“Why Are There Suddenly So Many Trans People?”
The power and danger of public visibility
One of the most popular YouTubers in the world just came out as a transwoman. My reaction to the news illustrates a troubling truth.
Trans visibility is a double-edged sword.
Visibility raises awareness and understanding of the trans community, but it also distorts perceptions of the community’s size and the “coming out” of its members. It’s vital, then, for us to educate ourselves about the trans community, ideally from trans people themselves.
My Reaction to Chris Tyson
Chris Tyson appears in most of the videos in Mr. Beast’s channel. Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) is the world’s biggest YouTube star. He and his friends stream their video game play and commentary, perform funny pranks and stunts, and give away thousands of dollars to strangers, sometimes for completing some kind of trick but often for no reason at all.
When I first heard Tyson had come out as trans, I’ll confess to wondering about the authenticity. Was this a publicity stunt? Was Tyson jumping on the bandwagon for attention? If he is trans, why didn’t he ever talk about it before? Why are so many people coming out as trans all of a sudden?
Chris Tyson’s transition is 100% authentic. He struggled with gender dysphoria for years before recently beginning hormone replacement therapy, but he remained private about his challenges. Which makes sense. I wouldn’t publicly discuss my deepest insecurities either.
Yet it feels as though someone comes out as trans every day, which is jarring after decades of life experience never encountering any trans people. I’ve taught college for 14 years, for instance, but I didn’t have a trans student until 2019. I’ve had three more trans students since.
By the way, none of these transgender students caused any issues in my courses. Their identities never came up. Other students did not express any discomfort with having them as classmates. Despite what some may say, occupying the same space as trans people was perfectly fine.
