Fear or Hate

 By Vivi

    Even though society has become more open on the term gender identity, there is still a percentage of people who don't believe in genders other than male and female. Reasons differ from their religion or beliefs that contradict with a fluid gender to negative stereotypes to just not being able to understand people different from them. Of course, there are other social factors that come into play than the ones that were listed above, and just as we should respect pro-gender identity, we cannot judge their beliefs either. However, there is a different between having a belief and harming others based on that belief. In this post, to broaden our views, we will be talking about transphobia and transmisia.

    What is "transphobia"? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against transgender people. There is no single reason as to why this happens. It is very complicated with different aspects intermingling with each other. This leads to discrimination, harassment, and sometimes violence against people who identify themselves as non-binary. There is no big difference in the meanings of "transphobia" and "transmisia." Phobia, in a medical context, is an anxiety disorder and is an individual condition. While there may be fear towards what you cannot understand, the systematic discrimination and oppression that tags along with it changes the context. 

    This is where the term "transmisia" comes to play. Instead of "phobia", or fear, of transgender people, "misia", which means hatred, better suits the condition. Some traits of transmisia are behavior, attitude or beliefs that

  • harm non-binary people
  • denies their identity
  • looks at non-binary people as less or not human
  • treats non-binary people with lack of respect
    The problem with this is that although some people show their hate towards non-binary people in obvious ways, such as denying jobs, housing and healthcare, it is so widespread and too embedded in society that most people don't notice it when they see it. So, what can you do to prevent transmisia? Not using slurs against non-binary people as well as using the pronouns that they identify shows that you support and respect them. However excess compliments can sometimes turn into backhanded compliments. Treat them as a human being and not some rare being. Let's not forget, that while fear and hate does have similarities, if that leads to harm, you will also lose the respect around you. 

    


References

Planned Parenthood. (n.d.). What’s Transphobia and Transmisia? Planned Parenthood. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/transgender/whats-transphobia 

 TransActual. (n.d.). Transphobia. TransActual. https://transactual.org.uk/transphobia/ 


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