Transgender Community

My Night Out in the Big Scary City

2013-02-10T13:31:00Z

Posted by: bev-andersen.livejournal.com

So, last night's adventures went really well. I got the chance to reconnect with a couple old friends from college who I haven't seen in years. It was a wonderful night in general.

As for coming out, I didn't get the chance to tell my one friend, but we were at an outdoor music festival so it wasn't exactly conducive to having personal conversations, in my mind, anyway.

But I did manage to muster up the courage (it seems odd that I would need courage to tell a very good friend who I knew would be supportive, but it did take some effort) to tell my other friend, at the very tail end of our evening together. I literally waited until I was in my car about to drive off.

I rolled the window down and said 'Rufus!' (FYI, not her real name :D ) and then said I wanted to tell her something important I thought she should know about me. She glanced behind my car and said, 'there's a car coming.' so I drove around the block and parked again at that corner. Then I said that soon I'd be changing some things about myself, that I'm transgendered and would in the next year or so be living as a female type person.

She smiled and went, 'Awww!' she also told me she'd be there for me. 'cause she's awesome. :D

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks, LJ peeps, you rock too, cuz i know you'll be there for me, and vice versa.

Beverly

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Coming Out, One Step at a Time

2013-02-09T12:15:00Z

Posted by: bev-andersen.livejournal.com

Hi kids!

I'm making a trip to the big city (Milwaukee) today. I'm visiting a couple old friends from college (i graduated in 2008) (so, y'know, they're not that old).

I'm going to tell them (independently, since we won't all three be in the same place at the same time) that I'm trans, and I know they'll both be fine with it, we did know a couple transmen at college, which we all got along well with. So it will most likely just be a personal type surprise, not OMG restructuring my brain trying to compute this!

For some reason I'm still a tiny bit anxious about it though. Perhaps it's just the notion of revealing relatively personal information that I don't really tell anyone.

Maybe it's the idea of actually taking meaningful steps to begin transitioning. I reckon it's a combination of both.

I should go get ready, actually, it is an hour away. Wish me luck!

Beverly

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Cissexism in Radical Publications

2012-11-18T11:22:00Z

Posted by: foxgloved.livejournal.com

For all you folks involved in radical activism, I wanted to point out some egregious nonsense recently published in the most recent Slingshot Collective newspaper. You might want to give this a read before purchasing a 2013 Slingshot Organizer or subscribing to the newspaper.

( Cut for lots and lots of cissexism, and a fair bit of sarcasm in response. )

I know this kind of cissexism pops up everywhere and it's often better to just ignore it. But considering this came from a publication that carries weight in lots of anti-oppressive spaces, I think it's worth being aware of.

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UK: GT and DIVA publishers launch new digital magazine for trans community

2012-02-19T14:51:09Z

Posted by: ftmichael

http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/6940/15/2/2012/GT-and-DIVA-publishers-launch-new-digital-magazine-for-trans-community.aspx

GT and DIVA publishers launch new digital magazine for trans community
by Peter Lloyd
15 February 2012

The publishers of Gay Times and DIVA magazine launch a groundbreaking digital publication aimed at the transgender community – META.

META is a unique magazine designed for a wide community of gender variant people. It is written by trans people and their friends for trans people and their friends. Through in-depth features, community discourse, arts coverage, celebrity interviews, comprehensive event listings, and charitable causes, META is a celebration of diversity.

META is connected to the UK’s exciting trans activism movement and is committed to challenging bigotry. It’s dedicated to promoting positive self esteem and connectivity among trans people, generating creativity, motivation and aspiration through inspiring imagery and positive ethos.

In the historic first issue, Vivian Bond, of Kiki and Herb fame, chats about changing personas:

“I am a Mixtress of reinvention. I've thrown everything up in the air many times to see where it lands. As to reinventing myself personally, well… I have always known who I am.”

Reality star Lewis Hancox responds to criticism following his appearance in Channel 4’s My Transsexual Summer:

“I outed myself, basically, and put myself in a vulnerable position. People shouldn’t be attacking me for that – it should be encouraged.”

Performance artist Diane Torr discusses traditional sexism:

“I was following a programme about famous dead people and they’d always have men on. I wrote in and said, “What is it, do women not die?”

Editor Paris Lees said:

“Trans writers have been gaining ground over the past few years, appearing in the New Statesman, the Guardian and the Times. Now, with META, we finally have our own platform. Forget ‘editor’ – speaking purely as a trans woman, I can honestly say I’m thrilled. META isn’t just for trans people, it’s for anyone who’s ready for a grown up discussion about gender – something we don’t always see in the mainstream media”.

META’s debut issue is available for digital download from the App Store or Android Market now!

It includes features on gender-free parenting, exclusive video content, real life stories and debate.

META will also feature Del LaGrace Volcano, Natacha Kennedy, DJ Lady Lloyd, Baga Chipz, Christine Burns, Jane Fae, Roz Kaveney, Jennie Kermode and Jay Stewart.

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Do you use Quora.com?

2012-02-05T17:31:00Z

Posted by: rebeccasf.livejournal.com

I recently wanted to make an android app so I started doing searches for different questions I had regarding this. Several of those searches ended at Quora.com. There seems to be a pretty good community of developers there and since I couldn't even read the entire replies without joining, I joined. Within 24 hours I received an email saying I would be unable to make any posts because I hadn't used my "real full name." I'm guessing they are conflating my "real name" to my "legal name."

Anyway, I don't really want to use my "legal name" for obvious reasons. I changed my name on Quora to match my fb name in the hopes that a quick search will turn up the fact that I've used that name for a few years now and that is who I am. But it hasn't been long enough yet for a reply.

I'm just wondering if any others have had any interactions with this company and their moronic "policy."

bex cat-herder

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Trans* Awareness Week Potluck Dinner at Towson University

2011-10-25T22:57:00Z

Posted by: what-is-why.livejournal.com

Hey, everyone! My name is Noel, and I'm the vice-president/co-founder of Towson University's trans*, genderqueer, gender-variant, & agender student support group, GenderBLUR. If you live in the Baltimore, MD (USA) area and are:

a student at Towson University
a prior student/alumn of Towson University
a "prospective student" of TU (even if you're not really looking to attend/transfer to TU, we can pretend you are, especially if you're still in high school!)
faculty/staff or prior faculty/staff of TU

AND

you identify absolutely anywhere on the trans* & gender-variant or agender spectrum (basically anything but cisgender)

we would like to invite you & your family/chosen family to a potluck dinner at our school on Wednesday, November 16th at 6:30 as part of our Trans* Awareness Week programming!

If you don't know or are unsure what "chosen family" means, it refers to people who, though they aren't biologically related or legally bound to you, are just as close as "traditional" biological/legal family and may have in fact replaced them--since many of us are not on good terms with biological family.

Support, whether it's biological/legal family, chosen family, friends, or other trans* folk, is so important in our lives! This is an event for sharing that support & making new friends. Many of us at TU have found that our relatives, especially those still on the fence about their kin being trans*, improved their attitudes and learned a lot from speaking with other relatives of trans* people.

If you're interested, please email me at sheimp1@students.towson.edu so that we can work out the details & get you a formal invitation! If you're unsure about anything and have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. If you know someone who may be interested, please send them my way!

I apologize that the criteria for attending is so limited, but it's what the university has agreed to help pay for :( The "prospective student" thing is our only real loophole!

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Crowdagger?

2011-08-06T21:46:00Z

Posted by: ellyrouge.livejournal.com

Hello,

(hope it's ok to post that here)

I am a butch trans female and I saw that the term "crowdagger" existed for designing pretty much this identity, and I quite like it and I am a bit like "cool, a word I can identify with".

But the thing is, while I basically know it originated at camp trans and I guess it is a reference to "bulldagger", the thing is since I am french and nobody here uses the term, I am not so sure of the connotations it can have and whether it's like "well, it's a bit obscure but it's ok" or "actually some trans people have a problem with that word" or "uh, are you aware it's actually an insult?".

So I was a bit wondering if some people here defined that way or knew a bit much about that term?

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Dear Dad, Love Maria: A Beautiful Trans-Themed Short Film

2011-07-18T02:31:00Z

Posted by: teeganjane.livejournal.com

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I really wanted to share this incredible [very] short film that deals with the emotional trans issue of coming out to your parents--in this case, it's a beautifully animated journey of the relationship between father and son, or rather, a son becoming a daughter. I just discovered it, so if everyone here's seen it already, my apologies. It's only five minutes long, so if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's incredibly touching and almost brought a tear to my eye.

It's called "Dear Dad, Love Maria" and it was created by Vince Mascoli.

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OUT!wear Pridewear Selling Anti-Trans Woman T-shirts!

2011-07-12T21:45:00Z

Posted by: rebeccasf.livejournal.com

This afternoon I came across a company selling WBW t-shirts. Their home page states the following.

OUT!wear™ is quality custom Pridewear and Accessories "WORN WITH PRIDE" to promote visibility, unity and self esteem amongst Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans-gendered persons.To promote a positive image within our community, whether bold or discreet.

The womyn-born-womyn policy of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival is rooted squarely in prejudice and has aided the marginalization of trans women for 36 years. The selling of WBW items is clearly anti-trans woman and goes against everything in the companies own statement above. If you don't know what the WBW policy is, please read my (very) brief herstory of the exclusion of trans womyn from womyn only spaces below.

It's astonishing that an LGBt company would actually attempt to profit off the marginalization of trans women. I had made a few posts on their facebook page along with at least a dozen others, asking them to stop selling these items. I also sent an email to the addresses on their contact page with no response. A little while ago they deleted all wall posts and comments from their fb page they deemed negative while leaving many comments in support of the WBW policy at MichFest. They then banned everyone who posted comments asking them to stop selling the t-shirts from posting again. The deleting of the comments was especially sad because there was some really good dialog going on between a few of us and some of the supporters of the wbw policy. I feel like a good opportunity for discussion has just been completely nuked and will never appear again.

As a community, I'm looking for some ideas on how to respond. So far, there has been only silence and censorship from OUT!Wear. I think a good first start is to repost this on your own blog and ask your friends and all trans allies to do the same. I've reposted this already to the blogs below. I was thinking of trying to get a google bomb together to label them anti-trans. Also, they seem to be a large supplier of shirts and other items to PFLAG. If PFLAG truly supports the T, they should cease all business with them until they stop selling WBW gear. At the very least, OUT!Wear should remove any reference to trans people from their website since (at this point) it appears to be an absolute lie!

Let me know what you think!

Love and respect,
Bex Cat-herder

UPDATE 7/13/2011: Please see response from PFLAG below!
UPDATE 7/13/2011: OUT!Wear has removed all WBW clothing!

UPDATE 7/14/2011:
Maria of OUT!wear has issued a personal apology to the lgbt community, pulled all WBW merchandise and given refunds to all who placed orders!

x-posted to camptrans,mtf,trans_feminism,transfeminism

( A (very) brief history of the exclusion of trans women from women only spaces )

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Left Coast Camping Get Togethers

2011-06-21T11:27:00Z

Posted by: rebeccasf.livejournal.com

I've been thinking about trying to organize a norcal, trans centric camping trip.

» Would anyone be interested?
» I was thinking of having it in Guerneville, CA (one of the gayest places on earth). Would this work for you?
» Would you be able to contribute a little money to help offset the cost for someone who may not have much money?
» This could happen in late August or mid to late September from Fri - Sun. What dates work best for you?
( ...... )

Thanks!!

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TG Documentary

2011-01-09T23:01:00Z

Posted by: skysurfer13.livejournal.com

Hey all!

My name is Charlie F, and I'm a college student studying film at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. You might've seen me around this comm (I tend to poke my nose in, though I'm not a spectacularly active member), or a few others.

Anyway, this semester, I'm taking a Documentary Production class as a required part of my major. Our final assignment is to create a 10-15 minute documentary on a person or a group of people who are either doing something interesting or going through some kind of transition.

Oh hey. Sound familiar?

Dingdingding! You guessed it! I'm doing a documentary on the Transgender community, and I need your help (if you'd be ever so kind as to give it to me).

If you live in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-New York area, would you be willing to come meet me and give an on-camera interview as a part of the project? [I can repay you at least in part for travel expenses and I'll buy you lunch or something!]

This is something that's really important to me, both as a transgender person and as a film student, and you can't imagine how much your help would mean to me. Feel free to either comment on this or drop me a message if you'd like/be willing to work on this or have any questions!

Thank you!

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The Purple Dove Project

2010-12-04T15:54:00Z

Posted by: ninaelisabeth.livejournal.com

Modeled after fandom auction communities like help_haiti , The Purple Dove Project aims to raise funds for The Trevor Project, It Gets Better, and NOH8, as well as other organizations currently working to support LGBT youth and to combat anti-LGBT bullying. Our first round of offering posts has just gone up, and bidding will begin next weekend. You can offer fiction, art, jewelry, foodstuffs, care packages, mixtapes, and just about anything else you can imagine, so please join, participate if you can, and spread the word!

Community rules and important information can be found on our info page. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can ask on our FAQ Post, or email the moderators (ninaelisabeth and kishmet ) at thepurpledoveproject[at]gmail[dot]com.

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Explanation, and apologies

2010-10-23T15:03:00Z

Posted by: tommykaine.livejournal.com

I'm posting this because of what I wrote yesterday.

I want to apology for the rudeness of my replies. I was annoyed, depressed, frustrated and on pms. Also physically sick, because I had a fever.

I know it's not an excuse, and I know that what I did was wrong anyway, but please I'm asking you to understand that I wasn't in my best state of mind when I wrote that post, and also when I wrote those replies. I'm sure it's happened to anyone here in some point in their life, expecially when you were young, to be angry and do something stupid because of this.

Again, I KNOW IT WAS WRONG AND I'M SINCERELY SORRY FOR DOING IT. I'm not trying to shift the blame or anything, just explaining why I reacted like that. I'm not perfect, I'm just human, and I make mistakes. That was one of the many I've made in my life, and that I will probably continue to make sometimes, even if I try to avoid it.

And I also want to explain that I didn't write those things to say that "I'm the only one who has serious problems" or something equally absurd, and that some parts were referring to people I know IRL.
I was just frustrated, because I always listen to people when they are upset because of something, even when it's something trivial (and yes, not being able to see you boyfriend for ONE day is trivial, since that person who complained to me gets to see him everyday. It's not they don't see each other for months. I could understand being depressed because of that. But not because for ONE day she didn't get to see him), but when <i>I</i> am depressed or upset, even if I don't complain, everyone suddenly starts avoiding because, apparently, I make them depressed.
And it's not like I'm depressed <i>all</i> the time. I'm usually a pretty cheerful person, but there are times when I'm really upset or depressed and could use some support. What I get, instead, is indifference or avoidance. The only people who seriously listen to me are some of the ones I know online.
And even if those people listen, sometimes they even get to tell me that my problems are stupid. That I make up my own problems. That they just don't understand. And stuff like that.
It's frustrating, really. And that's why I was so upset.
I'm tired of not being able to complain because I'd be seen as an insensitive jerk.

I'm not a bad person, really, or at least I try not to be.
I try very hard to be as honest and just as I can. I try to understand other's point of view even when they are radically different from mine. I try to not think of anyone else's problems as "stupid" because if they make some people suffer, then they can't be stupid problems.

I'm sorry if now you think badly of me because of a day when I was stupid and angry and shouldn't have been allowed access to forum boards. I am sincerely sorry if anyone was hurt or upset because of my words. Usually I don't suck so much (or at least I hope so).

I'm also sorry for not having thanked those persons who actually tried to be helpful. So, thank you all for trying to find some sense in what I wrote, even if it wasn't clear nor well-written. Even if it was full of angst and swear words, even offensive ones.

And I want to thank the mods for deleting that post. It should have never been written in the first place.

So...I don't know what else to say...I hope this is enough to fully explain and apologize to everyone here. I hope I didn't fuck up this time too.
I really feel guilty for what I did, seriously. I'm ashamed of it, and I still feel like crap.
So, yeah. I think that's all I have to say on the subject. I've been stupid and immature, and now I learned my lesson, I hope. Not the first time it happened, but I hope it's my last.

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World of Warcraft guild?

2009-11-16T17:40:00Z

Posted by: zootyzoot.livejournal.com

World of Warcraft nerd alert ahead :)

It just occurred to me last night that I would absolutely LOVE to be in a WoW guild that the majority was trans. Anyone know of any?

Edit: There doesn't seem to be any (or many) guilds where the majority is trans. I have decided to make my own (unsure of the name yet!) - Re-rolled Alliance on Proudmoore server. PM Oakken if you're interested!

Edit #2: If you've added Oakken already, remove him (if he isn't already) from your friends list. My account was compromised and this particular character doesn't exist anymore. I have remade him though and am leveling my butt off :)

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Transgender people are everywhere

2009-07-05T17:37:06Z

Posted by: ftmichael

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/16/rose.transgender/

Commentary: Transgender people are everywhere
By Donna Rose
Special to CNN
updated 3:20 p.m. EDT, Tue June 16, 2009

Editor's note: Donna Rose is a speaker and advocate for transgender and transsexual issues. She is the author of a memoir, "Wrapped In Blue: A Journey of Self-Discovery." Her Web site is http://donnarose.com/ .

Donna Rose says transgender people don't fit the stereotypes society often tries to impose.

(CNN) -- It was only a matter of time. The real-life drama of being transsexual has come to Hollywood. Chastity Bono, the impossibly cute little blond girl who, for many of my generation, remains frozen in time as the sweet, chubby-faced cherub closing many a Sonny and Cher show in the arms of her doting parents, recently announced that he is transsexual and will be transitioning from female to male. He will go by the name of Chaz.

As shocking as this news may be to some, it is yet another reminder that all is not necessarily as it appears and that each of us is more complicated than simply the skin and bones of our bodies. Rather, it is our heart and spirit that defines us.

Transgender people -- that is, people who may not experience or express their gender in ways that are necessarily typical for the physical sex of their body -- have been part of the fabric of cultures for as long as history has been recorded.
( Read more... )

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Call for translators!

2009-06-28T20:25:40Z

Posted by: ftmichael

Do you read and write well, or even fluently, in a language besides English? T-Vox needs your help!

As ever, T-Vox is striving to be as internationally accessible as possible. The wiki admins are based in the UK, and the overwhelming majority of contributors are English speakers living in predominantly English-speaking countries. This, obviously, leaves out a huge percentage of the world population. While we have managed to translate a small handful of pages into French or German or Italian or Spanish, the majority of pages remain untranslated, and obviously there are many other languages that haven't been introduced at all.

If you can help at all, whether by translating one very short page or a huge amount of content, or by checking the existing translated pages for translation errors, the community will benefit hugely, and those of us who would love to translate but aren't able to will be forever grateful!

See T-Vox: Languages for instructions on how to create a new, translated version of any T-Vox page. You will need to create an account on T-Vox to be able to create and edit pages; it's free and painless, and your e-mail address is never shared with anyone.

Pages that particularly need translating at the moment: Trans 101; Transsexuality; Main Page; A guide to transition (and the pages linked from there); Legal issues

Please cross-post this wherever you feel it's appropriate!

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Call for translators!

2009-06-28T16:12:00Z

Posted by: ftmichael.livejournal.com

Do you read and write well, or even fluently, in a language besides English? T-Vox needs your help!

As ever, T-Vox is striving to be as internationally accessible as possible. The wiki admins are based in the UK, and the overwhelming majority of contributors are English speakers living in predominantly English-speaking countries. This, obviously, leaves out a huge percentage of the world population. While we have managed to translate a small handful of pages into French or German or Italian or Spanish, the majority of pages remain untranslated, and obviously there are many other languages that haven't been introduced at all.

If you can help at all, whether by translating one very short page or a huge amount of content, or by checking the existing translated pages for translation errors, the community will benefit hugely, and those of us who would love to translate but aren't able to will be forever grateful!

See T-Vox: Languages for instructions on how to create a new, translated version of any T-Vox page. You will need to create an account on T-Vox to be able to create and edit pages; it's free and painless, and your e-mail address is never shared with anyone.

Pages that particularly need translating at the moment: Trans 101; Transsexuality; Main Page; A guide to transition (and the pages linked from there); Legal issues

Please cross-post this wherever you feel it's appropriate!

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On the 40th anniversary of Stonewall

2009-06-28T15:55:58Z

Posted by: ftmichael

'But I will not give up because I won't give the mainstream gay organisations the satisfaction of keeping us down. If we give up, they win. The reason we right now as a trans community don't have all the rights they have is that we allowed them to speak for us for so many damn years and we bought everything they said to us, "Oh let us pass our bill, then we'll come for you". Yeah come for me. Thirty-two years later and they are still coming for me. We can no longer let people like the HRC speak for us. It is not my pride, it is their Pride. I have nothing to be proud of except that I helped liberate gays around the world ... before I die, I will see our community given the respect we deserve.'
-- Sylvia Rivera, a tireless Trans activist who fought at the Stonewall riots in 1969 and passed away in February 2002.

Quote found in Pinned Down By Pronouns (2003, Conviction Books), edited by Toni Amato and Mary Davies.

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I hope this is of interest

2009-05-19T19:13:00Z

Posted by: udongirl.livejournal.com

I am very proud to say that this lovely young lady is apart of our family. I have known katie for quite a few months now. I hope that everyone will read the article Omaha World Herald article.

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[Controversial, Public Post] Review of the Bindel/Stryker Debate

2008-12-07T12:28:00Z

Posted by: auntysarah.livejournal.com

Crossposted from my own journal:

Friday's debate between feminist academic, Susan Stryker and Guardian journalist, Julie Bindel, hosted by Stephen Whittle of Press for Change was a more or less predictable affair, and I think nobody came out of it well.
( Cut for length )

christinaalley has posted her own analysis of the debate, which I think is excellently written and well worth a read.

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Controversial. Unfortunately.

2008-10-29T23:13:00Z

Posted by: shemale.livejournal.com

Given a few posts in a few trans communities lately, it seems like these things need to be said:

Trans people are not cutting-edge theories at the frontier of feminism/gender studies/whatever.

Because people are not theories, and it is problematic for theory to be applied in such a way that it criticizes the entirety of a marginalized group or demands that members of said group behave in the way that those doing the theorizing think is appropriate or "progressive" or "radical" enough.

Trans people are not under any more of an obligation to alter their bodies, gender identifications, or gender expressions for some higher goal than cis people are.

Oh, you would never suggest that trans people are somehow more responsible than cis people to ~break down the binary~ or ~kill the patriarchy~ or whatever by following your prescribed guidelines for living!

And it's just a total coincidence that it's something that you tell trans people way, way more than you tell cis people!

Just something about them i guess...I mean it's perfectly understandable, they're already altering their/in possession of bodies and presentations and stuff that are different from most people, so if they would just do it the way you suggest, they could ~totally~ contribute to ~~making you feel more radical by associating with them~~ being soldiers in the war against the gender binary/patriarchy/etc./blah blah blah!

If a trans person does not present/experience/identify/etc. their gender the way you want them to, it is none of your fucking business, nor does it mean you can generalize about all trans people (or subgroup of trans people) from your experiences with and observations of said trans person.

Really this should be obvious. Like, if this doesn't make sense to anyone, i'd be happy to explain it, but it the fact that this kind of behavior perpetuates cissexism and transphobia seems self-evident.

Nobody gives a shit that you don't believe in gender.

You don't have to believe in something for it to exist, and perhaps the fact that you don't ever think about gender speaks more to your privilege than to the way that trans people are "perpetuating norms and stereotypes" or "supporting the gender binary" or whatever.

I understand that a lot of people feel like their lives would be much better if gender did not exist, but a) that is not the fault of trans people (or a subgroup of trans people), and b) "post-patriarchy" and "post-cissexism" (don't exist, but also) don't imply "post-gender."

Gender in-and-of itself isn't a bad thing, it is just a thing.

It is the forced assignment of gender to people against their identification and the inequality between members of different genders that is problematic.

There's probably more things i should say here but it's late and i'm tired and want to leave soon so yeah.

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Solidarity Within The LGBT Movement

2008-04-02T20:38:00Z

Posted by: phoenixvtam.livejournal.com

I don't feel this one qualifies as "controversial", but I'll perfectly willing to tag it if a mod asks me to.

Despite its high profile, the cause of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights continues to stand out as the one major area of civil rights in which relatively little progress has been made. Fanatical opposition on the part of the religious right and uneasy apathy on the part of much of the liberal left play a major role in this, but I believe the root cause is a deplorable lack of solidarity among the members of the LGBT community.

This was made painfully clear during the ENDA fiasco last year. When passage of a critical federal anti-discrimination law (H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) appeared to be in jeopardy due to strong conservative opposition, Representative Barney Frank substituted a stripped-down version (H.R. 3685, "ENDA Lite" or "SplENDA") which banned discrimination against gays but permitted discrimination against transexuals. Ignoring the unanimous opposition of a broad coalition of over 150 LGBT advocacy groups, Frank argued that transexuals have no right to hold back gay rights and need to wait -- "maybe in fifty years" -- before seeking legal protection. He also claimed that it was important to allow the House to stand for gay rights alone because forcing the issue might damage the image of the Democratic Party or jeopardize the positions of moderate Democrats in swing states.

All of the arguments which I have heard from both Frank himself and from those who support his "Great ENDA Backstab" can be summed up in three basic lines of thought:

Gay rights should take priority over trans rights because there are more gays than transexuals.
Gay rights should take priority over trans rights because gays are more socially accepted than transexuals are.
Gay rights should take priority over trans rights because transexuals have not been involved in the LGBT movement as long as homosexuals have. A more extreme variation of this argument is that transexuals are unwelcome interlopers who have "hijacked" the gay rights movement.

Whether or not they are honestly offered (I have my doubts, but I am not a neutral party in this matter), all three of these arguments fail to stand up to even the most basic logical and philosophical scrutiny. Let us consider them one at a time:

The first argument is rooted in an oversimplistic application of the principle of maximum utility -- that the most ethical course of action is the one which benefits the greatest number of people. The overlooked point is that this only holds true when benefits to the majority are not achieved through harm to the minority; if it was ethical to harm a minority in order to benefit a majority, things like slavery and gang-rape would be perfectly ethical. In this case, the "gay rights first" argument fails to consider the fact that the passage of gay-only antidiscrimination laws is actively detrimental to transgender rights. It not only provokes backlash which is guaranteed to increase discrimination and violence against transgendered people but also strips existing protection from transgenders by setting a precedent legalizing discrimination against us.

My counterargument that failing to include transgender persons in anti-discrimination legislation effectively endorses discrimination against them may seem far-fetched, but it has in fact already come to pass. Even though it has not yet passed into law (and probably never will, given the lack of Senatorial support), H.R. 3685 has already been accepted by federal courts as proof that Congress never intended to include transgendered persons in existing anti-discrimination laws. The existing case law supporting transgender rights has been thrown out, and discrimination against transgender persons has effectively been legalized except in states which have anti-discrimination laws of their own.

The second argument is based on the same blatant misapplication of the principle of maximum utility. It is basically saying that because gays are more accepted by mainstream socity, the same investment of political capital would create more benefit for gays than it would for transgendered people; hence it is more "profitable" to invest primarily or even exclusively in gay rights. Again, this argument from utility can only be validly applied when you can make one group better off without making any other group worse off. As convenient as it would be, that hidden assumption simply does not hold up in the case of LGBT rights.

The third argument is both fundamentally juvenile ("I was in line first!") and demonstrates a profound ignorance of the history of the LGBT movement. Transgender persons have been part of the civil rights movement since its birth at Stonewall; indeed, it was transgender persons rather than gays per se who bore the brunt of the police brutality at Stonewall. The accusation that transexuals are "Johnny-come-lately" interlopers only seems valid because the involvement of transexuals in the movement is often made invisible; transgender persons who are "passable" are assumed to be cisgender, and transgender persons who are not passable are assumed to be genderqueer. These misconceptions minimize the visibility of transexuals within the movement; it's not that we're not there, but that people don't recognize us.

As much as I generally dislike conspiracy theories, I am forced to conclude that the LGBT movement's willingness to throw transgender people overboard at the slightest hint of trouble is based on a combination of selfish greed and personal transphobia rather than any sort of logic. It is unlikely that such hypocritical sentiments are pervasive among lesbians and gays -- only among the "nobility" of highly influential upper class heteronormative gay white males who control the major LGBT advocacy groups through their network of political and social connections. These already tremendously privileged few apparently feel entitled to make their personal welfare the sole objective of the entire LGBT movement.

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Ts persepctive (maybe controversial to some)

2008-02-25T06:26:00Z

Posted by: tara1985.livejournal.com

I posted this in reply to another post but after thinking about it I feel it would be nice to place it in the main forum for debate........

I would have to say I agree with the notion that Transsexuality is a birth defect and another intersex condition so you may place me in that trans fundamentalist group.... I dont think many of us have much in common with the rest of the TG community at all and have alot of friends that feel this way we just dont relate....

Now this isnt to say personally i look on destain the rest of the TG community in fact the opposite I am trans rep for university and believe in equality for all and people should be free from discrimination who ever they are. I believe the TG community should all support each other and their campaigns however I do believe the differences between the trans communities need to be acknowledged and respected.

Why is there an increase in fundementalism... well i think the reason for this is due to the increased media attention recently on the trans community and a feeling of alienation alot of TS people who dont associate in general with the TG community maybe feeling. This is a result of some negative impressions certain parts of the TG community has been putting across in regards to gender dysphoria. With some of the popular recent tv programs the impression that their is a "choice" to transition and this view of I may transition in a few years if it feels right or I decided against transition as it dint fit with me etc re enforces the misconception across the general public that gender dysphoria is a lifestyle choice and being transsexual is something you choose.... rather than a medical condition that you actualy have. Now after years of campaigning and work to change this perception I know there is a feeling that recently some members of the TG community have been undermining this.....

I also feel that in some regards recently i have noticed on forums alot of people not comming to terms with who they are ie TV etc but tryin gto excuse their behaviour with a gender grey area which they create or they are "part TS" or non transition TS or im becoming more and more TS as if they are ashamed of who they are and how they live their life due to the social stigma there is on being a transvestite for instance. I have also observed these same people getting very worked up and angry when points are made about the differences of TS people and move to move the community to a more discrete level as if it was taking away some of these peoples goals or safety line a way of hiding in society by having a more legitamte and socially acceptable label due to its medical status connected to the community they belong. I think that these people need to be proud of who they are and instead of trying to fit a medical condition to fit their particular circumstances for which it doesnt fit or coming up with excuses for who they are, they should campaign to change the social stigma associated with the community and change perceptions instead of hiding behind this barrier. This would stop the further alienation of the TS community and be a campaign that we can equally support and stop discrimination on all levels.

(Reply to this)

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From straight community?

2008-02-23T13:31:00Z

Posted by: nodesignation.livejournal.com

I was just in a conversation with some folks and as a possible explanation for behavior common among trans women someone mentioned that "most trans women come from straight communities, just like most trans men come from lesbian communities."

Now I've known a lot of folks who that's been true for, but I've also known folks who don't fit that. And I know how easily it is to turn "me and several of my friends who are trans all..." into "most trans folk..." It got me thinking. What are people's experience with that?

As a trans woman myself, I would say that I came from lesbian community. I mean, I identified as a dyke a good year or two before I identified as a woman. And I was an active participant in queer women's community before I identified as a dyke. Hell, I was even raised in a lesbian feminist community before I was an active participant in that community.

How about all of you here? Did the trans guys all come out in lesbian communities and the trans women all come out in straight communities? Or did anyone come out in gay male communities? Bi communities? Pansexual/queer communities? Geek communities? Etc?

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On the Treatment of Transsexual Children

2008-02-11T15:15:00Z

Posted by: justanormalgirl.livejournal.com

(This was written as a letter to my mother. It is reproduced here for your benefit. Hopefully this is far less controversial than my last post.)

( On the Treatment of Transsexual Children )

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