Why are transgender people suddenly everywhere?
Zašto odjednom svuda ima transrodnih ljudi?
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
As a trans activist, I get this question a lot. Keep in mind, less than one percent of American adults openly identify as trans. According to a recent GLAAD survey, about 16 percent of non-trans Americans claim to know a trans person in real life. So for the other 84 percent, this may seem like a new topic. But trans people are not new. Gender variance is older than you think, and trans people are part of that legacy.
Kao transrodni aktivista, često čujem ovo pitanje. Imajte na umu da se manje od jedan odsto odraslih Amerikanaca otvoreno identifikuju kao transrodni. Prema nedavnom istraživanju GLAAD-a, oko 16% Amerikanaca koji nisu transrodni tvrdi da poznaju transrodnu osobu u stvarnom životu. Dakle, za preostalih 84 posto, ovo može izgledati kao nova tema. Ali transrodni ljudi nisu ništa novo. Rodna raznolikost je starija nego što mislite, i transrodni ljudi su deo tog nasleđa.
From central Africa to South America to the Pacific Islands and beyond, there have been populations who recognize multiple genders, and they go way back. The hijra of India and Pakistan, for example, have been cited as far back as 2,000 years ago in the Kama Sutra. Indigenous American nations each have their own terms, but most share the umbrella term "two-spirit." They saw gender-variant people as shamans and healers in their communities, and it wasn't until the spread of colonialism that they were taught to think otherwise.
Od Centralne Afrike i Južne Amerike do Pacifičkih ostrva i dalje, bilo je populacija koje priznaju postojanje više polova, i to još iz davnina. Hidžre u Indiji i Pakistanu se, na primer, pominju još pre 2000 godina u Kama sutri. Svaka autohtona američka nacija ima svoje termine, ali većina deli obuhvatni izraz „dvostruki duh“. U rodno drugačijim ljudima su videli šamane i iscelitelje svoje zajednice, i tek su sa širenjem kolonijalizma naučili da misle o tome drugačije.
Now, in researching trans history, we look for both trans people and trans practices. Take, for example, the women who presented as men so they could fight in the US Civil War. After the war, most resumed their lives as women, but some, like Albert Cashier, continued to live as men. Albert was eventually confined to an asylum and forced to wear a dress for the rest of his life.
Kroz istraživanje transrodne istorije, ujedno tražimo transrodne ljude i ponašanja vezana za njih. Uzmimo, recimo, žene koje su se predstavljale kao muškarci da bi mogle da se bore u Američkom građanskom ratu. Većina je posle rata nastavila da živi kao žene, ali su neki, kao što je Albert Kešir, nastavili kao muškarci. Albert je na kraju bio zatvoren u azil i nateran da nosi haljinu do kraja života.
(Sighs)
(Uzdiše)
Around 1895, a group of self-described androgynes formed the Cercle Hermaphroditos. Their mission was to unite for defense against the world's bitter persecution. And in doing that, they became one of the earliest trans support groups. By the '40s and '50s, medical researchers were starting to study trans medicine, but they were aided by their trans patients, like Louise Lawrence, a trans woman who had corresponded extensively with people who had been arrested for public cross-dressing. She introduced sexual researchers like Alfred Kinsey to a massive trans network. Other early figures would follow, like Virginia Prince, Reed Erickson and the famous Christine Jorgensen, who made headlines with her very public transition in 1952.
Oko 1895. godine, grupa samodeklarisanih androgina formirala je „Krug hermafrodita“. Njihova misija je bila da se ujedine radi odbrane od gorkog progona sveta. Time su postali jedna od najstarijih trans grupa za podršku. Do 40-ih i 50-ih su medicinski istraživači počeli da izučavaju trans medicinu, ali su im pomagali njihovi transrodni pacijenti kao što je Luiza Lorens, transrodna žena koja se naširoko dopisivala sa ljudima koji su bili uhapšeni zbog javnog oblačenja kao suprotan pol. Upoznala je istraživače seksualnosti kao što je Alfred Kinsi sa ogromnom mrežom transrodnih ljudi. Drugi pioniri će uslediti, kao što su Virdžinija Prins, Rid Erikson i čuvena Kristina Jorgensen koja je dospela na naslovne strane
But while white trans suburbanites were forming their own support networks,
svojom vrlo javnom tranzicijom 1952. godine.
many trans people of color had to carve their own path. Some, like Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, walked in drag balls. Others were the so-called "street queens," who were often targeted by police for their gender expression and found themselves on the forefront of seminal events in the LGBT rights movement.
Dok su transrodni belci iz prigradskih mesta formirali svoje mreže podrške, mnogi transrodni ljudi drugih boja kože morali su da utabaju svoj put. Neki, kao Gđica Mejdžor Grifin-Grejsi, šetali su se na dreg balovima. Drugi su bili tzv. „ulične kraljice“, koje je često ganjala policija zbog njihovog rodnog izražavanja i koji su se našli na čelu značajnih događaja u pokretu za prava LGBT.
This brings us to the riots at Cooper Do-nuts in 1959, Compton's Cafeteria in 1966 and the famous Stonewall Inn in 1969. In 1970, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, two veterans of Stonewall, established STAR: Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. Trans people continued to fight for equal treatment under the law, even as they faced higher rates of discrimination, unemployment, arrests, and the looming AIDS epidemic.
To nas dovodi do nemira u kafiću Kuper donats 1959. godine, Komptonove kafeterije 1966. i čuvenog Stounvola 1969. godine. Godine 1970, Silvija Rivera i Marša P. Džonson, dva veterana Stounvola, osnovale su STAR, organizaciju transvestita aktivista i revolucionara na ulici. Trans ljudi su nastavili da se bore za jednak tretman pred zakonom, čak i kada su se suočavali sa većim stopama diskriminacije, nezaposlenosti, hapšenja i epidemije side koja je bila na pomolu.
For as long as we've been around, those in power have sought to disenfranchise trans people for daring to live lives that are ours. This motion picture still, taken in Berlin in 1933, is sometimes used in history textbooks to illustrate how the Nazis burned works they considered un-German. But what's rarely mentioned is that included in this massive pile are works from the Institute for Sexual Research. See, I just recapped the trans movement in America, but Magnus Hirschfeld and his peers in Germany had us beat by a few decades. Magnus Hirschfeld was an early advocate for LGBT people. He wrote the first book-length account of trans individuals. He helped them obtain medical services and IDs. He worked with the Berlin Police Department to end discrimination of LGBT people, and he hired them at the Institute. So when the Nazi Party burned his library, it had devastating implications for trans research around the world. This was a deliberate attempt to erase trans people, and it was neither the first nor the last.
Otkako znamo za sebe, oni na vlasti su nastojali da oduzmu pravo trans ljudima jer smo se usudili da živimo svoj život. Ovaj snimak, zabeležen u Berlinu 1933, ponekad se koristi u udžbenicima istorije da bi se ilustrovalo kako su nacisti palili dela koja nisu smatrana nemačkim. Ali retko se pominje da su u toj ogromnoj hrpi obuhvaćena i dela Instituta za seksualna istraživanja. Vidite, upravo sam sumirao pokret transrodnih u Americi, ali Magnus Hiršfeld i njegove kolege u Nemačkoj pretekle su nas za nekoliko decenija. Magnus Hiršfeld je bio rani zastupnik LGBT ljudi. Napisao je prvi prikaz o trans osobama u obliku knjige. Pomagao im je da dobiju medicinske usluge i lične karte. Radio je sa policijskom upravom u Berlinu na okončanju diskriminacije LGBT ljudi, i zapošljavao ih je na Institutu. Zato, kada je Nacistička partija spalila njegovu biblioteku, to je imalo razorne posledice za transrodna istraživanja širom sveta. Ovo je bio nameran pokušaj da se izbrišu transrodni ljudi, a nije bio ni prvi ni poslednji.
So whenever people ask me why trans people are suddenly everywhere, I just want to tell them that we've been here. These stories have to be told, along with the countless others that have been buried by time. Not only were our lives not celebrated, but our struggles have been forgotten and, yeah, to some people, that makes trans issues seem new. Today, I meet a lot of people who think that our movement is just a phase that will pass, but I also hear well-intentioned allies telling us all to be patient, because our movement is "still new." Imagine how the conversation would shift if we acknowledge just how long trans people have been demanding equality.
Tako kad god me ljudi pitaju zašto su trans ljudi odjednom svuda, samo hoću da im kažem da smo uvek bili tu. Ove priče moraju biti ispričane, zajedno sa bezbroj drugih koje su vremenom zakopane. Ne samo da naši životi nisu slavljeni, već su naše borbe zaboravljene i da, zbog toga nekim ljudima transrodna pitanja deluju novo. Danas upoznajem mnogo ljudi koji misle da je naš pokret samo faza koja će proći, ali takođe čujem dobronamerne saveznike koji nam govore da budemo strpljivi, jer je naš pokret „još uvek nov“. Zamislite kako bi se razgovor promenio ako priznamo koliko dugo transrodni ljudi u stvari zahtevaju ravnopravnost.
Are we still overreacting? Should we continue to wait? Or should we, for example, do something about the trans women of color who are murdered and whose killers never see justice? Do our circumstances seem dire to you yet? (Sighs)
Da li i dalje preterujemo? Treba li da nastavimo da čekamo? Ili bi trebalo da, na primer, preduzmemo nešto u vezi sa obojenim transrodnim ženama koje su ubijene i čije ubice nikada neće videti pravdu? Da li vam se sada naše okolnosti čine strašnim? (Uzdiše)
Finally, I want other trans people to realize they're not alone. I grew up thinking my identity was an anomaly that would die with me. People drilled this idea of otherness into my mind, and I bought it because I didn't know anyone else like me. Maybe if I had known my ancestors sooner, it wouldn't have taken me so long to find a source of pride in my identity and in my community. Because I belong to an amazing, vibrant community of people that uplift each other even when others won't, that take care of each other even when we are struggling, that somehow, despite it all, still find cause to celebrate each other, to love each other, to look one another in the eyes and say, "You are not alone. You have us. And we're not going anywhere."
Konačno, želim da drugi transrodni ljudi shvate da nisu sami. Odrastao sam misleći da je moj identitet anomalija koja će umreti sa mnom. Ljudi su mi ubacili u glavu tu ideju različitosti i ja sam to usvojio jer nisam znao nikog sličnog sebi. Možda mi, da sam ranije znao za svoje pretke, ne bi trebalo toliko vremena da nađem izvor ponosa u svom identitetu i svojoj zajednici. Jer pripadam neverovatnoj, živoj zajednici ljudi koji se međusobno uzdižu čak i kada to ne dobijaju od drugih, koji se brinu jedni o drugima čak i kada se muče, koji nekako, uprkos svemu, i dalje nalaze razlog da slave jedni druge, da vole jedni druge, da pogledaju jedni druge u oči i kažu: „Nisi sam. Imaš nas. I ne idemo nigde.“
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)