I want to preface this by saying that we have a zero tolerance policy for transphobia. Your comment will be removed and you will be banned if you spout transphobia here. Our existence is not up for debate.
That said, how do you differentiate being transgender and being trans racial?
I’m curious how to answer this question in a good faith debate with someone. Emotionally I know that they’re not the same and that one is wrong and the other is not wrong, but I’m unsure as to why that is and am curious if anyone else has given any thought about it.
I feel like there’s a point to be made about the historical use of the term transracial, which described the experiences of people who were adopted into families of a different race than oneself as a child. In these cases, even though there may be superficial differences present, the culture the person was raised into is that of the adoptive family, and as a result it’s what they tend to identify with based on lived experience.
I think there’s a difference between idolizing a different race or its culture thereof, and having formative experiences as a member of that community, even if there were indicators that marked you as an “other” both to those within and without. I don’t know if it’s really worthwhile to tell people how they can and can’t feel about their identity in this way, but there are definitely nuances that make racial identity experiences distinct from gender identity experiences.