Human Rights at Home and Abroad: Past, Present, and Future

Her emotional reaction to sharing her story with people she could relate to can be attributed to the
feeling of relief that comes with authenticity. The validity of our gender identities, or the feeling that we
are seen as valid in our gender expression, comes from recognition by others who will interpret us as
―authentic social actors‖ (Gagne et al. 1997).
Transgender communities provide different contributions to the lives of different classifications
of transgenderists. For the variety of subcategories of male-to-female transgenderists there is a different
goal achieved by attending trans community groups. For example, transsexuals may attend meetings to
receive the support and knowledge that they need to learn how to pass as a woman in society. Cross-
dressers on the other hand, may use the group as a social outlet that provides them with opportunities to
get out and be seen (Gagne et al. 1997). Individuals in the group who consider themselves gender radicals
may use the group as a catalyst for revolutionary movement (Gagne et al. 1997). Although new members
to trans support groups were not often interested in trans activism, their participation in these groups
occasionally primed them for interest in social movements (Schrock et al. 2004).
Barriers to Community Building
The desire to pass as a legitimate social actor is the biggest barrier to the formation of a
transgender community. The unspoken standard amongst members of transgender support groups is the
ability to pass undetected as a transgenderist. This standard is upheld in a variety of ways, from teaching
and encouraging members to pass more effectively, to excluding any individuals of transgender
subcategories that do not conform to the trans communities‘ standard of passability. Because of the
communities‘ orientation towards creating passable transgenderists, particularly transsexuals, many leave
community oriented groups as soon as they achieve the goal of passability.
New members to the trans community often start out defining their gender in terms which are
challenging and disturbing to the current binary system of gender. However, when they are told by
members of their transgender in-group that they are not doing gender correctly, they ―often end up
redefining their identities in ways that conform to hegemonic belief systems and institutional demands‖
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