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You identify yourself as a postgender rather than a transgender, what does this distinction mean to you?
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When you were a child and suffered bullying at school, did you ever imagine that you would became a role model for other children in your same situation? What would you tell them?
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Do you think being transgender was an important factor in your appointment as minister or only your experience in free software and the digital world, as well as your IQ, were taken into consideration?
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Do you think a positive discrimination of gays, lesbians and transgenders is needed in order to facilitate their access to public office?
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As a minister, what kind of changes do you recommend in regulations around technology to favor the rights of the LGTBIQ community?
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Has social media, and the internet in general, contributed to give more visibility to this community or to magnify stereotypes around them? Muscular men who are not feminine for instance…
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Spain was a pioneer in 2007 by legalizing gay marriage, how do you think this country protects LGTBIQ rights?
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You’re presently attending one of the most important LGTBIQ events in the world held in the Canary Islands. This region is amending its law against discrimination in order for transsexuality to not be considered a mental illness. This is a step in the right direction, but, is it enough?
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Many countries across the world continue to persecute and condemn homosexuality, do you think this situation will change in the near future? How?
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Although in many modern societies laws recognize equality for the LGTBIQ community, every day gays, lesbians and transgenders are insulted in social media, in the bus, in the street, and even assaulted. What can we do to end this?
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Transgender falls within the spectrum of gender, while postgender is outside of that spectrum and focuses on non-discrimination of any kind, including but not limited to gender identity.
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I do understand that my current appointment serves as a serendipity for people experiencing similar situations. As Leonard Cohen says: “There is a crack in everything — that’s how the light gets in.”
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I’d like to know people by their values, not their types, classes or roles — and I’d like to be known by my values, not my types, classes or roles. This personal transition enabled me to better understand the firsthand experience of people and how various hormonal balances effects different perspectives, and empathy building. So it may be indirectly linked to my qualification as a facilitative minister.
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My current practice of radical transparency in the Cabinet and media presence serve both as a symbol of a considerable level of recognition of people outside stereotypes, and has the effect of facilitating everyone’s access to public office. While affirmative action may be necessary to leverage the rights of historically underrepresented people, its influence has to be carefully and constantly examined and re-balanced.
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On the regulatory level, the idea of digital inclusion and intersectionality has informed our policies of “broadband as human right” and “media literacy in K-12 curriculum”. Our Ministry of Interior is also working toward gender inclusivity, such that government forms and applications can gradually transition toward the non-binary gender types.
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While that may be true — in particular, the selfie culture could be stereotype-reinforcing — I think social networks also help increase the visibility to this community, since it’s becoming easier for people to connect and find someone out there who might actually share a lot in common. I believe the Internet can still serve as the catalyst of gender diversity, and we can definitely celebrate the open space on the Internet that empowers gender diversity.
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Taiwan, too, will implement marriage equality next year. I’m happy to learn more from Spain to inform our social policies in the decades to come.
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From the perspective of intersectionality, as soon as one discrimination is dealt with, people who have worked on this issue can take their life experience toward enabling social justice for other aspects of discrimination — this is an ever-improving, iterative process.
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Saying “Life is what we make it to be”,
is like saying “Language is what we make it to be” —
True, but not at once;
— just one bit at a time. -
Apart from the regulatory and policy work outlined above, we can all help to spread, promote and share the idea of equality and diversity. This is the easiest way and the best we can do.