What Does That Mean?

There has been a lot of discussion here lately about the transgendered community, but no one has really stated what the term “community” means to them.  That got me to thinking about what it means to me.  Dictionary.com has three definitions for the word “community”.  The first one defines a tangible, physical community:  “A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government”.  I’m going to skip over that one since I’m pretty sure that it really wasn’t what was being discussed.  There are some pretty sizable transgendered populations in various and sundry cities around the world, but I don’t think any of those populations has set up their own community … yet.

The second and third definitions, however, are more abstract and virtual and much more likely candidates for the meaning we’re seeking.  They are:

2. a.     A group of people having common interests: the scientific community; the international business community.
    b.     A group viewed as forming a distinct segment of society: the gay community; the community of color.

3. a.     Similarity or identity: a community of interests.
    b.    Sharing, participation, and fellowship.

The problem with these two definitions above is that they are pretty much opposites in meaning.  Definition 2 is about a group that is separated based on differences; definition 3 is about a group that has its basis in similarities.  One definition is EXclusive and the other is INclusive.  But which one is being used when people discuss our community – the transgendered community?

Personally, I think folks have a tendency to utilize the exclusive definition in their own notion of a community and that’s really too bad.  We have a tendency to want to include in our “community” others most like us and yet also different from everyone else.  But if that is carried to its ultimate conclusion, you end up with a whole lot of communities of one.  No one is exactly like anyone else.  We’re all different, but I think we all have a lot more in common than differences.

I realize that I might not have a lot in common with a drag king.  Oh, wait … that’s not a good analogy.  We both dress up as guys every now and then.  Well, how about not having a lot in common with drag queens?  No, the fact that I’ve been flamboyant and over the top on occasion are too well known for me to say that.  Surely, the FtM boyz?  No, we both know what it’s like to want to live life as a different gender.  And I know that I obviously have plenty in common with crossdressers and transvestites, too.  Maybe the exclusive definition doesn’t fit me when it comes to the transgendered community.  Maybe it doesn’t fit anyone, if you stop and think about it.

How about a bigger community?  Can we stand apart there?  How about the larger Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender community?  Depending upon your definition, the time of day, phase of the moon, what I’m wearing, whom I’m with and/or how I feel I may at any given time fall into the general category of any of those components.  So, maybe that’s not very exclusionary for me or for others, either.  And ironically, isn’t one of the included components of LGBT, Transgender?

Yes, we who have a gender that is not in congruence with our biology or our societal role are different.  We are not the same as the majority of society, but there are a whole lot more of us than might be apparent.  I think we spend too much time trying to sort ourselves out as being a part of this group or that group or community and then trying to figure out if others belong in the same group with us.  We dwell on definition 2 above when we should be concentrating on definition 3.  I believe we should put our efforts into figuring out who else we can get to join with us because they might be like us in some way, however remote that might be.  The more people who join our community (and joining is voluntary), the bigger our community will become and the more power we will wield.

So, what do the folks who have been writing here mean when they speak of the “transgendered community”?  I don’t know.  However, the next time you hear or read that term, you might want to ask the person who uttered it or wrote it what it means to them.