Rights for all sexes?
This article (click here) caught my eye the other day. A male-to-female transsexual in Gifu, Japan, was not permitted to register officially as a woman because she has children that were born before she had the sex change. Apparently, the law is in place to protect children who would be "confused" if a parent officially tried to "register a gender change". Hmmm. I doubt the registration would add to their confusion.
It caught my eye because, coincidentally, I had just been reading an article by Rod Liddle in The Spectator. He mentioned that the Birmingham University Christian Union had had their bank account frozen by the university authorities for two reasons. First it wanted to admit only Christians to its membership (shock horror!), and second its publicity recommended the CU to “men and women”, therefore discriminating against “transsexual or transgendered people”. Liddle was dumbfounded by the “lunatics” having so much control that failing to advertise to “sexual weirdos” resulted in punitive action.
So, rather differing attitudes of the respective authorities to the human rights of the transsexuals. Of course, in the Japanese case, there is the added complication of the human rights of the children involved.
I wondered what my three children would think if I declared I wanted to become a woman and told them I was booked in for surgery on Monday. I think they would take it pretty hard. They carry enough burden as it is in a small country town with a father who is, by definition, a weirdo, because he is not from these shores. My son wishes his mates didn’t comment (however gently) about his large nose holes, his self-perceived prominent ears (surely a Japanese trait – a prerequisite for NHK presenters, is it not?) and he dislikes his long eyelashes immensely. He’d rather look as hard as nails like a prop-forward.
Not so long ago here in Japan, I worked for a year with a woman who had previously been a man. At my workplace, I must admit, we waited with bated breath to meet her. I had never knowingly met a transsexual person, and I’m pretty sure most of my colleagues hadn’t either. I imagined a strapping, broad-shouldered woman, who could hold her own on the rugby field - a sort of 'butch' Dame Edna.
The suits that matter debated hotly about which toilets she would be using, the men’s or the women’s. Obviously it was the women’s, but many of the enlightened top-brass just couldn’t get their heads round the idea. Would there be complaints from other women? Using the men's wouldn't solve the problem. Cue sharp intakes of breath, choreographed sucking sounds, and mumbles of "komaru naaaaa". Life can’t be easy if you are trapped inside a body with the wrong appendages. And I doubt it gets a lot easier once you’ve taken the plunge to actually have “cut and paste” surgery. You're different, and in many people's eyes being different basically makes you a "weirdo".
To my shame, when she arrived, she pretty much fitted my stereotype (bar the Dame Edna bit). She was a powerful, six-footer and counting, with shoulders any man would be proud of. You’d have been relieved to see her lined up as lock-forward in your side of the scrum. But, she was definitely a woman, and confident and comfortable in her Mark-II body.
Her lover came with her. Her lover was a woman, and their relationship was therefore lesbian. But get this, they had been lovers for many years. In their early days they'd had a heterosexual relationship (him being a he and she being a she). Talk about an enduring, extraordinary love. These two loved each other so much that the gender didn’t matter. The girlfriend had been able to overcome any "confusion" she may have felt, although it can't have been straightforward.
Life can’t be simple for transsexuals, but it can’t be a picnic for their loved ones, either. Especially if they still spend their lunchtimes in school playgrounds.
(By the way, Liberty, the human rights museum in Osaka has reopened and it is well worth a visit. One of the dozen or so themes it covers is about sexual minorities in Japan)
It caught my eye because, coincidentally, I had just been reading an article by Rod Liddle in The Spectator. He mentioned that the Birmingham University Christian Union had had their bank account frozen by the university authorities for two reasons. First it wanted to admit only Christians to its membership (shock horror!), and second its publicity recommended the CU to “men and women”, therefore discriminating against “transsexual or transgendered people”. Liddle was dumbfounded by the “lunatics” having so much control that failing to advertise to “sexual weirdos” resulted in punitive action.
So, rather differing attitudes of the respective authorities to the human rights of the transsexuals. Of course, in the Japanese case, there is the added complication of the human rights of the children involved.
I wondered what my three children would think if I declared I wanted to become a woman and told them I was booked in for surgery on Monday. I think they would take it pretty hard. They carry enough burden as it is in a small country town with a father who is, by definition, a weirdo, because he is not from these shores. My son wishes his mates didn’t comment (however gently) about his large nose holes, his self-perceived prominent ears (surely a Japanese trait – a prerequisite for NHK presenters, is it not?) and he dislikes his long eyelashes immensely. He’d rather look as hard as nails like a prop-forward.
Not so long ago here in Japan, I worked for a year with a woman who had previously been a man. At my workplace, I must admit, we waited with bated breath to meet her. I had never knowingly met a transsexual person, and I’m pretty sure most of my colleagues hadn’t either. I imagined a strapping, broad-shouldered woman, who could hold her own on the rugby field - a sort of 'butch' Dame Edna.
The suits that matter debated hotly about which toilets she would be using, the men’s or the women’s. Obviously it was the women’s, but many of the enlightened top-brass just couldn’t get their heads round the idea. Would there be complaints from other women? Using the men's wouldn't solve the problem. Cue sharp intakes of breath, choreographed sucking sounds, and mumbles of "komaru naaaaa". Life can’t be easy if you are trapped inside a body with the wrong appendages. And I doubt it gets a lot easier once you’ve taken the plunge to actually have “cut and paste” surgery. You're different, and in many people's eyes being different basically makes you a "weirdo".
To my shame, when she arrived, she pretty much fitted my stereotype (bar the Dame Edna bit). She was a powerful, six-footer and counting, with shoulders any man would be proud of. You’d have been relieved to see her lined up as lock-forward in your side of the scrum. But, she was definitely a woman, and confident and comfortable in her Mark-II body.
Her lover came with her. Her lover was a woman, and their relationship was therefore lesbian. But get this, they had been lovers for many years. In their early days they'd had a heterosexual relationship (him being a he and she being a she). Talk about an enduring, extraordinary love. These two loved each other so much that the gender didn’t matter. The girlfriend had been able to overcome any "confusion" she may have felt, although it can't have been straightforward.
Life can’t be simple for transsexuals, but it can’t be a picnic for their loved ones, either. Especially if they still spend their lunchtimes in school playgrounds.
(By the way, Liberty, the human rights museum in Osaka has reopened and it is well worth a visit. One of the dozen or so themes it covers is about sexual minorities in Japan)
posted by jh at 8.2.06
2 Comments:
Interesting. I read about the Birmingham case as well, and thought it was one of the silliest things I've ever heard. The idea of a crowd of Hindu she-males turned away in tears from the Christian Student Union isn't one I'm buying into. The issue of not having elective gender recognized by the State is something else entirely. Even the Bush administration grants that much respect, at least.
I was interested to see that elective gender is recognised if children don't come into the equation. I wasn't sure that would be the case.
Minority rights, as a whole, are not a hot topic of debate in this country. But, if you get a chance to go to the Liberty museum in South Osaka, then do it. It is an eye-opener (no holds barred), but unfortunately, a bit hidden away from mainstream Japan.
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