17th of April; a day of silence

“death is the silence, in this cycle of violence” Disposable hereos of Hiphoprisy’s Language of Silence

The Day of Silence (DOS) is a youth movement bringing attention to the silence, which is caused by anti-LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bi, trans) bullying, name-calling and harassment. To me, this is not just a day of remembrance to those who have died of hate crimes and prolonged bullying and harrasment, but also the both homophobia and heterosexism which have lead to such crimes, suicides and murders.

As a kid, I remember yelling out “GAY-LORD, GAY-LORD YOUR A GAY LORD”. Yet when I met someone who was in a same sex relationship. I didn’t react in anywhere near the same way. Why? Because they were clearly human, and older then me. I couldn’t dehumanize them, unlike the person I was calling a “gay lord”. Such words which descibe LGBT as “Fag, tranny, dyke” are way of dehumanizing anyone, almost like a tainted joke. Thats why LGBT bashing is so easy, it’s a tainted joke, subconciously coming from insecure gender identities, especially mausclinity.

Sometimes it seems the only way we can overcome such words as “Lezzo, faggot, dyke, tranny” is to own them. Put a face to them and somehow find our own identity through them. Humanize them if you will. This is all very well for gays and lesbians, I personally identify with the words dyke and queer more then even the word lesbian due to it’s pornographic connotations.

Yet the word “tranny”; there is no way this word can be generally owned by the transcommunity. Why? because being trans to most transpeople is not about being a “chick with a dick” or a “man with a vag”. While some people will opt for these biological intersex conditions as a way of fucking with our concept of gender (such as Del la grace volcano) being trans is to be the OPPOSITE gender to that of which society assigned to you according to your biology. The word tranny implies something about a transperson’s biology, as though their identity is a fallas, and their biology speaks the truth. Merely pointing out the biological difference in a transperson is potentially extremely offensive, for transperson’s fight is not to identify as a transperson, but as their gender that they are, no matter what society assumes regarding their biological sex.

Tranny will always be a word of hatred, a word of dehumanizing anyone. I remember in year 7, someone called me a “tranny from Mars”, because of the apparent T in my hair. Again, this didn’t mean anything, just a way of dehumanizing someone. Yet what if I was trans? What if they found out I was trans? The tainted joke of being a “chick with a dick” coming to life. The tainted joke their insecurities hide behind. The tainted joke, dehumanizing, making me completely disposable. Hate crimes are all too common against trans people.

Tyra hunter was a woman, born biologically male, who had been pulled from the flames of a car. The fire fighter cut open her pants, as necessary. Yet soon came the words “This bitch ain’t no girl…It’s a nigger, he got a dick.” as the man backed away. Bystanders pleaded for them to resume treatment as the Tyra lay dying, yet the firefighters stood away and joked to each other. When she finally got to hospital the doctor refused to treat her and she died of blunt force trauma at 5:20 PM in the now closed hospital’s emergency room. To both the firefighters and the doctor, Tyra Hunter was completely disposable.

This dehumanization to LGBT is not just relevant to hate crimes, but to general heterosexism we all face everyday. The opinion that gay marriage will ruin the sanctity of heterosexual relationships is dehumanizing, for it denies that same sex relationships are just as human and as able to love and hold a marriage as their heterosexual counterpart.

Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy’s Language Of Violence I feel is a highly relevant one for the Day of Silence. Bere with me all of you who hate rap, this song is highly intellectual. It comments on dehumanization. I feel it’s not only relevant to LGBT but also racially various people, people with autism and aspereges, animal livestock and every other group in society which is dehumanized daily because of their difference.