Embed Notice

the inappropriateness of the questioning, as well as the now-ready access to information about transness, led Serano to believe the questions were fueled less by curiosity and more by "an unconscious tendency to frame trans people as inherently questionable (read: suspect, dubious)."

a lot of the questions focus on *why* she is transgender, a focus that she doesn't receive regarding womanhood or "sublebrity."

"people tend not to ask 'why are you cisgender?' or 'how do you know that you're really cisgender?' because being cisgender seems normal and natural to them. In contrast, it's the fact that people perceive being transgender as 'abnormal' and 'unnatural' (as a spectacle) that leads to us being constantly questioned."

often, people don't directly ask why - instead, "they will attribute an underlying cause or ulterior motive to trans people" - such as mental disorder, dominant mother, seeking attention, fulfilling a sexual fantasy, wanting to obtain gendered privilege, etc.