Adeste S. sent in this performance by two women about the difficulties and frustrations of being transgendered:
Performed at Brave New Voices.
NEW! (Mar. ’10): Ryan sent in this video of Sass Rogando Sasot speaking to the United Nations about transgender rights. From an article at Coilhouse:
Her speech, titled “Reclaiming the Lucidity of Our Hearts”, addresses the need for vastly improved acceptance, support and protection of transgender citizens worldwide.
Her entire presentation is very moving, but about 8 minutes into this clip, something shifts in Sasot’s voice and delivery. What began as an engaging speech swiftly transforms into something far more urgent, immediate, and beautiful.
Comments 22
Steph — October 14, 2009
Holy shit - awesome.
I've always liked the below piece by Julia Serano, myself.
John Stark — October 14, 2009
What the hell? Why would someone take a camera and record their TV? Major fail
Tim Bohn — October 14, 2009
That was almost like a parody of the far-left.
Shana — October 14, 2009
Far left huh? There was a time when people who were different were pigeon-holed, marginalized, trivialized, and labeled as "weird," "extreme," and "abnormal," but that does not happen here any longer. One day, I hope to say that sentence out loud, as truth, to my children. Until then, I can only hope that those who see the world only from their narrow perspective and those who are adamant that their morality is above scrutiny, will awaken to the reality that we are all human. Faults and flaws, honors and achievements, desires and necessities, we do not have to approve of or join in every aspect of every life. However, a modicum of tolerance, a moment of introspection, and a brief step outside of the societal pressure box will abrogate the need to worry about how other people are living their lives, and things you cannot (and often should not) change.
genderkid — October 14, 2009
Here's a link to a transcript, for anyone who can't hear the video:
http://femtofuckyou.blogspot.com/2009/08/quick-hit-hir.html
jem — October 14, 2009
This made me cry.
Vidya — October 15, 2009
This is an amazing and powerful performance!
Raluca — October 15, 2009
So touching
j chimelew — October 15, 2009
hey, just FYI, it's transgender not transgendered. the latter is both politically and grammatically incorrect. but good work, otherwise!
Elaina — October 15, 2009
Beautifully spoken!
Brandy — October 17, 2009
This is so beautiful, but heartbreaking too. It made me cry.
Tiffani W — October 17, 2009
I could tell the poem was really powerful, but I feel like I don't really get it. From my understanding, "James" is the person's true identity, but he was born female and christened "Melissa", is that right? I guess I just don't understand why Melissa seems to have a distinct personality, and why Melissa's voice seems so much stronger (to me) in the poem than James's. If Melissa doesn't really exist as an identity, then why is she so vocal? And also, on a broader line of though, why would James/Melissa prefer to be referred to as "hir" rather than "him"? I would understand that if J/M referred to hirself(?) as genderqueer, but it seems like J self-identifies as fully male.
I guess I'm just having a hard time contextualizing the performance since I haven't personally been involved in a situation like that. Could anyone shed some light on it for me?? Thank you!
lil_sis — October 22, 2009
wow, that brought a tear