It’s that time of the semester where I have to wrap-up the voice project and metaphorically say goodbye to Eliza. At the beginning of the semester I was hesitant about embarking on yet another voice project journey. I found the first to be stereotypical and I really had no sense of where I was going with it or what I should be accomplishing along the way. Going into this project the second time around, I could only improve my experience…which I did. I created a plan, or a path, to guide and inform my voice each week. I feel that I effectively informed my voice and made connections to the environment and its features. I still believe that I have gained a stereotypical overview of transgender individuals, but I have also gained a greater understanding of these individuals and how the environment can affect their attraction, satisfaction, and retention at college.
Although I believe my understanding to be stereotypical, my understanding is greater than the general population’s. Transgender has thrown my world upside down and has destroyed my simplistic and naive thinking about society. At the core of this project, the whole idea of gender and sex has been challenged. What is gender and how do I know that I am a man? This is a complex question, one that transgender individuals struggle with every day. Eliza was born and labeled a man, but identifies with women and has begun her transition to living life as a woman. Is she a woman? How do we know? This is a question only Eliza can answer; society cannot force an answer upon her.
Moreover, through my research I have begun to uncover the nuanced and multi-layered experience of what being transgender means. I found that as a gay man I can connect at a basic level to transgender individuals. We both digress from societal norms: I am attracted to the same sex, Eliza identifies with the opposite sex. We both experience feelings of being outcasts, of being wrong and immoral, of being misunderstood, of praying to be “normal.” Society appears to not know what to do with us. However, this is where our similarities stop. Eliza may experience exclusion from both genders. Whereas the identified sex on my license or college ID card matches my physical appearance, Eliza’s may not, causing humiliation and pain. I do not have to worry about my safety when using a restroom, nor do I have to worry about what sex my college hall is. I also do not have to worry about gender pronouns used on the first day of class that may make me feel uncomfortable. All of these are genuine concerns and sources of exclusion for Eliza and thousands of other transgender college students.
These are the legitimate concerns and this is the baggage that our transgender students are bringing with them upon entering college. Already, these students are at risk for leaving an institution. And the single most important environmental factor (in my opinion) that excludes and challenges the safety of these students is the aggregate. The aggregate and the perceptions of the aggregate can have the most profound impact on Eliza. If the aggregate does not support finding others like themselves or finding a mentor, both imperative for active involvement and engagement on campus for LGBT individuals, Eliza is at risk for leaving. Even if the aggregate does support this, if transgender individuals perceive it to be unsupportive, they are again placed at risk. The physical environment can be welcoming, transmit welcoming messages, and provide territoriality; the organizational environment can support diversity and the inclusion of transgender individuals into campus life, but if the students are harassed, do not feel welcome, fear for their safety, and/or cannot identify allies, why would they stay? Why would Eliza stay? Think about your friends. Why are you friends? Most likely, it is because you have similar interests. Your friends most likely understand you. This is difficult for transgender individuals to find in an unsupportive, heterosexist, gender binary-dominated population. If you are not transgender, you cannot fully understand what it is like to be transgender.
So where do we go from here? It is difficult to say. This course and subsequent research have revealed to me a plethora of environmental features that affect the attraction, satisfaction, and retention of Eliza. The physical, aggregate, organization, and constructed environments all interconnect to affect feelings of safety and inclusion, levels of involvement, and sense of community for Eliza as well. However, there are far too many individual features that can be pinpointed as having a great affect on Eliza. These individual features also may vary from school to school. With that said, there does appear to be one common thread: culture. To me, the biggest single factor that needs to be addressed on our college campuses is culture. All of our colleges are established within a broader patriarchal, heteronormative society. Many colleges perpetuate this culture, leading to a lack of understanding of transgender students. If we truly want to include Eliza, we must educate the student population. We must educate students on gender and gender inequalities. We must educate on societal norms and bring awareness to gender binaries and heterosexism. We must challenge the existing cultural norms on campus. Once we do this, I believe the aggregate and perceptions of the aggregate may become less of a hinderance to transgender students. Once we do this, we can fully include and involve transgender students within our college communities. Once we do this, Eliza can become a regular student that enjoys hanging out with her friends in her residence hall, and is a leader in the classroom and student organizations. Eliza will find community.
College Voice Project 