Tomorrow will be different
I recently learned that the House has a transgender member – the (Democrat) Representative for Delaware, Sarah McBride. Predictably, her presence has caused quite a stir in right-wing media and in the Republican-majority House where some of the Republican members have made a point of bullying her, for example by introducing her as “the gentleman for Delaware, Mr McBride”:
and by fabricating a “bathroom debate” despite her upfront insistence that she wouldn’t use multi-stall women’s restrooms:
Sarah McBride is obviously interesting as one of very few openly transgender people with access to the levers of power, and one of relatively few with a highly successful career, especially for a 34-year old.
It’s additionally interesting that she repeatedly chooses not to stand up for her trans-ness when it’s insulted. There is a debate in the trans community sometimes termed, “assimilation vs liberation”, basically, is the onus on trans people to blend in to society enough that they can integrate unnoticed (“assimilation”) or is the onus on society to accept trans people as their stated gender regardless (“liberation”). In general, those of us about 30+ fall into the first category and those younger fall into the second.
I wonder if Sarah’s approach was inspired by Barack Obama who stated that his calm demeanor, even in the face of racist accusations, was key to America accepting a black President.
I don’t normally read biographies or autobiographies – I’m more interested in issues than people. But I found hers, titled Tomorrow Will Be Different, intriguing because of the many factors that make her unique.
In it, she articulates several familiar feelings with great clarity, including childhood gender dysphoria, excitement and fear as she starts to transition and “come out” to her friends and family, the struggle to win some people over, the immediate support of others, her relationship (with trans activist Andrew Cray) and the pressures of her career.
I think this is an excellent read for anyone interested in the social and emotional aspects of being transgender.