Is Lgbt Letting Go Of The T?

[Guest Justme]

Just forwarding a blog I received.

Bilerico, USA

Counterpoint: trans-inclusion is distracting to LGB legislation

Filed by: Austen Crowder

November 11, 2009 6:00 PM

We are a diverse community, indeed. Beyond the unification of media

messages for political action, the need for solidarity regarding

upcoming congressional votes, and the perception of our four (or five,

or six, etc) letter acronym to represent a "whole community," we have

many opinions on what is important to furthering L, G, B, and T

causes. If nothing else I learned from my previous post, it is this

fact.LGBt.jpg

It's okay to have differing political opinions on an issue. If we

didn't have different opinions, there'd be no need for sites like

this, or for that matter any need for political action. The beauty of

US politics is that it is an adversarial system, based on voluntary

participation, and people can use their voice, energy, or money to

support any cause they darn well please. As a wise man once told me,

politics is like Baseball for Big Kids, only the game sometimes comes

with high stakes for people like you and me. It's a game, and in games

we must be willing to take our licks to taste victory.

As proof that a) I'm open to different opinions, and am willing to see

beyond my bias; and I'm not above a little thought experiment for

furthering the discussion, I'd like to offer up a counterpoint to my

previous post. Many commentators held the position that trans people

have hijacked the greater LGB movement to forward their own needs.

Politics are a dirty game, where the most cold-hearted plays often

bring the greatest returns. With that in mind I offer a few cold,

logical, professional points as to why trans people should be removed

from LGB legislation, media, and advocacy. It is strategic: however,

it is not kind.

Lack of monetary contributions:

Trans people have little money to fund large-scale activism.

Statistics show that 35% of trans people are unemployed, and over 50%

make less than $15,000 a year, mostly due to employment inequities

caused by discrimination. They are incapable of maintaining the

long-term cash flow required to push their needs through legislation.

Lack of numbers:

Few statistics exist to show the prevalence of trans people, but most

ballpark figures pin ratio of trans people to total population at

anywhere between 1:1,000 to 1:50,000. Pro-trans legislation cannot

hope to offer the same return-on-investmen t as greater LGB

legislation, as a ratio of dollars spent to number of people affected.

Lack of activists:

Further reducing the political impact of transgender needs is the lack

of activists within the trans community. Some transgender people,

faced with abject discrimination and social Othering, choose to live

in stealth. This invisible population rarely contributes to

discussion, rarely volunteers for LGBT community action, and generally

doesn't get involved with the needs of the trans community.

Proportion of opposition to population too large:

Trans people are few in number, but opposition to trans-inclusive

legislation is great. Separating trans people from LGB legislation

would allow politicians leeway in the form of compromise, as gender

identity clauses could be traded away to further LGB rights. (See

SPLENDA, and the overwhelming trend of ENDA discussion to hinge on

"bathroom bill" needs.)

Social stigma of a mental disorder:

Trans people, unlike LGB people, are considered mentally disordered

according to the DSM-IV, which allows a rhetorical "in" to say that

the community as a whole is disordered. Removing trans people from LGB

legislation allows a "clean-slate" marketing message: "We got rid of

the disordered part." This especially allows masculine gay and

bisexual men to distance themselves from the "wannabe women" or

"feminine guy" stereotype, as the advocacy community would no longer

feel the need to include message-confusing trans voices on their

docket.

Trans people not accepted by general public:

Finally, the image of trans people - namely, trans women - is

difficult for run-of-the-mill Americans to accept. The "man in a

dress" message makes LGB legislation too easy to kill. Removing

transgender from the acronym would allow the LGB movement to rebrand

itself as "everyday American people" that act just like the average

John or Jane Doe.

There it is: clear as crystal. Cutting trans people out of the LGB

spectrum will undoubtedly make gaining civil rights for LGBs easier.

No bathroom bill attacks, no "ugly men in dresses" comments, no

attacks on gay men as being "less manly" or "wannabe women," and trans

people's rights can be used as a bargaining chip for furthering gay

rights. To cisgender LGB people looking at cold, hard political

strategy, it is a slam-dunk move, almost guaranteeing that much-needed

legislation will happen at a faster pace. The question is this: will

it be worth it? Is it worthwhile to banish a minority from a minority

to expedite returns for the minority's majority?

Is this the way the community wants to win? I'd rather know the answer

now than later, so I can figure out where my advocacy energies need to

go.

[Guest]

Last year HRC and Barney Frank dropped us from Enda. Will they do it again if the bill gets in trouble? No transgender people testified for this years bill. WHose fault is that? What was heart-warming last year was to see that almost every LGB Organization (except HRC) did support us. So we do have some support. Is it enough? Time will tell.

Laura

[Guest Justme]

Hi Laura. My hope is that time will tell good things for the trans community. I also know that until more of us are willing to come forward ...and be counted...we will be seen as dissposible. I have fought for many years in my state....for rights...for the right to be me. But I know that is not going to happen until we all find our power. Until...all of us...as a community...step up to the plate, and say....Here I Am. And I Will Not Be Refused. Until all of us are willing to take the chance and put ourselves out there....nothing is going to happen. this has been my frustration for years. Years ago. I did have a chace to make a change in my state....just could''nt find backing within the community. So....how long are all of us going to sit back....fearful....I have always heard it only takes one...to start a revolution. And that is why I keep fighting.

Last year HRC and Barney Frank dropped us from Enda. Will they do it again if the bill gets in trouble? No transgender people testified for this years bill. WHose fault is that? What was heart-warming last year was to see that almost every LGB Organization (except HRC) did support us. So we do have some support. Is it enough? Time will tell.

Laura

[Guest]

I just saw something about there being 30 million (I'm not sure where) LGBT people. One thing is for sure that there are more transgender people than the experts give us credit for. I estimate 8 to 10 million of us. These gains are more recent as more are just starting to come out. What we seem to be lacking is money, political clout and organization. Many can't pay for necessary surgeries which LGB's don't have to go through. Keep fighting for the cause. I wish more would get involved. Compared to LGB's our movement is in it's infancy with the exception of a few lifelong activists who've been doing this for years.

Laura

[Guest Justme]

Hi Laura. You are right . alot of us need our surgeries. Me included. But none of that is going to happen, if we don't all come together as a united people. I do understand the fear of coming forward. Every day, when I go to work...I check to make sure no one has flattened my tires...Every day...that i put my dogs out...I go outside with them...to make sure they stay safe. I do understand . that coming forward is a risk. But i look at the gains the LGB community is making...And we are being left behind. Out of fear. Out of very realistic fear. But if we won't stand up...then who? Are we just supposed to accept this as the norm? The norm being....we live our lives as someone we are not...because we are all too afraid to have a voice? Because that is the only way things are going to change...If we all speak up and say..."I WILL NOT BE DENIED." Until we come together as a communoity. nothing is ever going to change.

[Guest Anna_Banana]

Pfft, that's right, a minority dropping a minority. Let's have the frying pan call the kettle black, for crying out loud! The LGB community has become overly full of itself in the past decade, forgetting at times what discrimination feels like. They overlook the fact that once-upon-a-time they were listed as a mental disorder. They forget that in the not-so-distant past, homosexuality was a CRIME. For the majority of the 20th-freaking-century (not to mention prior to it), a homosexual stayed invisible for fear of dying. This same community also fails to remember that in places other than the first world (like Iran for instance), homosexuals "don't exist." That is to say, no sane person would admit to being gay because they and their families would be tortured, then killed.

So go ahead LGB, drop the T. Prove to the world that you are now no better than your oppressors.

Angry,

.Anna

[Guest CJwar]

Pfft, that's right, a minority dropping a minority. Let's have the frying pan call the kettle black, for crying out loud! The LGB community has become overly full of itself in the past decade, forgetting at times what discrimination feels like. They overlook the fact that once-upon-a-time they were listed as a mental disorder. They forget that in the not-so-distant past, homosexuality was a CRIME. For the majority of the 20th-freaking-century (not to mention prior to it), a homosexual stayed invisible for fear of dying. This same community also fails to remember that in places other than the first world (like Iran for instance), homosexuals "don't exist." That is to say, no sane person would admit to being gay because they and their families would be tortured, then killed.

So go ahead LGB, drop the T. Prove to the world that you are now no better than your oppressors.

Angry,

.Anna

Couldn't have said it better myself. The cycle never seems to end.

[Guest Joanna Phipps]

I would say to our brothers and sisters, we were there in 1969 when stonewall happened, we have been with you, fought with you, helped you raise much needed money and continue to fight with you in the greater struggle for universal rights. In many ways this fight is no longer soley about LGBT rigths but rights for all those who the system has stepped on no matter who we chose to love, or how we feel about ourselves.

There have been many times where the movement has looked like it would fracture because of one thing or another but we are stronger as a unit than we ever would be as 4, 5 or 6 much smaller units. Yes the trasgender movment is small, and yes we are not that well organzied; then again neither were the Lesbians and Gays when Stonewall happened. It takes time to get organized, time to raise the awareness and time to get the message through thick headed polititians who cannot see past the next election.

There is a time for rabble rousing rhetoric, a time for negotiations and peacfull politcal action. There is also a time for the group as a whole to sit and review where it has come from and where it is going. Right now the LGBTIQ movement stands at a crossroads, where more and more we are seeing companies, and governments aquiesse to our needs and essential rights. However there is still much more to do before we all can hold our heads high as full and equal members of society.

=====================

I'll cut this here before I write a speach

[Guest nova]

The opinion of some gay activists that "T's" are a hinderance to the achieving of gay rights is a hypocritical argument. This hypocrisy was tossed around a lot as late as 2006 and I guess some people will never understand the fact that we all are subject to the same discrimination and prejudice. It could just as easily be said that trans people are unfairly stigmatized because they are wrongly perceived as all gay and lesbian. When these gay activists scream about equality and then turn around and say "except trans", the blatant hypocrisy discredits their own objectives. One could also say that the gay drag queen scene which comes off like a mockery of women at times, is unfairly associated with being trans. Political power comes through solidarity. It sure seems to me that when the aforementioned glaring hypocrisy was put aside, and our struggle became inclusive, all of us have been able to make strides towards equality. And, when homosexuality was removed from the DSM, it did not stop the prejudice and discrimination and hate against the gay community. But to blame trans people is simply absurd. And finally, the majority of the medical community knows darn well that being trans is not in and of itself an illness of any kind. It is well known that this minority of pschs with a vested interest in pathologizing us, have been modifying their bizarre and fraudulent theories as fast as they are exposed. They are painting themselves into a corner, and they are looking pretty dumb . . . to anyone who cares to look.

[Guest Kayliegh]

Hi, Justme -

I think it's time we change the statistics that you've posted from that blog.

I'm TG and also involved in the legal field and feel that we're treated as 2nd class citizens and it is time to take a stand and fight for our rights.

I believe that my “second calling” will be to do that; to fight for the rights of TG folks here in CT and, possibly, throughout the country.

While many of us live in stealth, wouldn’t be great to have a “Million TG March” in Washington?

My humble opinions! - Kayleigh

(I may have double posted - sorry! - I lost my connection!)