Philosophy for the Transgendered...

An interest in philosophy and the history of thought has greatly helped me through the vicissitudes of transgender life.  This isn't surprising seeing as the desire to learn arises largely as a response to a problem... and indeed we do learn most keenly when we experience the sting of pain or failure.


That's right - I am of an intellectual bent today.  So allow me to unveil my guide to the philosophers and thinkers who have allowed me to progress to my current state of enlightenment.  Ommm    I am going to do this freestyle without google / wikipedia :


SOCRATES :  This is where it all started.  Apart from the pre-socratic philosophers who were rather into describing how they thought the world was made.  Like Democritus - who thought matter was made from little bits of stuff he called 'atoms'.  Oh yes.  Anyway, Socrates encouraged people to question everything.  I have and I do.    

PLATO :  Postulated that everything in existence related ultimately to an ideal version of it.  Like you might have an 'idea' horse that all the other horses are based on, you see?   His famous thing was the myth of the cave - all about you being tied up in a cave and just seeing shadows on the wall - that's what our world is like compared to the world of ideas.  I think he might have been thinking of the ideal pair of shoes.  The impossible search continues... right colour, size, heel height...


SENECA :  He said that we are like dogs tied to the back of a chariot - we have some freedom of movement but are ultimately dragged along by the force of circumstance, history, whatever.   Quite a nice thought when you consider your position in life - maybe it's not all something you can help.


SCHOPENHAUER :  Absolutely impossible to spell without google - although I think that might actually be right.  He said that life is basically pointless and encouraged us to focus on higher things, in a way rather similar to eastern mysticism.  East and West have reached similar conclusions about this kind of stuff, independently of each other.   'The Will' was the concept he introduced to philosophy, I think.  Very important - will, agency, all those things philosophers go on about quite a lot.  Being female is an act of will for me.


NIETSCZHE :  also impossible to spell from memory - you just stab the keyboard and hope for the best.  He was very into Schopenhauer's philosophy and developed it.  To think of him is to think of a man on top of a mountain, breathing clean air and thinking his own thoughts  (or her - correcting for  sexism).  Very empowering.  The concept of creating yourself with no reference to religion and tradition would later become 'existentialism'.  I create myself everyday - you see how this works?


SATRE :  Not so much a philosopher as a man who distilled other ideas.  Black polo neck.  Beret.  Big coffee drinker.  La Nausee.  In life you have to make decisions for yourself but also everyone else - it's a chore - life is a burden.  I've made some decisions.  I have found existence to be fairly paramount.
It's all about creating yourself as an act of will, once again we find.
     
JOYCE :   James.  Novelist of course, not philosopher as such.  Bloom, the main character in Ulysses, was a delight to me because he is so androgynous.  Joyce seemed to be rather into the idea that a person would become genderless in moments of ascension.  That's only one aspect of Bloom and Ulysses.  As a whole the futuristic, mind blowing, headfuck of it can't help but inspire any human project.


Could have been so many more.  I suppose what I'm saying is that you find the strength in yourself, an act of creation, an act of will.  And reason - that's important.  Logic.  To know you're not mad.  Being in a minority of one doesn't make you mad - that's what Winston Smith thought in a novel by that other hero of mine - George Orwell.   


I'm not in a minority of one - or maybe I am and so is everyone else.  You have to do right by the minority of one that you are.  Keep creating.