
This post discusses sensitive topics and may be triggering for some readers.
The subject of love and dating, as it pertains to transgender women, has always existed in a state of perpetual contradiction.
On one hand, we are hyper-sexualized; we are fetishised and objectified into distorted caricatures. Yet at the same time, the prospect of seriously dating a transgender person seems unfathomable to many people. We are seen as prizes of sorts, usually by men, who are driven either by curiosity or fetish, a kind of a unicorn in the world of casual sex. But when it comes to real love and companionship, dating a trans person, a trans woman especially, is inconceivable to most.
Watch In His Shoes: Transitioning Into Jess. Post continues after video.
Whilst no widely publicised or readily available research exists in Australia on attitudes among the general public towards dating trans people, a Canadian study published in 2018 found that 87.5 per cent of participants outright refused to date someone who was transgender. Of particular note is that this sample included not just heterosexual men and women, but also members of the LGBT community.
Of the people who would consider dating a trans person, a pattern emerged of “Masculine Privileging”, wherein people were more likely to date a masculine trans person and less likely to date a feminine one.