Musings From Inside The Unisex Cell - 1363 Words

Musings from Inside the Unisex Cell Here I am, a woman of transsexual surgical experience, sitting in this locked room. It is small as far as chambers go, roughly seven feet by four. To fit one more person in here with me would feel crowded, two other people, impossible. There are no windows; it could be the sunniest of summer days outside, or the darkest of bleak nights. The lighting, blindingly bright, is strictly artificial. Only a single door leading in or out. No bars – at least, not literally. A mere twelve inches from where I am seated is a sink of questionable hygienic status, its dripping water my only company. To my right, a garbage can that may be considered a science projects stands sentinel. Voices leak in from under the†¦show more content†¦Cisgender advocates who have long attacked the ramparts of social structures have declared this particular battle in the long war against Gender-with-a-capital-G a hard-win victory. And as an added bonus, members of t he transgender community, who have been long constructed as vulnerable targets in such spaces, can now feel assured of their safety. With the minimum of space, a lock on the inside of the door and the right public-accommodation policies in place, no one will be able to just barge in and react violently coming across a man or a woman of transgender experience doing†¦well, doing what anyone else does in a bathroom. While I may feel physically safe sitting here I can’t shake the anxiety of feeling more politically vulnerable. Somehow decisions were made without my input or knowledge. My thoughts and opinions and commentaries were somehow either usurped or appropriated by others. Activists armed with carefully honed statements are busy proclaiming this victory. Those who did not speak to me are now speaking for me. I awkwardly shuffle my flats. When exactly did this happen? When was my narrative ever considered? Where was the survey that asked for my input? The research inte rview that would have