The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, Dressed to Kill. What do these movies have in common? They all portray transgender people as isolated misfits, monsters, killers or sociopaths, a blatant expression non-transgender people perceive as not normal, but these are truly transphobic and homophobic preconceived notions directed towards transgender people. Due to these stereotypes, transphobic violence has a correlation within the prison. Geometrics designed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice [TDCJ] trains their officers in an intense enforcement course to antagonize trans men in female facilities. A training course objective is to learn how to deescalate violent inmates, but why are trans men being used as test dummies, measured by points, lines, planes and solids of antagonism, prejudices, hostility, and alienation? Trans men are being bullied and harassed because TDCJ policy supports anti-LGBTQ treatment.
Trans men are not angry people, yet trans men are being stigmatized as violent and aggressive. Classifications automatically tag trans men to be identified as aggressive, dangerous, criminal, predatory. They are discriminated against, misjudged and singled out because their demeanor is masculine. And contrary to the prison where feminism [femininity] is expected, trans men are called boys and are considered out of compliance. This unconstitutional social order of unruliness subliminally promotes violence against incarcerated trans men. These policies and training courses are inscriptions of hatred and transphobia to disaggregate the LGBTQIA+ community.
While politics and society threaten gender identity and erase transgender equality, incarcerated trans men are being used as target practice at a gun range. Texas prisons are allowing officers to abuse trans men by spitting on them, kicking, punching and slapping them, while yelling and laughing, “Boys don’t cry!” Suffering from dehumanizing treatment and cruel and unusual punishment through resilience, I persevere. We need reform, protection, ethical conduct and solidarity. Communicating from the barriers of solitary confinement, this is female to male transgender Xandan Gulley for Prison Radio.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
