Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Someone Elses Post About Research

Trigger Warning: Swearing in the link and link title.

Because I think this is a point everyone needs to understand, here is the basic gist of the article. If swearing does not trigger you, you should just read the article. If it does, that's what this summary is for.

Most of the studies about Trans* people are not actually going to help any Trans* people have better lives. Instead, they get the people running them through grad school. The way that Trans* people are being studied involves looking at and studying everything, but not listening to their voices. Until that changes, the writer has no intention of helping any more studies like this.
"Trans women need, more or less in order: decriminalization, housing, education and employment. As in, not being swept off the street, not being banned from shelters, yes being allowed in GED classes, and, well, employment."
That's more or lest the gist of it. That's what Trans women need, and it's what Trans* people need in general. Good luck doing that from the researcher position. If you really want to help, doing more studies won't. Hiring a Trans* person will make a difference in the life of that one Trans* person, which is more than any number of studies will do. Rather than more studies, the need is for ideas, plans, and strategies from the people whose lives are affected to be accepted and used. The need is for Trans* people to actually get treated like people, not to be poked and prodded all the time in studies.

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