This is a way to push back against this force. This is a forced way”…To me the force that is experienced is predicated on the idea of only two genders. I wish Lubin would stick to what is specific to their struggle and not try to mix in the struggles of persons who might feel oppressed by being termed third gender, a term they have no personal interest in reclaiming and really don’t need anyone else convincing them that it’s in their supposed best interest to do so. Relatively few people remembered in the Transgender Day of Remembrance ID’d as third gender (but some did). The fast majority of those suicide statistics don’t apply to genderqueer persons. My one issue with what Lubin is stating is that they’re using statistics for the entire trans community and applying them to the challenges genderqueer persons face. Moreover, most of the cultural terms for third gender (such as “hijra” “travesti” or “kathoey”) have highly negative connotations within the languages in which they were coined and applied. I do agree with Andy in that ‘third gender’ as it’s used around the world, is overwhelmingly a label used by majorities to label minorities within a context of those minorities being socially oppressed (not between equals). What I do very much disagree with is someone lumping all persons who might be categorized as transgender as being third gender or “queer.” This is a forced way to delegitimize the identities of trans persons who do ID as men or woman. Those are important identities for those persons to have and there abolutely needs to be a legal equality for them in society. You can learn more about Gender Blender at its website, its official IFP page, on Facebook and on Twitter.Īs a woman who’s also trans, I have no issue with people who wish to claim third gender identities or identify non-binary. That means all new donations are tax deductible and that IFP is going to fiscally oversee the film and provide guidance to make sure the final product is the best it can be. ![]() The film was recently accepted into the Independent Filmmakers Project (IFP) Fiscal Sponsorship Program, making Gender Blender an official sponsored project of the IFP. Gender Blender is now in production but Lubin is still raising funds to complete the project. It is only through this conversation that we can allow a space for us to grow and this is the conversation behind this film. We wish to tell our stories and to no longer be silenced. This dire situation is the driving force behind this big idea. We do not exist in academia at large nor in most literature. We do not exist in official government paperwork. We do not exist in most bathrooms and changing rooms. This community is consistently ignored, is subject to widespread discrimination, and has one of the highest abuse rates of any other demographic. Why is so important? Transgender people and those who exist outside the gender binary have attempted suicide rates between 40 and 60 percent compared to the 1.6 percent for the general population. If you only watch one minute of the speech, I think it should be this minute (though really you should watch the whole thing, it’s very good and inspiring). It happens at the 8 minute mark and it’s so blunt and perfect. My favorite part is - predictably - when Lubin talks directly about trans* visibility, both the lack of it and her desire for it. Lubin spoke about her gender identity and the genesis of the film at Chicago Ideas Week, and her words highlight the necessity for conversation around the subject of gender. “I exist outside of the binary definition of gender. ![]() “I am a third gender,” the film’s website proclaims in Lubin’s voice. Lubin’s film, Gender Blender, aims to illuminate the fact “that humans are born not just male and female but a multitude of beautiful gender expressions,” and will do so by sharing Lubin’s own story from a very intimate angle. ![]() “I exist outside of the binary definition of gender.”
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