Transgender Issues and Journalism: A Small Reflection

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2021-05-29 04:30:07

I’ve noticed over the years of being on the Internet, trans issues have gained traction in the discourse of social media and online forums. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s time we as a people, professionals and democracy have these discussions.

I will not claim to understand the thoughts or feelings of trans people, male-to-female or female-to-male. I know there are people who consider themselves trans by shifting into a nonbinary part of the spectrum from their former gender. I myself do not care for my gender (some would consider me a gender abolitionist, or a person who wants to erase concepts of gender altogether) and have not held deep commitment towards my pronouns.

Getting into the conversation of transgender issues and rights does something unsettling if you haven’t put thought into it before. It leads you to question your own gender identity and how you fit into the gender spectrum. From my experience and online conversations with trans people and local advocates in my community, it opened my eyes. I’m more aware of how I feel within my body and how people perceive my identity. Sometimes the awareness is discomforting.

Discomfort is natural to the process of deconstructing our definitions of what is ‘normal.’ Normal is a relative term. What we accept as the normal for gender is open to deconstruction too. Journalism maintains the perspective being as objective as possible. My introduction to newswriting class has taught me one thing: remaining objective is harder than it looks.

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