Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Irreverin

Home
Progressive Christian
Transgender Travel: People are Mostly Okay

Transgender Travel: People are Mostly Okay

Last updated on: May 19, 2016 at 10:42 am by Erin Wathen

Transgender Travel: People are Mostly Okay 2016-05-19T10:42:05-07:00 Erin Wathen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Airport people watching is one of my favorite activities. In general, airports make me anxious. The crowds; the frenetic sense of urgency as people rush around; the smell of other people’s (way too much) perfume or cologne; the bottled water that costs $800; business bros talking loudly into ear pieces so that we will know they are Very Important; constant reminders to guard your stuff, people, terrorists are everywhere!; the thousand ways my day and trip could be derailed by a sneeze or a thunderstorm; and did I mention the crowds?

I have no fear of flying, but the hours-long labyrinth journey to the plane…I sometimes need to carry a little orange pill in my pocket for that. But barring the availability of narcotics, I endure through mindfulness. Deep breaths, and meditative people watching.

Yesterday, I saw: a woman taking two small dogs to Phoenix for a month-long visit (“They will be so hot!” she said); a grandmother-type who brought a large bag of cookies to share with her fellow passengers; the aforementioned Business Bros (Lord, they are everywhere); tired parents and very excited children hauling adorable tiny suitcases; and a transgender college student, boarding the same flight as me.

There is a difference between being transgender and cross-dressing–an important nuance often overlooked in the recent debate about bathroom usage. I suppose this could have been a young man wearing women’s clothing and makeup, for the sake of a journalism assignment. Which would be cool. But I’m going to assume that, most likely, this was a young person in transition. So I will use the appropriate pronoun language for the sake of the story here.

love-1381420_640

She was travelling with a couple of friends. As we all queued up for the plane, I was expecting trouble. Blame my anxiety disorder, amped up from a fun day at the airport. But I watched this group closely, ready to get all down-home Mama Bear if anybody tried to mess with them.

Here’s what I did not see: first of all, I did not see this young person assault anyone, follow a woman into a restroom, or otherwise set off ‘stranger danger’ sirens in any way. To me, that was not surprising.

Here’s what else I didn’t see: I didn’t see other people shooting her nasty looks. I didn’t see rough-looking men or prim-looking women follow her to the restroom to make sure she used the “right” one. I didn’t see a gang of bullies surround her and commence name-calling and throwing things. I didn’t see people actively avoid sitting by her on the plane; I didn’t hear anyone say mean and hateful things to, or about her.

What I did see was a group of college students board a plane. And then sit on a plane for an hour. And then get off the plane and go about life as usual. In other words, it was NBFD.

And that, to me, was surprising. Because I have been so IN this lately; so wrapped up in the news of hateful legislation, school bullying, and Target bathroom boycotts that I was primed for open conflict. It’s no wonder I was anxious in that airport. It’s no wonder if we are all anxious most of the time.

I don’t blame “The Media,” in the broad sense, for creating our current cultural climate. They are in the business of story-telling, and the stories they tell need to be told. At the same time, we should remember they also have a product to sell; and conflict sells. Hate, violence, rage, incendiary public discourse… it is all click-bait and prime time viewing. The fringe groups, the lunatics, the vocal minority of angry fundamentalists–they are always going to get more airtime than the regular folks just going about their day.

Yesterday was a good reminder for me that–for the most part–people are decent and kind and don’t want to be up in each other’s business. I’m going to try to remember that, when the news is all in the next frenzy about who hates who.

I’m not saying that life for that kid will be easy; that the campus experience will be entirely without bullies, that her career will be without prejudice, or that her relationships will be honored by the law. I still plan to do everything in my power to make sure that LGBT kids–of every age–get a fair shake, whether we’re talking about marriage equality, college admittance or bathroom access. But I will still breathe a little easier, and sleep a little better–and maybe need fewer little orange pills–remembering that people are basically good.

Sometimes, we do okay.

And if the news makes us anxious, our best defense is to tell a better story.

progressive christianity

transgender bathrooms

travel

Previous Post

May 18, 2016

The Poetry of Emptiness: Reflections from the Festival of Homiletics

Next Post

May 23, 2016 Beneath Our Feet: A Summer Psalm

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category a good week for progress Advent and Christmas Being a Person desert life faith and community Good News for Progressives Lent and Easter Marriage and Family S*^! Jesus Says sabbatical road tripping Spirituality in Culture Talking to Strangers the "Best Stuff I Ever Ate" diet travel Uncategorized writing Writing Prompt Wednesday

Select a Month January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 February 2011 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who interpreted dreams for a Persian king about goats and rams?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joel Hosea Daniel Obadiah