Sexual Stereotypes are not “Trans Ideology”

Society is Pressuring Transgender People into Passing

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

One of the many criticisms against the transgender community is that we perpetuate sexual stereotypes, as part of the transgender ideology. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s actually societal expectations that force sexual stereotypes on transgender people in order for us to pass and be taken seriously as the gender we identify with.

Trans People Hate Sexual Stereotypes

I know for a fact that transgender people hate sexual stereotypes as much as anyone else. Yet, we feel we have to follow these stereotypes, or our gender identities are constantly questioned.

For example, for years I used to love going to the nail salon and getting my nails done. As I’ve gotten farther along in my transition, I’ve felt societal pressure to stop getting my nails done, and even to stop wearing nail polish entirely. As long as I was wearing nail polish, I was seen as female and would be misgendered constantly. I’ve spoken to other trans people who have similar laments. Whenever a transgender person tries to be gender nonconforming, people misgender us. Even worse, some go so far as to judge our sincerity to transition.

Many of us want to break gender boundaries but are often shamed into falling back into sexual stereotypes in order to be taken seriously. The pressure to conform to these stereotypes is not from a transgender ideology, but from people outside our community judging us for not being trans enough.

There is no Transgender Ideology

Not only are transgender people not actively trying to perpetuate sexual stereotypes, but there is no transgender ideology. We’re not trying to indoctrinate anyone into a cult, and we’re certainly not trying to attack or assault cisgender people. Transgender people are not predators. We’re just ordinary people trying to feel comfortable in our own skins while trying to live our lives.

For there to be a transgender ideology, there would have to be some centralized effort within the transgender community in order to agree on a standard set of ideals. To my knowledge, this has never happened.