Being an Unperson
Amanda Baggs posted this video about a year ago:
It’s primarily about the extreme dehumanization of people who live in institutions, who are visibly not neurotypical (autistic people, for example, but this video doesn’t just include them). It also says some things that are applicable to life as a trans person - various ways you can unpersoned for being different. Don’t expect every point to resonate - for example, not many trans people have been institutionalized (although some have, occasionally for being trans), and people don’t question our ability to communicate, just the veracity of our self-narratives.
She’s not speaking for trans people in this video, and I’m not implying that she is. I just found a note of similarity, and I also think the original point of the message is worth hearing.
If you decide to read more of Amanda’s blog, read this post first. Especially read the post by AndreaShettle in the comments.
December 14, 2007 at 5:33 am
I usually relate to her posts as a person on the spectrum but it works from this perspective too. When I do write about myself often it is from the perspective of not feeling like a real person.
December 14, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Yeah, when I read Amanda’s blog, I ended up reading every post back to the beginning because so much of what she said resonated so strongly with me with regards to being trans. Stuff like random strangers interrogating her on her medical history or what her disabilities are, for example.