Transgender Folk Are Creative Folk

by Naomi Stephens

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

The following article is from "Fulfill Your Soul's Purpose" by Naomi Stephens. She writes of creativity and how this is necessary to a fulfilling life - and one filled with meaning and purpose. In reading, I realised how often Transgender people deal with these same principles, not particularly because they decide to, but more because they have to. Consequently, it could be said, that Transgender folk are often Creative people due to their particular circumstances. The phrases that appear to relate directly to a creative transgender experience are unlined just like that.

Creativity is novelty. Using your creativity means that you bring something into being that did not exist in that form before. The important thing is that it is new for you. But there is a difference between repeating what someone else has already created (reinventing the wheel) and doing something new and insightful. If 487 other people have already discovered what you did, it makes your effort no less creative. What counts is the intention. You wanted to explore and create.

The distinction is important. Many people feel that everything has already been done, so why bother? It wouldn't be creative. But why does the tenth recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, old song favourites, or another Italian cookbook get released? Because there are always new ways of looking at everything. Creativity is personal expression. There are no rules of right and wrong. It's important to explore, investigate, risk, and look at things in new ways - like writing a novel in verse form.

Likewise, your mission is unique, singular and without parallel to anyone else's because it's coming from you (unless you have a clone somewhere). So don't say it's been done before. The world needs your version - your input - and your output!

Creativity is upsetting the status quo. Challenge the way things are done. Turn things around or upside down or inside out. There are aspects to creativity which have their painful side. When you create something, you are ending, possibly destroying, something else. Galileo showed that the earth was no longer the centre of the universe, thus making people recognise their dependence on the sun and challenging the illogical teachings. That was upsetting, but it was part of his mission of scientific exploration and finding the truth. Your mission too is going to upset the apple cart in some way. Or don't you want your pebble to make waves?

Creativity is taking risks. Taking risks can be coining a new word, making people laugh when they are ill or refusing to go along with the way everybody else does something. It's trying something you've never done before without knowing the outcome. Members of the German resistance group called The White Rose risked their lives by spreading clandestine leaflets in Nazi Germany, and the Expressionists painted faces green instead of flesh­ coloured, thus risking the disapproval of their contemporaries.

Creative risks can causes rifts, enlighten, rattle at the cages of the mind, infuriate or elevate. Keep in mind that your mission might cause trouble among your friends. The greatest risk of all, making changes in yourself, can be threatening to your loved ones, because you are breaking the rules they are used to.

Creativity is making new connections. Some of the most common inventions came about because somebody combined two things or ideas together. Men's jockey shorts, for instance, were a direct result of connecting their design to that of baby diapers. What do you get when you link motorcars and hotels? Motels! The list is endless. You'll find that the things you love can be connected in new ways (commonly called a mission). Combine anatomical research, painting, and an interest in hydraulics, and you get some of the main ingredients of Leonardo da Vinci's mission.

Creativity is following through on your curiosity. You may wonder about something. as a "what if" question, and leave it at that, or you may decide to go farther. Someone might say, "I had that idea way back in 1985". Sure, it was there, but what happened after that? Creativity without follow-through is like leaving flour on the shelf forever. It's of little good unless it's used. When you were a child, you dreamed - perhaps about being a princess, a knight, a firefighter, or a clown. You gave yourself permission to let go. As an adult you have the luxury of fantasising and fulfilling that dream. A dancer once commented that all the other kids dreamed of being dancer, and she became one. She wanted to know more about it. Explore your curiosity!

Creativity is being different. Conditioning might be okay for your hair - it keeps everything in its place - but it's not healthy for creativity. Being creative means moving outside the pack, altering the rules and thinking independently. In a Los Angeles Times interview Jacques Cousteau said, "I don't look at other people's films. I don't have time. I'm not interested in what other people are doing, because we are doing it differently. A movie maker has his own personality and sees things differently I make my films to be different. It will be my way of looking at things. I am convinced that a world where people enjoy themselves the proper way - in creation, creating anything - and thinking only about the creation they are doing is a better world than a world in which people preach "Unless you want to live a carbon-copy life, get used to being different. Your mission can be different only if you are.

Creativity is surrender to process. The most important factor is the path that leads to a goal. The steps in this book began with my interest in the arts in college, followed by counselling students as a professor, starting my own business, and then designing creativity seminars. Eventually, that work led to the design of a bookmark, and the bookmark provided the chapters of this book. It was a process that my inner wisdom already knew at the time! I simply surrendered to it. Creativity means process before product - not a popular notion today. You must let your mission become all it needs to without constant control and squelching.

Creativity is sharing your gifts. Some people have trouble sharing their gifts with others. Leonardo da Vinci held on to the Mona Lisa for 20 years, constantly making changes and "improvements".

On the other hand, some people are unwilling to give of their creativity to certain groups. Bach never shared his musical teachings with his daughters. Arthur Rubenstein was unwilling to perform in Germany, and Thomas Mann couldn't return to live there anymore. Some people have problems parting with their creations. Emily Dickinson put her poems in a drawer.

A chilling story by E.T.A. Hoffmann called "The Golden Pot," which takes place in Paris at the time of Louis the Fourteenth, illustrates an artist's inability to separate from his creation and thus share it with the world. In this story, an eccentric but highly-talented goldsmith makes the most fabulous jewellery in all of Paris. Over a period of time, a series of murders of aristocratic women occurs, and no one can figure out who the murderer is. A lengthy investigation reveals that all the victims had commissioned jewellery from a certain goldsmith. The artists, as it turns out, had an uncontrollable need to kill his victims because he was unable to part with any of his creations. The story shows the horrible effects of addictive attachment to one's creations.

Your mission is a gift and a gift by definition is both received and given. Let go of your gift and release it for the world to have. A part of you goes with it but never gets lost. To be creative, you must surrender yourself to the process of giving and receiving. You can't have one without the other. If you block either direction, you will deny the world or yourself the joy of your contribution.

Creativity is accepting yourself. To resist being who you are is the greatest hindrance to your creativity. When you resist most you feel the greatest pain. and it impedes expression by stifling the self. It's a constant paradox: whatever happens needs to, yet you must do the work necessary for it to take place. You are both creator/created, potter/pot, sender/receiver. Seeing a mission as surrender and as a calling places you in the position of hearing your inner voice and responding to it. To head off on the wrong path without listening to that inner voice is to turn a deaf ear to your mission.

Your creativity is a message from your soul. The way you express your creativity can tell you a lot about your soul's intention for this life. What kind of creativity do you enjoy? I like puzzles, spy stories and mysteries. Working to help people uncover clues to their mission is like solving a puzzle. It's like being Sherlock Holmes, (whom I admire!).

Creativity requires you to give up old patterns to which you have become accustomed. It requires abandonment of all but yourself as source and resource, beginning and end. Your creativity shows you the voice of your soul and they way to your mission. The mission in turn expresses your true essence.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.