooted in a cultural assumption that the only reason someone would want to be with a trans person is because of a sexual fetish.
THIS is how the sexualization of the transgender community has gone too far.
When cisgender celebrities are “caught” with trans people, it is treated as a “scandal,” - the public eye immediately assumes it must be because they have a “thing” for trans bodies.
In the aftermath of the Tyga “scandal,” Mia Isabella, the trans woman who he was allegedly with for three years, said:
"It’s very sad that the idea of a man loving a trans person has to be considered a scandal when all people are equal ... Am I not an American with the right to love and live as I choose with whoever I choose? If a celebrated man loves a transgender woman or possibly did — that’s news? It shouldn’t be news, it should be normal for anyone and everyone to be allowed to love who they choose."
"Chasing" and fetishizing transgender people and their bodies reduces people and their identities to sexual fixations. It objectifies them, and that is where the damage is being done, rather than with the sexualization of transgender people in general.
However, it is important to consider how the complete absence of sexualization would affect the community as well. It would isolate us. The 'taboo' of sexual relationships would flip into another negative situation, and transgender people would be seen less as objects, and more like an alien subculture of the human species. The complete removal of sexualization implies an impossibility or abnormality of sexual relationships with transgender people - anyone reading this can probably guess how this would be damaging to the mental health of transgender people.
Transgender people are not FETISHES, we are JUST PEOPLE. As people, we can be in (CONSENTUAL) sexual situations whenever we please, just as any other person can!
Sex Work in the Trans Community:
This moves us onto Sex Workers - specifically transgender sex workers. People who specialize in this area of work already come under a lot of scrutiny, but trans sex workers come under even more fire from the trans community itself. Your opinion on this generally stems from your understanding and opinion on the sexualization of transgender people in general.
It is important to note that there are a considerable amount of transgender people that turn to the sex trade as a result of discrimination making other jobs difficult to obtain. Others simply enjoy this line of work - both situations are to be supported. Sex work is not shameful - but we aren't here to discuss this side of the argument.
Many people in the transgender community come to attack trans sex workers because it is thought that they feed into the over-sexualization of the transgender community. However, this view disregards those who are TRULY at fault. Chasers, fetishizers of the transgender community, those who dehumanize and refuse to accept us as people, THOSE are the people who add fuel to this fire.
A study done by Transgender Equality in the US in 2018 researched and found shocking levels of the added discrimination that transgender sex workers face.
An overwhelming majority (69.3%) of sex workers reported experiencing an adverse job outcome in the traditional workforce, such as being denied a job or promotion or being fired because of their gender identity or expression.
Transgender sex workers were more than twice as likely to live in extreme poverty (under $10,000/year)
Transgender sex workers reported high levels of interaction with the police (79.1%). They also indicated that they were somewhat uncomfortable (26.3%) or very uncomfortable (31.8%) seeking help from the police.
Of those who have appeared in court, transgender people engaged in the sex trade were also more likely to report biased treatment by judges and court staff (39.6% vs. 15.5% of non-sex workers in the trans community).
They also report mistreatment (64.1%), as well as physical (12.9%) and sexual (9.2%) assault at the hands of the police.
In seeing these figures, it's hard to believe that transgender sex workers are “actively trying to add to the sexualization of the transgender community” - they're not.
Note: The reason for many of these figures has a lot to do with the criminalization of sex work and prostitution in the US (and many other countries). Maybe do some research on this, and find where you stand! Education on the topic isn't hard to find, and can even be found in some of the sources at the end of this post!
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/my-trans-identity-is-not-a-fetish_b_9592986?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHv7eCubemhpi_auinHDnss5YBeNt5gEJNMtgHQukxvnVnatUTPziFHiPCJtlnxYjLoXVVhbwg3yB_NPHMTLiuO8NVgLpG9BkPahZzkgqZVl1v_JUUuRwwhAMTYlwsxt18vS_f8NNZVshDYiEXlGZMdK4-63o5dIXv-GonPoSgny
https://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/Meaningful%20Work-Full%20Report_FINAL_3.pdf
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev8ayz/trans-sex-workers-on-life-under-fosta-sesta
https://catholictrans.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/the-sexualization-of-transwomen/