TAIPEI ( Taiwan News )- The Ximen’s Red House exhibition” 100 Ways to See” came to an end on Sunday ( Nov. 12 ) and offered a glimpse of the problems and themes in the lives of transgender people in Taiwan.
Themes included how receiving a bill in the email may turn into an anxious practice in public coverage, social approval, transitioning, financial stress, and employment. The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights ( TAPCPR ) organized the exhibition, which also included an art installation that gathered items showcasing transgender women’s experiences and featured the top entries from a photo competition.
It displayed some of the things you may anticipate, including a paper shredder and hormone treatments medication, female clothing, and makeup.
The paper shredder was crammed with papers from several health organizations, banks, and other organizations in an effort to draw attention to a problem that most people would easily overlook. Importantly, each of them misrepresented the identity of the recipient.
Yui, a volunteer for TAPCRP, asked Taiwan News to use her pseudonym on Thursday ( Nov. 9 ) because she did n’t want to be identified as transgender at work in front of the public. She explained that this is the same reason why, in contrast to those in the machine, some transgender people want the option of having the female they identify with on public records.
Yui used the example of opening a bank account to demonstrate how, despite the fact that she presents herself as female at work, her bank immediately misidentified her as man. She did not want to discuss her trans identity with her boss. She claimed that because she had no control over how the lender displayed her brand in official documents, she ran the risk of being “outed” against her will.
The function of the pictures competition finalists was on display. ( Photo of Taiwan News )
Yui was able to possess her female changed in their formal files after a back-and-forth with the lender. She claimed that rather than prejudice, she believed that these obstacles were the result of a lack of knowledge about the problems faced by transgender people as well as widespread worry about fraudulent behavior.
A key component of planner TAPCPR’s work is the freedom to identify one’self by gender, and the organization is particularly lobbying to change identification laws. According to Fang Chi, the group’s public policy producer, Chinese people who want to change their gender on their national ID vehicles currently have surgery to remove their sexual and reproductive tissues, which not everyone wants or can afford.
According to TAPCPR, it is also working to raise public awareness of trans people through larger and more significant events in addition to advocating for their freedom. They claimed that more media attention has been paid to trans issues than in the past, though frequently in methods that do not accurately reflect people’s daily lives.
Returning to daily living, Yui stated that money is a major concern for some transgender people. One of the exhibition’s award-winning photo pieces, which” satirizes the beautiful façade of transgender women,” brought attention to the high cost of gender identity.
The artist’s blurb reads,” Transgender people frequently need to undergo several treatments and surgeries, enduring several levels of pain and discomfort,” in order for them to become their true selves and adhere to the expectations of this culture-dominated world. Numerous trans people are left in debt as a result of these problems, which negatively affects their lives.
In Taipei’s 2023 Pride parade, which took place in late October ( CNA photo ), people march in support of transgender rights.
According to Yui, Taiwanese people frequently avoid discussing trans issues when it comes to” conforming to expectations.” ” I wo n’t say I’m transgender out loud, or that I want certain rights, etc.,”
She did, however, claim that this is slowly changing. Before, there were a lot of people who either did n’t know any transgender people or, if they did, their knowledge of them was not very accurate.
Yui claimed that this was the motivation behind her decision to talk at the occasion about her life. She said,” I really hope that if you come across a trans person in your life, you can deal with them as you would anyone else.”
No need to be particularly kind or discriminatory due to their minor disparities, she continued. Actually, all you have to do is treat them normally.
