Beth-Lock
08-31-2015, 06:26 AM
We are living in a society, and are deeply affected by this, our social environment, whether it is hostile to us, or fairly neutral in accepting, or at least tolerant of us, despite likely never quite able to understand us. What can we expect, looking at past history? History does not repeat itself, but rhymes in its pattern copying So, what can we expect? What can history tell us? I lived through the emergence of the beatniks and the hippies, and I saw how they were met with public hostility on the street while the media distorted their significance, never getting it right.
The difference this time seems to be that celebrities known to many, already celebrated by the the mass market media, are coming out as trans, and this is new. The glossy magazines featuring trans, the Vanity Fair photo shoot of Caitlyn and now a Vanity Fair, Special Edition on Trans America, are different from when, the hippie congregation at Haight and Ashbury hit the cover of Life Magazine, America's premier photo magazine in those days. In those days, long hair on men was the sticking point, many in the general public were against it and much different than now, it was unpopular in the schools, boys often punished bizzarely for it. The liberal intelligentsia was tolerant while the military and conservatives fought against the hippie style of physical appearance. Today, the liberal sector of society has lost its quiet and moderate leadership position, to far right neo-conservativism, which puts the elite of our society in deep, internal conflict over the issue of trans acceptance.
How will we feel this personally? Will we be welcomed as celebrities though not accepted as "one of their group", for we are not like everyone else?
Will we be singled out as we pass by, on the street? Already we are targeted if we cannot pass, by those with certain engrained cultural beliefs that are resistant to change and pressures from the outside. Will this mean we must avoid certain neighbourhoods, certain public places or again, fade into the darkness, afraid to come out into plain view in the daylight, as in the 1950's? There is some evidence that special bars on special days, usually out of the way, are becoming safe places for trans to socialize, like secret gay bars were for gays in the 1950's.
The common thread though, is how the media helped give their own misinterpretation and project their own distortions on any new movement, beatniks, hippies and gays. It can be seen now, in the way photo stories dominate, and thoughtful essays and books of popular yet deep analysis are not the most prominent part of the media coverage.
The beatniks were seen as a style, black stocking tights for women, long hair for them too, and beards and old clothes for guys. The message, that American should turn from greedy money madness to trying to create a new, natural form of great literature, and produce the great American story, (as Kerouac aspired to), was completely lost. I never started to understand Kerouac as a writer until much later, after the end of the beatnik vogue, I picked up a copy of, "On the Road," and read it. So, will our message be completely lost too? If so, we will be at the mercy of mob action on the Internet and disdain on the street, as we pass. Society's institutions may respond with the paternalistic stage of trying to help us, but as we know from the past, that is just a half-baked response and never satisfactory.
The difference this time seems to be that celebrities known to many, already celebrated by the the mass market media, are coming out as trans, and this is new. The glossy magazines featuring trans, the Vanity Fair photo shoot of Caitlyn and now a Vanity Fair, Special Edition on Trans America, are different from when, the hippie congregation at Haight and Ashbury hit the cover of Life Magazine, America's premier photo magazine in those days. In those days, long hair on men was the sticking point, many in the general public were against it and much different than now, it was unpopular in the schools, boys often punished bizzarely for it. The liberal intelligentsia was tolerant while the military and conservatives fought against the hippie style of physical appearance. Today, the liberal sector of society has lost its quiet and moderate leadership position, to far right neo-conservativism, which puts the elite of our society in deep, internal conflict over the issue of trans acceptance.
How will we feel this personally? Will we be welcomed as celebrities though not accepted as "one of their group", for we are not like everyone else?
Will we be singled out as we pass by, on the street? Already we are targeted if we cannot pass, by those with certain engrained cultural beliefs that are resistant to change and pressures from the outside. Will this mean we must avoid certain neighbourhoods, certain public places or again, fade into the darkness, afraid to come out into plain view in the daylight, as in the 1950's? There is some evidence that special bars on special days, usually out of the way, are becoming safe places for trans to socialize, like secret gay bars were for gays in the 1950's.
The common thread though, is how the media helped give their own misinterpretation and project their own distortions on any new movement, beatniks, hippies and gays. It can be seen now, in the way photo stories dominate, and thoughtful essays and books of popular yet deep analysis are not the most prominent part of the media coverage.
The beatniks were seen as a style, black stocking tights for women, long hair for them too, and beards and old clothes for guys. The message, that American should turn from greedy money madness to trying to create a new, natural form of great literature, and produce the great American story, (as Kerouac aspired to), was completely lost. I never started to understand Kerouac as a writer until much later, after the end of the beatnik vogue, I picked up a copy of, "On the Road," and read it. So, will our message be completely lost too? If so, we will be at the mercy of mob action on the Internet and disdain on the street, as we pass. Society's institutions may respond with the paternalistic stage of trying to help us, but as we know from the past, that is just a half-baked response and never satisfactory.