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A reason why desi trans women hold characters like Anarkali, Umrao Jaan etc. in high regard and idolise popular depictions of femininity in their culture..(a thread)
It's because in a cisnormative society, trans women have to blend in, in order to protect themselves from being ostracised, becoming victims of hate crimes or being treated as less than a woman.
Since we're trans, we have to be a step ahead of cis women in order to pass. (Passing means to be viewed physically as your gender identity) so we take inspiration from these iconic characters who are seen as the embodiment of femininity in our society
Trans women have to hyperfeminize themselves in order to be perceived as women. TERFs(trans exclusionary radical feminists) believe that in doing so, we are re-enforcing harmful stereotypes of women. In response to this idea, Jen Richards says:...
"A lot of people will look at trans women’s performance of femininity and see it as somehow reinforcing the worst patriarchal stereotypes of women, and I think it’s really unfair and ahistorical to foist that same perspective on people who are just trying to survive."
At the end of the day, we are only trying to survive and in a cisnormative, patriarchal society, the easiest and most efficient way to do so, is to blend in. Of course there are some wonderful cis and trans women who defy stereotypes everyday and I fully support them.
But it is crucial to understand why a lot trans women do what we do and instead of bashing us, please take the time to learn and understand why we do what we have to do.
