Trans and queer visibility

Post Reply New Topic

Elsewhere on WP the comment was made that autistic visibility, of more people identifying as autistic, invalidates this as a "fad."
The same could be said (and has been directly said to me) of queer and especially trans visibility. It seems others think it reasonable to assume that someone is trans because they saw Caitlyn Jenner do it, or Chaz Bono, and just copied them to be "cool." I even heard the quote "being gay isn't edgy anymore. Being trans is the new gay."
This too is invalidation. And is why I cringe when I hear any stories about transfolk "coming out" in public media when I should be pleased for them, bringing this out of the fringe and integrating it more in common culture, not to mention glad that they're themselves acting to improve their quality of life, because I'm just waiting for some narrow-minded idiot to equate this with me. To generalise me as being exactly the same because they think all transgender people are the same. And assume that because one transgender person is happy to be a media advocate of trans rights, they can start asking me extremely personal questions, when I am not interested in being an information booth.
Or to say that I am trans (and in some people's eyes, gay) just because I saw it on TV or the Internet.
Of course it's a ridiculous statement - being trans is difficult, and in most cases, expensive and invasive. In some areas in the world, being gay can still get you killed and you cannot be open about your relationship should you want to. No one in their right mind would do this because it's a "fad."
And queer culture should be integrated into the norm. But I'm in to minds about this seemingly sudden influx of especially trans visibility, as all people seem to do is use it as a way to lessen the experience of each individual, as "just" anything.
Is that making sense? Admittedly I don't fully understand my own aversion to it, but I do strongly avoid being associated with trans/gay topics in the greater cis/hetero context.