[Continued]
Satvik Sharma (He/They) is a Consultant with the Transgender Division with National Institute of Social Defense, the nodal agency of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for Transgender Empowerment. Satvik has been a Gandhi Fellow, Goonj Fellow and Keshav Suri Foundation Fellow. They is co-founder of Transmen Collective and former National Program Manager at Tweet Foundation.

Sharma responds to Jyoti’s question on the harms of media’s wrong portrayals of trans folks in the panel discussion ‘Reporting it Right’ (translated; edited, in the speaker’s words):

When you see Deccan Herald's example, the District Magistrate directly started questioning me. Where does a representation image take people, where does it harm them?

The district functionaries, social welfare officers ask you these kinds of questions: ‘If tomorrow you transition, access gender-affirming healthcare, you marry a woman without telling them, how will you have kids and what if they file for divorce since you didn't tell them?’

These are the questions they ask us: they've asked me, they're asking others. They're not understanding us. The exoticization starts harming us. They ask us what's between our legs, and other random questions.

Why should I sit down and tell you about my intimate life? Why aren't you giving my transgender ID card, why are you asking me this?

But they need to know, they need to ask in case we 'do something': one person asked me, what would happen if I turn out to be a criminal. I'm not a criminal. I told them to check my bank record, take my background check. Why do you have such a problem with giving me a transgender ID card, when it clearly states that I just need to submit an affidavit and ID, and nothing else.

But so many questions on the history of our medical transitions come because people aren't aware. When they introduced a trans-affirmative manual in the education system, it was removed.

Start with the Criminal Tribes Act, if you want to learn about how trans people were outcast from communities. Does anyone know about this? I think you need to start googling.