‘Who is, and is not, my family’

Betrayal.

Leslie Feinberg illustrates her anger and feelings of betrayal at the hands of her sister Catherine Ryan Hyde. Catherine made the choice to write a book based solely on the life of Leslie that is both fictional and compeltely unauthorized. She makes excuses as to why it is ok for her to publicize her sister’s life as well as how she feels about transgendered individuals because she grew up with a transgender sibling.

Leslie argues that while her sister was present in her life, she was not a part of her life. Leslie went as far as to put forth a written and verbal request for no further contact with her mother, father, or sister. This goes to show the extent to which Leslie wanted no parts of her family. She has adopted a family of her own and feels secure in her decision.

I was not there and can not relate to the way in which Leslie feels but I am certain that if a person would go so far as to disown their family and successfully create a life outside of that… they were and are extremely hurt. I think Leslie’s decisions are unique to her and worth her own personal happiness. We are only granted one life and she is grabbing hold of her own life and doing what’s best for her. That’s commendable and hard to accomplish. I can’t shake the urge to want to know exaclty what it was that her immediate family did or didnt do that made her feel the way she feels.

Catherine completly invaded her privacy and went about writing her book in a rude manner. Some things are personal and are not meant to be disclosed to the public. If it were me in a situation such as Leslie’s, I might have done the same thing. Life if hard, but it can be harder when you have a family that isn’t supportive and ridicules who you are as a person.

Questioning Transphobia

Clarification. In the blog addressing Catherine Ryan Hyde’s young adult novel, Leslie Feinberg definitely clarifies the misrepresentation and bigotry expressed in the novel. Feinberg clarified that the novel written by Hyde is an inaccurate account of zir life and identity. For one, Hyde expresses her views about Feinberg in this novel as if she was speaking out for zir. However, Feinberg felt like her views, opinions, and the story that Hyde relayed was inaccurate across the board. According to Feinberg, she clearly did not have enough information nor the correct information pertaining to Feinberg’s life and the struggles that ze encountered. Feinberg emphasized that she wanted to have no contact with zir biological family nor did ze want them speaking for zir in regards to zir sexuality, zir life, or they way ze felt. This includes not having someone in her family narrate her life in an improper and inaccurate manner without consent. One thing that stood out to me in this blog was Hyde’s quote stating that she was outraged by the way transgendered people were treated, while all along she was treating her sibling in the same disrespectful manner as the individuals she was referring too. This makes me wonder how many other individuals are treated in this manner. This blog entry brings light to the fact that there are people with certain identities who have people speak for them as if they understand their struggle, but in reality, the only people that can speak for them are themselves. Only they can give an accurate description or explanation on who they are, what they represent, and how they feel. I definitely think that Hyde is the kind of person who feels as though she is the voice for those who are underprivileged, discriminated against, or even misrepresented. However, she needs to understand that there are certain boundaries that should not be crossed, which includes respecting people in general, regardless of what they choose to consider themselves. Even though this may be addressed to her biological family, I think that many others can take accountability for inappropriately speaking out on behalf of others.