Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.06.2016, Blaðsíða 8

This issue’s villain is the President. And
by that we don’t just mean current Presi-
dent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. We mean
literally every president Iceland ever had
or will have. Second only to Bishop of
Iceland in terms of Most Useless Office,
the president gets a fat salary and a huge
chunk of real estate… for holding what
is essentially a ceremonial position that
is a holdover from when Iceland used to
be ruled by a king. In fact, the only time
the President makes any noticeable dif-
ference to Iceland is when they defy
legislation passed by a democratically
elected parliament, or when they take
an interview with the international me-
dia and express opinions on a particular
topic that may or may not be the official
policy of the Icelandic government. As
our current President will be leaving
office after a military strongman-type
length of time—20 years—and as we
already have a Prime Minister, it’s hard
to interpret the President’s purpose as
anything other than some very expen-
sive ornament. It’s for this reason that
the President is this issue’s villain.
This issue’s hero is the Icelandic pro-
testor. Some of the biggest stories about
Iceland to make international headlines
have involved them in some way, but
more importantly, the speed with which
they can organise a massive amount of
people is pretty breathtaking. Iceland-
ers love social media—which some have
theorised is just an electronic format
for the kind of “village square” meeting
place that you can find in small towns
all over the country—and are very dili-
gent about using Facebook and Twitter
to raise awareness, create events, and
organise people behind a single cause.
Protests and direct action in Iceland
have helped topple governments, jail
bankers, bring deported asylum seekers
back home, and basically keep our elect-
ed officials honest—provided we keep
the pressure on. Democracy wouldn’t
exist without them, and it’s for this rea-
son that the Icelandic protestor is this
issue’s hero.
HERO OF
THE ISSUE
VILLAIN OF
THE ISSUEThe Protestor The President
CNNPaul Fontaine
STRANGE
BREW
Answers Instead of Questions
One trans Icelander's experience with sexism and transition
Words GRAYSON DEL FARO Photo HANS MINIAR JÓNSSON
The past few years have seen an explo-
sion of international media coverage of
trans visibility and human rights. One
such recent article, in Time magazine,
pointed out the invaluable insight into
sexism that trans people have post-
transition, having essentially experi-
enced life as both male and female. We
got in touch with Hans Miniar Jónsson,
a trans man living in Akureyri, to ask
about his experiences before and after
transition.
How would you characterize your
experiences interacting with men when
you were presenting as a woman?
Mostly frustrating, as though men felt
entitled to my time and attention when
it suited them, or as though my word
was rarely, if ever, good enough, when
speaking to them.
Did these vary between environments
(work, family, dating, etc.)? How?
Yes, of course. My family's always been
pretty good about these things and so
I found I was a lot less second-guessed
among family than elsewhere and my
boundaries were more respected. Out-
side of the home it varied based upon
setting as well.
I used to mostly work retail. In a flower
shop or in stores. At work I was usually
treated as though my field of knowledge
or interest was confined narrowly to
what my job was, and even then, when
working in a grocery shop, I was treated
as though I didn't really know anything
about that.
When it came to dating and going out
in general I found that my physical ap-
pearance drew the most attention. I am
very tall, 6'2 (188cm), and men would
cross the bar to approach me to tell
me that I am very tall. More than one
man informed me of the convenience
of having my chest at eye level. They
seemed to think they were paying me
compliments, and more than once they
reacted with hostility when I made it
clear I wasn't interested in continuing a
conversation that started basically with
"nice tits."
How did these interactions change
after you had undergone transition?
When I say things, people listen to me
more, they don't interrupt me quite as
often, women almost never and men
very little. When I make a request for in-
formation I get answers instead of ques-
tions back.
It's not all good, though. I seem to be less
trusted to be fair on certain subjects, es-
pecially ones that have to do with gender
equality and children, unless people are
aware that I'm transgender. And people
seem to expect me to know technical
and mechanical things like car parts or
computer hardware information, which
are things I've never really been good at.
And when people see me crochet they
cross the room to tell me how "special"
it is to see a man crochet.
Do you think the environment of
northern Iceland affected all this?
How?
Akureyri is somehow both a city and
a small town at the same time. People
heard about me without knowing who
I was, and so I've been approached with
questions when I've stepped out. I've
also made the point of not hiding my
transition or trans status, which I know
not everyone could even consider doing.
I expected worse, to be honest.
Truth is, I can't think of a much bet-
ter place to transition—for me at
least, I cannot speak for anyone else.
The questions people have given me,
though inappropriate, even rude, are
few and far enough between and never
asked with outright hostility, but with
genuine curiosity.
So, I think that I have it good as a trans
person, that I'm practically without fail
perceived as a man without any ifs, ands
or buts. That it's up to me to decide ex-
actly how out I am and that this doesn't
seem to be affecting my life that much—
which is an incredibly privileged posi-
tion to be in as a trans person.
And maybe that's why it seems so obvi-
ous to me that the way I'm treated right
now isn't the same as I was treated before
transition, and that the only thing that's
really changed is whether I'm perceived
as a him or a her. My interests haven't
changed. My beliefs haven't changed. My
ideas and ideologies haven't changed.
I'm still the same man as I was before
transition.
SHARE: gpv.is/hmj
“When I say things,
people listen to me
more, they don't
interrupt me quite
as often, women
almost never and
men very little.”
INTERVIEW
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 7 — 2016
8