Myths about trans people and transvestites that need to be fought

“T people”, which is how we can refer to transgender men and women and transvestites, were born into a body that does not really represent what and who they are. And unfortunately, because of this, they face massive levels of violence and discrimination.

Read more: 11 Beaten Lies About Feminism That Need To Stop Being Repeated

To give you an idea, in 2015, there were 295 murders of trans and transvestites in the world. 123 of these deaths took place in Brazil, as reported by the NGO Transgender Europe. Absurd.

In addition to these numbers, it is proven that T people are four times more likely to live in poverty and experience twice as much unemployment than the general population. If the person is black, this margin increases to four times, how to pointor the “Injustice at Every Turn” report.

Therefore, the layers Caitlyn Jenner for Vanity Fair and Laverne Cox, star of “Orange Is the New Black,” for TIME and Entertainment Weekly are just as important. As well as the conquest of the top Andreja Péjic when she was announced as the first trans woman to be the face of a beauty campaign, in Make Up For Ever.

These actions shed light – and give voice – to a subject that is often considered taboo and that needs to be discussed, as it is a matter of Human Rights.

with the help of Agatha Limatranssexual woman, activist and current president of the State Council for the Rights of the LGBT Population of São Paulo, from Luiz Fernando Pradotrans man, member of the LGBT Stronger family and human rights activist and militant, and Monique Rodrigueztransvestite and militant, we try to demystify some of the lies told about trans and transvestite men and women.

1. There is no difference between transsexual, transgender and transvestite

Yes there is. According to Agatha, transgender people are people who were born with a gender (male or female), but who do not identify with it. “For example, a trans woman is born with a male biological sex, but her gender identity, which is how she perceives herself, and her sexual orientation are generally female. Transvestites, on the other hand, are people whose biological sex is male, but who have an ambiguous gender identity”, she explains. According to her, they can identify with both their male and female sides and have a fluid sexual orientation. Now, it’s up to each person to say or define what he is. “She is the one who defines what she is and how she wants to be recognized”, evaluates Monique.

2. To be a transsexual woman or a transvestite you need to undergo surgery

Lie. And for starters, we don’t talk about “sex reassignment surgery”, the correct term is sex reassignment (CRS). Luiz Fernando explains this doubt well: “Transsexuality is something beyond making bodily modifications, it is a nuisance in living in a gender that does not represent you at all”. The most important thing is to feel comfortable with your body. “A trans can be trans without having started hormone therapy, without breast implants, surgery or laser. She’s a woman or a man, period, it doesn’t matter what she looks like,” says Monique. It is only important to point out that, according to Agatha, a transvestite is unlikely to opt for surgery, precisely because of this ambiguous gender identity.

3. Transgender people are all gay

This question raises many doubts in those who are not familiar with the universe of T people. It is common to be confused that being a transsexual man or woman is, therefore, being homosexual. But gender, which is each individual’s perception of being a man, a woman or something else, is not synonymous with sexual orientation.

Being a transsexual or transvestite person does not necessarily mean being homosexual. “If she is a trans woman and likes another woman, she is a lesbian, and if she is a trans woman and likes a man, she is heterosexual and so on…”, explains Monique.

4. Transgender people and transvestites chose to be like this

Of course not. As stated above, gender identity is an individual’s perception of being a man or a woman (or someone who does not identify in a binary way) and this is something that a person is born with. According to Monique, because society divides human beings into just “male and female”, as a child, the person – without information – is forced to fit these standards, hence the erroneous idea that it is a choice. “Nobody chooses to be socially humiliated in all the living spaces”, evaluates Luiz.

And, yes, there are medical theories about why people are born transgender or cross-dressing. For example, some say that hormones used during pregnancy could be the cause and other research claims it has to do with brain activity. But the truth is that, more important than why, the community of T people needs acceptance and respect right now. #Priorities

5. Being a transsexual or transvestite means being a man dressed as a woman or a woman dressed as a man

No way. As stated above, T people were born that way. Carmen Carrera, who is an activist for the cause, a model and a trans woman, deconstructed this misconception in just one sentence: “I am not a man pretending to be a woman. I’m a woman”. Case closed?

6. Transsexuality is a disease

Not. Despite this, Gender Identity Disorder is still listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a mental illness. However, the 2015 ICD (International Classification of Diseases) promises to treat transsexuality no longer as a health disorder, but as a condition that requires medical intervention in some cases.

According to the entity, highlighting the possibility of intervention is necessary so that, mainly, these people can receive treatment in public and private networks. And this is precisely the fight currently being waged, as Agatha explains: “Our biggest fight is not to leave the CID, because it still guarantees access to care in public hospitals, our fight is that transsexuality is no longer treated as a mental illness. ”.

7. Transphobia does not exist

It does exist, and it is so much in “small” acts, from when someone refuses to call a trans person by their social name, to hate crimes committed around the world every year. To give you an idea, according to international reports, 50% of murders against T people occurred in Brazil alone in 2014. It’s just important not to confuse transphobia with homophobia, okay? Monique warns that they are different things and very simple to understand: “We are trans, so it is transphobia”. And for those who are still not convinced that transphobia does not exist, Luiz Fernando brings a report:

“Transphobia exists from the moment people judge trans men as masculine lesbian women for simply not having male genitalia. It exists when we run the risk of being raped in a men’s bathroom if there is any distrust on the part of some of the users of that space. There is when we go to places that require RG documentation, imagine the embarrassment of presenting it and having a female name and gender on it, having a masculine appearance. There is when in a public health service they refuse to call us by our social name because that civil name appears in the medical record. It exists when we can’t get a decent job due to documentation and we have to employ ourselves in underemployment and still have to beg to be respected by treating us as we would like. We don’t want to make excuses for anything, we want to have rights like any other citizens and be respected for who we are”.