Since the decriminalization of Section 377 in India, we have witnessed an increase in awareness and acceptance towards the LGBT community by our society. In today's times, the liberals have been quite active in putting in their best efforts to make this country a better place for all the community. However, the ratio of unaware individuals still stands extremely high which leads to the ill-treatment and insensitive outlook of the LGBT community. On this noteworthy occasion of Transgender Remembrance Day, we bust the top most common myths in our society that have been staying around for years now.
Transgender people are physically or mentally incapable
In some parts of India, transgender people are still rejected for certain jobs just because of their sexual orientation. People assume them to be incapable in some or another way and consider them as a weak section of our society. There are many prominent names from the transgender community that has crushed all stereotypes down. While they have established themselves a successful path in their respective fields, believing that being transgender calls for some kind of incapability is extremely inconsiderate and cold-hearted.
Transgender people cannot embrace motherhood
“Motherhood is beyond gender,” says Pune’s first transgender mother Gauri Sawant. Motherhood signifies nurturance, love, compassion, and a moral and upright upbringing of a child. However, people assume just because transgender people cannot conceive or are sterile, they cannot embrace motherhood. Nevertheless, motherhood is much more than being fertile and giving birth. It's the upbringing of a child from their days of infancy to adulthood. There are enormous cases where transgender people are seen adopting children who are disowned by their own ‘straight’ parents. In such cases, at no point one can question their right to motherhood as being a mother is not just restricted to physical birthing but it's also the emotional bond developed between the mother-child duo.
Being transgender is a choice
Various significant searches have proved to us that being transgender is genuinely not a personal choice. Lack of awareness and humility in our society gives rise to such myths. People even believe that a transgender can change their sex accordingly to date people of the opposite genders. Ignorance towards the LGBT community in our society results in such myths. Just like heterosexuals, transgenders too cannot choose to be of a particular gender or can switch genders at any given point. Of Course, our technological progress has introduced several types of surgeries for people who do not identify themselves to their birth gender and wish to change it. However that is completely a personal choice and opting or not opting for it doesn't make them abnormal, defected or disabled in any way. Thus, being transgender is completely natural and unpretentious.
This Transgender Remembrance Day lets us educate each other and consider transgenders our very own just like we have been doing it for the people who aren't from the LGBT community. Education, awareness, and sensitivity towards transgenders will surely make this world a better place for them in the coming years.