Transadvocate opinion piece

[Guest Sarah Faith]

I know that I have often mentioned that there are some really big rifts within the community and I have often been told that they do not exist. Here is an interesting piece on the transadvocate that highlights some of the friction I have mentioned before. I know for a very long time Andrea James had a very large following and was often heralded as one of the paragons of the community, it's interesting to see such a prominent member of the trans old guard be torn down bit by bit as the year goes by.

http://www.transadvocate.com/andrea-james-believes-a-straight-cis-woman-is-a-better-choice-for-the-glaad-board-than-queer-trans-women_n_13991.htm

[Guest Jenni_S]

Oh my yes, this piece of writing really makes me want to jump in and take sides! And send the article writer money! Having gotten the sarcasm out of my system, this is quite illustrative of where some opinions come from. If a group wants, nay, demands acceptance, it's a surefire way to not get it by hurling hate within the group, and then splashing bile and spittle on everyone else via the comments.

It would seem that the usual targets of religious wingnuts, Christians, right-wing conservatives, southerners, and radical feminists aren't alone in the ability to be intolerant, full of hate, and painting with the broadest brush possible. I can only hope this sort of "journalism" careens into irrelevance, but I'm not hopeful.

[Cyndee]

Oh, my life has been so thoroughly enriched reading all this

[Guest princessofdarkness]

I think it's clear Andrea James is a bully and needs to be shut out if any progress for the trans community is to be made. I seem to recall when James actually stood up for trans people when the hit piece "The Man Who Would Be Queen" came out, her response was to post pictures of the author's children with sexually explicit captions. So she was never good for the movement. Now she's just antagonistic. Can not stand her one bit.

[Guest LizMarie]

Sarah, is she being torn down or are her own words tearing her down? Read the article. See what Andrea James says about others. See the language she has chosen to use. I don't find that very inspirational, particularly her attacks against Jennifer Boylan. Andrea James actually believes that a straight white wealthy cisgender woman is a better representative on the board of GLAAD than a transwoman? You know, if she had argued in favor of a lesbian or a bisexual woman I could see it. But a straight white rich woman? When so many LGBT people, particularly youth, are so hard hit by their treatment of society? And then the language she uses against anyone who disagrees with her? I could see debating specific points but calling her opponents "diseased transbians" and "on the autism spectrum"?

Really? Someone else is tearing her down? REALLY? I think she's doing a bang up job of it herself.

[VickySGV]

On other boards I have seen TG people with AS issues highly affronted by James' initial article, more so because of the AS than the fact they are Trans*. Where is Don Quixote when you have a bunch of windmills to wipe out?"

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Sarah, is she being torn down or are her own words tearing her down? Read the article. See what Andrea James says about others. See the language she has chosen to use. I don't find that very inspirational, particularly her attacks against Jennifer Boylan. Andrea James actually believes that a straight white wealthy cisgender woman is a better representative on the board of GLAAD than a transwoman? You know, if she had argued in favor of a lesbian or a bisexual woman I could see it. But a straight white rich woman? When so many LGBT people, particularly youth, are so hard hit by their treatment of society? And then the language she uses against anyone who disagrees with her? I could see debating specific points but calling her opponents "diseased transbians" and "on the autism spectrum"?

Really? Someone else is tearing her down? REALLY? I think she's doing a bang up job of it herself.

Well I was using this article to make a point about other aspects of the community really. I'm actually not a huge fan of Andrea James, while she does at times have points I agree with, they are so often buried in her insane diatribes that they are hardly worth giving any credit to. Shes also an individual that turns every debate into some kind of personal assault on her career and industry so she gets personal back. I'm sure you know I am perfectly okay with opposing positions and attacking ideas, but not so much of actually trying to tear individuals down.. Parker Malloy is actually a friend of my partner and I, when Andrea James went after her it really left a bad taste in our mouths.

Mainly I just found the article interesting because of the various social dynamics it demonstrates within the community. Such as the shifting views towards the drag for entertainment industry, which at one point was viewed (and is still viewed by andrea james) as the core of the trans community/experience. I just think it is interesting that certain staples of the community are falling out of favor (including Andrea James her self).

[Cyndee]

Mainly I just found the article interesting because of the various social dynamics it demonstrates within the community.

Yeah Sarah it's a good example of that, who really wants to be visable or participate in a community that attacks it's self so viciously ? The idea of an umbrella is a joke. Trans* politics is saturated, and those that claim to have your best interests in mind have alternative agendas. Mean people suck, no matter what....

Just think in a couple more weeks, you won't have time to think about this crud.

Best of luck to ya as school starts

C -

[Guest ThePhoenix]

Times change and people change. Between the two, it's not surprising that people once considered heroes turn to goats.

For the older generation, non-binary and genderqueer identities are pretty mysterious to older generations. One prominent Andrea James era trans* activist (and political candidate) here in Maryland, for example, has described genderqueer people as "a group that makes the rest of us look bad" and as a group not motivated by sincere gender identity, but by an immature desire for rebellion that they need to grow out of. The local trans* support groups are, with one exception, dominated by transwomen who are downright hostile to genderqueer individuals. When it became clear that I was going to be involved in trans* activism, I had a friend warn me that it would only be about ten years before my ideas and information would be very outdated. I replied by telling them I only gave myself five years until that happened. I'm in my fourth year now. And I seem to be starting to show signs of being outdated.

And once you have been somebody important and been marginalized by being trans*, it's pretty hard not to latch onto whatever importance you may have in the trans* community and inflate your ego over it. Call it big-fish-in-small-pond maybe. I think we see that with Andrea James. Her site tsroadmap.com used to be the place to go. But she seems to have gotten the idea that she's a little more important than she is. And again she's not the only one I could point at.

It's really unfortunate. But it also seems kind of predictable.

[Charlize]

It is certainly easy to get an inflated idea of ourselves. It would be lovely to feel myself as somehow 'important' to a movement. Humility is something i struggle with but is also lovely to see myself as just one bit of a mosaic not only of the trans* community but of the world. I walk and talk because of my ancestors and as life lives my actions however small will affect those who follow. I am way behind the times i'm sure. I love seeing boundaries pushed again. I can only imagine a world where men can remain men and dress openly as women as women now openly dress as men. Such a small step but it seems huge. I would think however that even if and when this happens there will still be people changing gender. Today it seems hard for MTFs sometimes as folks are used to seeing women dressed as men. Male attire doesn't necessarily say man. The same may become true of skirts and dresses and MTFs will have to find other ways to be accepted as women.

I'm glad just to be me now. What an interesting life and hopefully an old dog can learn a few new ones.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest ThePhoenix]

I'm in a position where I have been important to the movement, at least locally. But it's weird. I go. I do my thing. And I feel very little pride. At the end of June, I was an invited guest at the State Department's Pride celebration. As I sat and listened to Secretary Kerry's speech, it was the first moment that it hit me where I was and how few people were there with me. And it was the first time I can remember feeling pride . . . But all the usual things just don't do it. I've declined every award I've been offered, and I've refused when reporters have asked to follow me around and write about my work. And I see others (like some of the ones I mentioned earlier) who are just the opposite. They hunger for those awards and do not hesitate to accept awards for other peoples' deeds--Baltimore Pride's "Activist of the Year," for example, was honored for her work on passing gender identity protections in Maryland . . . A project she had little or nothing to do with.

So I sometimes find myself wondering . . . am I less egotistical and hungry for awards and accolades than Andrea James and others for whom it seems so important to have people honoring and praising them? Or do I just have my own way of being more egotistical and hungry for that than they are? And maybe I have a much bigger ego than that.

But I will definitely say that I know a lot of MTFs who wear pants most of the time and have no problem being accepted as women. And I know a lot of MTFs who wear nothing but skirts and dresses and never get accepted as women. There's a lot more to being a woman and being accepted as one than clothing. And that's an interesting discussion in itself . . . . But one I will avoid in favor of just saying that if one is being oneself, then by definition, they are doing it right.

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Mainly I just found the article interesting because of the various social dynamics it demonstrates within the community.

Yeah Sarah it's a good example of that, who really wants to be visable or participate in a community that attacks it's self so viciously ? The idea of an umbrella is a joke. Trans* politics is saturated, and those that claim to have your best interests in mind have alternative agendas. Mean people suck, no matter what....

Just think in a couple more weeks, you won't have time to think about this crud.

Best of luck to ya as school starts

C -

I am not trying to make the point that activism isn't a worthwhile goal, nor am I trying to say that I look down on those who do choose to live out and proud and highly active. I actually appreciate what those who do choose to do that do for us and the progress we have made. I mainly am just making a point against how viciously personal people in the community can be towards those who do not fall in line. Andrea James used to be a huge part of the old guard trans movement, I remember people referencing all the things she had done for us, and I still see those who defend her tooth and nail and while saying anyone who disagrees with her is either not trans enough or transphobic. Those are the outcast labels I was referring to. It's just an example of how myopic the community can be when it comes to change or even alternate values in regards to the whole trans thing.

Like ive said before I support the choices individuals make for them selves, but I highly resent the notion (and its not one that I am saying everyone pushes) that because we all benefit from activism it is our duty to contribute even if maybe that doesnt make the most sense for said individual.

Also, thanks I am looking forward to classes starting actually! I'm actually getting ready for a job interview on campus right now.

[Guest KimberlyF]

So much to say so little time

Andrea James has been using the exact same tactics forever. As mentioned above, when she posted the pics of the kids, but was viewed as fighting for the community, she was a useful weapon. When she turns the blade on a popular figure inside the community, she is now a danger and her value drops. And people are not only going after her, they're also destroying anything positive she's done in her life and spreading lies about what she's tried to push on TSRoadmap and other projects.

The Trans community operates like every other community. Just like left wing, right wing, Shriners, Bowling leagues, message boards, whatever. There are cliques that form. There are friendships. You go after my side, I go after your side. In many ways, its just like grade school.

What is going on here is the new media, the media that is going to save us and is more truthful than the old guard, in action. Both Parker Molloy and Andrea James are involved in media. They both have friends. They both stand up for their friends and their friends stand up for them.

This is nothing more than a message board war being played out without moderation on a national level. And they are both doing the exact same things and don't care who gets hurt or follow any ethical journalistic rules. The new media. Dot com journalism.

Just one little example of the piece in the OP showing there are no winners.

The author states:

"Misrepresenting tweets without context is a technique that Andrea appears to be quite fond of."

OMG! That is like totally unacceptable, right?

Then, near the bottom, just to prove how vile a person James is, the author includes 4 tweets that are not in chronological order and with no context. But this is totally different, right? Cause it's for a totally different point.

[Guest LizMarie]

Sarah, is she being torn down or are her own words tearing her down? Read the article. See what Andrea James says about others. See the language she has chosen to use. I don't find that very inspirational, particularly her attacks against Jennifer Boylan. Andrea James actually believes that a straight white wealthy cisgender woman is a better representative on the board of GLAAD than a transwoman? You know, if she had argued in favor of a lesbian or a bisexual woman I could see it. But a straight white rich woman? When so many LGBT people, particularly youth, are so hard hit by their treatment of society? And then the language she uses against anyone who disagrees with her? I could see debating specific points but calling her opponents "diseased transbians" and "on the autism spectrum"?

Really? Someone else is tearing her down? REALLY? I think she's doing a bang up job of it herself.

Well I was using this article to make a point about other aspects of the community really. I'm actually not a huge fan of Andrea James, while she does at times have points I agree with, they are so often buried in her insane diatribes that they are hardly worth giving any credit to. Shes also an individual that turns every debate into some kind of personal assault on her career and industry so she gets personal back. I'm sure you know I am perfectly okay with opposing positions and attacking ideas, but not so much of actually trying to tear individuals down.. Parker Malloy is actually a friend of my partner and I, when Andrea James went after her it really left a bad taste in our mouths.

Mainly I just found the article interesting because of the various social dynamics it demonstrates within the community. Such as the shifting views towards the drag for entertainment industry, which at one point was viewed (and is still viewed by andrea james) as the core of the trans community/experience. I just think it is interesting that certain staples of the community are falling out of favor (including Andrea James her self).

In that regard I do agree, Sarah!