Dear Editor,

I am writing in regards to your article in the November 2009 issue entitled “My Boyfriend Turned Out to Be a GIRL!”. Upon reading this article, I was appalled by the inaccurate portrayal of the trans community being presented. We are fortunate in this generation to have media outlets working directly to expose the issues affecting our youth. However, when these media outlets are marginalizing various communities within the youth demographic, they are not properly doing their job.

In this situation, we are presented with a mainstream magazine profiling an incident in such a way that the trans community at large is seen in a negative light. While the author of the article, as well as the ex-girlfriend and main subject of the article, did use proper pronouns when referring to the transperson in question, he was still presented as a terrible criminal (or rather this feels to be the intention with the picture with the blurred out face) and liar. While the latter may be true, it is the implication and assumption behind it causing a negative reaction from myself and my peers.

I have called myself significant other to an FTM transman for nearly a year. While unlike the relationship in this article I was already aware of my boyfriend’s identity when entering the relationship, I still maintain a first-hand experience of life with a transgender significant other. We certainly have our issues, and identity can frequently be a cause for argument. But our relationship is focused on our care for one another, not on the genders we identify with. Granted, keeping your identity a secret from your significant other is never a good idea. However, this doesn’t mean this is a frequent circumstance in a relationship with a trans person, as so suggested here.

Media coverage of trans issues is scarce. When trans issues are presented in the media, it is even more infrequent that it is done so in a positive manner. We are never told about transgender heroes and heroines, and we rarely hear about stories of transfolk overcoming their oppressions. When we hear these stories of deceit and lying in regards to trans people, readers get the wrong impression about the trans community at large. Seventeen Magazine, with the demographic it caters to, holds the responsibility to its readers to provide information that continues to promote the acceptance of all people.

My request to you is to write another article. While this one certainly has its place, I believe many people would feel much more at ease reading a story of a positive experience of a relationship with a trans-identified person. Not only would this be great in response to this month’s article, but as a statement for the entire trans community.

Best regards,

Leah Matz