Some Global Issues
Feb. 23rd, 2005 11:55 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mr-gender-lesz.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
transMy sister lives in Turkey because we our ethnic origin is Turkish.
The other night i had a long conversation with her, and she was telling me about the area she lives in, Beyoglu which is the equivalent to soho in London. My sister told me that a year ago transvestites and transgendered people would get hosed on the streets and this was organised by the government. I couldn't believe it. Turkey is a third world country and has a very patriarchal system which is why transsexualism and transvestitism is very frowned upon.
When there was a law against hosing transvestites etc. on the street tonnes of journalists were trying to find transvestites that were hosed on the streets. But they did not approach these transvestites etc. politely, they were very blunt and insensitive, my sister was going to write an article about it in the newspaper she temporarily writes for in Turkey, and she was there when tonnes of journalists were trying to interview this one transvestite who lived in Beyoglu. They asked her if he was hosed and she said yes, but she was really uncomfortable, some of the things the journalists asked were kind of rude too. The transvestite said that the policeman raped her, and one of the journalists, this blonde, tall lady asked incredulously: "wait, he raped you?" not as if it was something sooo horrible but as if it was just puzzling, as if she was thinking: "why would anyone rape him, he's just some ugly transvestite guy" or something. My sister told me all of this on the phone and i was really upset and i felt angry at the stupid journalist's insensitivity.
The transvestite then started to cry and my sister started screaming at all the journalists and she was telling them all to fuck off and she also was saying stuff like: "ditch your stupid stories can't you see that you actually made a person cry? an actual person is crying right now." and of-course all the other journalists started shouting at my sister and my sister managed to save the transvestite and take her to somewhereelse, i can't remember where, but to interview her. The transvestite started crying again because she couldn't believe that anyone could have given her so much respect and showed that much compassion towards her. Transvestites etc. are really defensive in Turkey because they feel like everyone is out to get them, and it really is true there is so much shit they have to go through. My sister then stopped her recorder because she didn't wanted to write the article anymore because she thought it was too much stress for the transvestite (i'm sorry, i forgot the transvestite's name).
okay so the point of this story wasn't to make my sister look like some heroe or anything, lol, the point was just to give some other people the oppurtunity to reading about some global stuff to do with transgender issues.
Oh yeah also, just thought i'd add, there was this documentary that was on in January called "why men wear frocks" and it was soo cool, it was all about transvestitism through the ages and the culture or masculinity and how it is represented these days and how there is a lot of pressure on men these days to be involved in beligerance (eversince the war in Iraq and everything) and how there are many negative representations of masculinity these days that transvestites and transsexual males feel like they don't want to be part of it. It was discussing the differences between transexuals and transvestites in one part of it, and the documentary was hosted by a transvestite guy who is actually straight, the documentary also went on about how most transvestites are in fact straight and not gay etc. Anyway, it was very very very cool and i really enjoyed it, especially because of how i am really into gender studies and i'm also a feminist. (not a radical feminist but a socialist feminist, and i also concentrate more on the importance of gender EQUALITY not the empowerment of women or acheieving any sort of matriarchal system or something.)
Well, i hope my post had any sort of relevance to the readers of this community!
oh yeah, and seeing as this is probably my first post, I thought i'd introduce myself a bit.
I am a student in London, i go to secondary school, not college or university yet. I come from a very progressive family and I go to an all girls school which makes life and pondering a lot more interesting. The way you see people becomes different when you go to a single sex school, because even though you would think the gender identities would be stressed more in a single sex school, the exact opposite happens. Girls are more relaxed and are more themselves, because girls attitudes about themselves etc. tend to be easily manipulated by the presense of the opposite sex. I am so glad i don't go to a mixed schools, I really don't want to deal with teenage boys, also seeing as i'm queer, i think i prefer it this way, although i always try to keep an open mind, and when people have to ask me what my sexual orientation is i usually just say bisexual, because i'm a teenager and i haven't yet properly established my sexual orientation.
I am also a complete geek who tends to be quite quiet and daydreams a lot.
The other night i had a long conversation with her, and she was telling me about the area she lives in, Beyoglu which is the equivalent to soho in London. My sister told me that a year ago transvestites and transgendered people would get hosed on the streets and this was organised by the government. I couldn't believe it. Turkey is a third world country and has a very patriarchal system which is why transsexualism and transvestitism is very frowned upon.
When there was a law against hosing transvestites etc. on the street tonnes of journalists were trying to find transvestites that were hosed on the streets. But they did not approach these transvestites etc. politely, they were very blunt and insensitive, my sister was going to write an article about it in the newspaper she temporarily writes for in Turkey, and she was there when tonnes of journalists were trying to interview this one transvestite who lived in Beyoglu. They asked her if he was hosed and she said yes, but she was really uncomfortable, some of the things the journalists asked were kind of rude too. The transvestite said that the policeman raped her, and one of the journalists, this blonde, tall lady asked incredulously: "wait, he raped you?" not as if it was something sooo horrible but as if it was just puzzling, as if she was thinking: "why would anyone rape him, he's just some ugly transvestite guy" or something. My sister told me all of this on the phone and i was really upset and i felt angry at the stupid journalist's insensitivity.
The transvestite then started to cry and my sister started screaming at all the journalists and she was telling them all to fuck off and she also was saying stuff like: "ditch your stupid stories can't you see that you actually made a person cry? an actual person is crying right now." and of-course all the other journalists started shouting at my sister and my sister managed to save the transvestite and take her to somewhereelse, i can't remember where, but to interview her. The transvestite started crying again because she couldn't believe that anyone could have given her so much respect and showed that much compassion towards her. Transvestites etc. are really defensive in Turkey because they feel like everyone is out to get them, and it really is true there is so much shit they have to go through. My sister then stopped her recorder because she didn't wanted to write the article anymore because she thought it was too much stress for the transvestite (i'm sorry, i forgot the transvestite's name).
okay so the point of this story wasn't to make my sister look like some heroe or anything, lol, the point was just to give some other people the oppurtunity to reading about some global stuff to do with transgender issues.
Oh yeah also, just thought i'd add, there was this documentary that was on in January called "why men wear frocks" and it was soo cool, it was all about transvestitism through the ages and the culture or masculinity and how it is represented these days and how there is a lot of pressure on men these days to be involved in beligerance (eversince the war in Iraq and everything) and how there are many negative representations of masculinity these days that transvestites and transsexual males feel like they don't want to be part of it. It was discussing the differences between transexuals and transvestites in one part of it, and the documentary was hosted by a transvestite guy who is actually straight, the documentary also went on about how most transvestites are in fact straight and not gay etc. Anyway, it was very very very cool and i really enjoyed it, especially because of how i am really into gender studies and i'm also a feminist. (not a radical feminist but a socialist feminist, and i also concentrate more on the importance of gender EQUALITY not the empowerment of women or acheieving any sort of matriarchal system or something.)
Well, i hope my post had any sort of relevance to the readers of this community!
oh yeah, and seeing as this is probably my first post, I thought i'd introduce myself a bit.
I am a student in London, i go to secondary school, not college or university yet. I come from a very progressive family and I go to an all girls school which makes life and pondering a lot more interesting. The way you see people becomes different when you go to a single sex school, because even though you would think the gender identities would be stressed more in a single sex school, the exact opposite happens. Girls are more relaxed and are more themselves, because girls attitudes about themselves etc. tend to be easily manipulated by the presense of the opposite sex. I am so glad i don't go to a mixed schools, I really don't want to deal with teenage boys, also seeing as i'm queer, i think i prefer it this way, although i always try to keep an open mind, and when people have to ask me what my sexual orientation is i usually just say bisexual, because i'm a teenager and i haven't yet properly established my sexual orientation.
I am also a complete geek who tends to be quite quiet and daydreams a lot.