Question K

I feel as though "Beautifil Daughters" spoke more to me because I was able to see the reactions on those women's faces when they talked about how they were treated and the fear they experienced. I am too guilty of staring at women who I believe may be transgender (because of their height usually). I'm the type of person who catches myself and then feels bad because I know that if they saw me staring at them then I probably just added to their frustration, also, my mother would probably be very dissappointed if you saw me staring at someone. Anyway, throughout the video, I was in awe of how these women were able to stand up to fear and ignorance rather than crawl into a hole and hide who they are. I think the way they handled what they were up against is a tremendous testament to human strength and ability. In a way, I believe they are role models for how we, people involved in social justic, should be on a daily basis.  They presented themselves an a strong front against fear and ignorance. Its inspiring that people can make their way up the ladder to, "stand up and be counted" as Leslie Townsend said. I think it's great that her mission is to be a role model, she is taking control of an oppurtunity to lead by example. I also think Townsend's answer should resonate with cisgender people and we should realize that to be an ally one has to stand up and be counted too, because there is definitely strength in numbers. I feel like the "Trans Woman Manifesto" was so well thought out. It explained the narrow confines we have as people who identify as male or female. Townsend said to stand and be counted most likely because before she was unable to do so because she did not fit in a category. Categorizing people is hurtful and as a 5'9" heavy individual I get treated as less than female all the time, yet I dress as a female, look like a female, I am just too big to fit into the feminine category because I am not short and dainty. I'm too tall and too wide. It makes me laugh. The narrow confines are ridiculous.