So… not too long ago i remember reading the description of...
2012-12-01
So… not too long ago i remember reading the description of what the trans flag means by the person who created it (Monica Helms):
“The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are intersex, transitioning or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives” (source)
So…. we are pretty clear about how this centres and legitimizes the *white* conceptualization of gender? Yes?
Now, I’m sure some people will say that it was created in a particular context and reflects this. Sure. Except… is it not continuously a problem of these movements that they consistently fail to even have a notion of being inclusive at their inception?
And isn’t it interesting that she picked *white* to represent neutrality? Or even Intersex people (many of whom do not necessarily ID themselves as being trans)?
But… is there even a chance of having space in this flag for bakla? I’d hazard not. Because, well, being bakla doesn’t rely on a binary gendered system.
I just… look at stuff like this and wonder, “seriously, no one since this was created has really thought of all the people it excludes and erases?” because this is the flag I see most often used to signify being trans. And. Well. it makes me unsurprised that there are so many tpoc so disenfranchised by this movement that claims to represent us.
I also wonder when, if ever, white people will be capable of designing/starting a movement that doesn’t, at its inception, erase poc?
I look at this flag… and understand that when white people say ‘trans’ they don’t mean me.
(and… shall we say nothing of this fuckery?
no? okay)
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