Transphobia

The thread about the Vancouver crisis center kicking out a transgendered counselor upon learning she wasn't always a woman got me to thinking.

How many of you encounter transphobia regularly within the GLB community? I do all the time.

I have two very dear transgendered friends -- one of whom is a former professor of mine -- and I constantly fear for their safety and happiness. It seems that no matter where they go, they're treated badly, their rights are violated, etc.

I am particularly embarrassed and saddened when I see "gay rights leaders" complain about transgendered individuals. For instance, Washington Blade editor Chris Crane had a cow about ENDA being "transjacked" (i.e. they added gender identity to the bill) which according to him guaranteed it wouldn't pass. He then went on a little rant about how transgendered people are a tiny minority, their issues are totally different, they're not mainstream, they're bringing down society, etc.

It reminded me of arguments against gay inclusion in various organisations and laws in the 1980s. Every single argument was identical.

Do you encounter anti-transgender sentiment a lot? Do you harbour a bit of it yourself, even if you fight it? What do you do to counter it, if anything?

and even more proud I've made it to late-twenties without being killed or arrested.

"I constantly fear for their safety and happiness. It seems that no matter where they go, they're treated badly, their rights are violated, etc."

Yep. Constantly, everywhere. Anything I do involving ID, SS number, etc--travel, bank accounts, freakin getting carded--and I risk my life. I'm FTM and it's a real zoo to take a piss in any public bathroom--most men's rooms do NOT have doors on the stalls. And I was no safer and no less attacked by loud comments and other such overt and covert harassment in gay bars than in straight bars. So what most people would think of as fun, going to a club for a night, I think of as a difficult to navigate dangerous mess of how to get in, get out, and use the bathroom when I need to without getting killed. Getting patted down by security to go into concerts or in airports is terrifying. I keep waiting to be arrested as a terrorist for having the "wrong" ID, and once my binder set off the metal detectors and of course, who do they have search me that's the "same" gender? (lol. a female asked me what it was, I told her. She gave it a cursory and polite look behind a screen and I had no further trouble--but I suspect I was lucky) Donating plasma was a real nightmare--the nurse made me get damn near completely naked. Poking and prodding--what's this, what's this? I wanted to return the favor....

Lately I've structured my life basically to avoid leaving the house.

One must pay for gigantic surgeries out of pocket to get paperwork entirely changed over--impossible for me and for most transpeople I know--otherwise, you're outed every time you hand over your DL. And you're usually not protected by any kind of law.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and no matter WHAT you get "done" some states just won't change your gender on your birth certificate. Again, by fiat. My birth state is one of those. They'll add a "card amending the status" that basically clips to your birth certificate. So you're outed anytime you need to present that level of ID which basically defeats the purpose of coming up with all this money, going through all these hoops, and surviving all this struggle just to be treated like everyone else.

The head of a trans group in my old hometown was shot in her driveway--she was very active in the local Dem party. The local police said it was robbery and did nothing. Every piece of jewelry was still on her, every piece of money and cards, etc, was still in her purse.

Transphobia? You bet.

I believe it was Kate Bornstein who said "All oppression is gender oppression." (I assume she meant GLBT oppression, it'd be hard to make this case for other types, lol) and THAT is why I don't think there's a single difference between what GLB and T people have to go through in this society, except that gay men and lesbians can get carded or take a piss without quite so much James Bond/Aeon Flux drama as I have to. It's a difference of degree, of perception, and of level of government-sanctioned trouble--but it all boils down to "Them boys are actin like girls and them girls are actin like boys" for all of us. Break the great unwritten list of what "your gender" is "supposed to do" and it's apparently ok to ruin most of your life.

Sorry to, uh, rant? I'm not sure I answered what you were asking or if I just managed to whine on and on, but I really don't think non trans people--straight or gay--realize the scope and depth of what we go through. No, it's not a decision for sexual-thrill reasons, for fuck's sake--that's like accusing someone who wants a hare-lip fixed of only wanting to be able to french kiss. Nobody in their right mind would risk every possible part and aspect of their lives--and EVERY PIECE OF TREATMENT IS OUT OF POCKET--for some kind of "thrill"

I go without my testosterone prescription a lot of the time, or cut my own dosage and re-use needles, because I flat can't afford the $100/ten weeks cost, plus the $300 up front cost to go to the endocrinologist every six months to a year (and the $800 or so they add each time to my vast and unpaid back medical bills) No aid whatsoever I've been able to locate helps with it, and insurance when you DO have it generally doesn't pay for hormones (and certainly not surgeries!) And they'll pay for drug rehab? My last job with good insurance, had a few bulleted items in a great big font in their little brochure that they would NOT cover under any circumstances. Boy, that really makes you feel great, to have the DSM-IV recognized disease you have that has a pretty medically accepted and successful set of treatments clearly NOT COVERED by, fiat.

To see this endo in another city I paid to see a therapist out of pocket to get the almighty letter you have to present for this--to prove that I wasn't crazy to want to mutilate myself--(women who want giant unsafe breast implants show up and pay, basically, cos it's obviously normal...) I spent months collecting financial information and fighting with their "financial aid" department, even though I knew damn well this was not going to be covered, they insisted they needed ALL this paperwork anyway. The last straw was them demanding I go to the local (I really do forget what, some kind of report of my tax info for the last year that would've cost me an expensive lunch to buy the paper) I threw a fit at management and they theoretically got it straightened out, and I had to go through the whole rigamarole AGAIN when I finally got to my years-of-struggle-to-reach-this point appointment because they STILL could not grasp that I was self paid with no insurance and that insurance doesn't cover this anyway.

I'm told it's "Cosmetic and not life threatening" and I can't imagine a genetic male who lost his testosterone due to injury or sickness being told that. And I can't imagine it's safe to have violent hormone level changes back and forth all the time, for anyone, with any hormone.

EDIT: Forgot one more example. I needed a yearly ob/gyn which I hadn't had in many years to satisfy my endo. He said he'd do it himself, but since the blood tests I get every time I have to go get me billed for $800 ON TOP of the $300 i have to hand over right then, I was not about to even see what that would cost me. Sorry to have to be so, uh, explicit, but I do currently have what women are born with. So I called the local Planned Parenthood, simply wanting the simple yearly pap smear-exam that women can get there for very cheap. After being on hold for nearly fortyfive minutes and having to describe my anatomy and my history IN DETAIL to several people I was flatly told "they don't do that." They don't do yearly exams? News to me. Oh, wait, they only don't do them for mutants like me, I guess. And for the record, I've had relations with both males and females and theoretically it IS possible for me to become pregnant, and it is certainly possible for me to have any STD or other condition that a genetic nontrans woman would have. But never mind, they don't DO that.

EDIT: I KEEP thinking of things to add. I moved to a new city after my name change, and had a serious problem with ID, of course--I had a friend who was an asst. manager in a retail store who spoke to the manager and got me a part-time job, stocking. He had to know, of course, to understand the ID I did have and stuff. This was a VERY GAY MAN. About a year later after I left this store, a friend told him I said to say hi, and he said "Oh, S who used to be a girl?" I am NOT OUT to people in general because that sort of defeats the entire purpose of FINALLY being taken for and treated as the gender you should be. Fortunately, the friend laughed at him and said "Dude, S is a boy," and found it very funny. I did NOT find it funny. I was working at a new job WITH this friend--suppose he'd decided to tell everyone this funny story, or believed it? Super endangered. I called Lambda Legal and was told "He's an asshole, yes, but this is legal." My private medical business that I told to an employer in confidence is apparently legal to reveal to anyone who knows my first name and walks in off the street. Nice.



That enough transphobia for you? lol. Sorry about the novel, and I bet you're sorry you asked. : ) But I'm really delighted to see this here, now that I've taken so long to reply I'm sure it's long gone from the main page.

Peace, all.

My son is 25, lives several states away from me, and is FTM. I've always known that there is discrimination -- but I didn't realize the actual danger he might be in.

I am so sorry for all you have had to go through, as I ache for all my son goes through, just to be who he IS. It's not right, and it pisses me off. But I admit, I've never thought he might get hurt because he's FTM -- and he's never told me that it's a problem.

Just how concerned should I be? Really.

I am really pissed and tired of it too.

Gender expression is at the center of the next cultural revolution, which will be a recapturing of individual liberties.

Transpeople are a vanguard. The many that die each year to anti-trans violence, drug abuse, etc. is a clear sign of their place on the 'front lines' of cultural acceptability and personal protection.

If you knew someone close to you were trans, you'd come to learn just how 'un' important their gender choice is to anyone else... and how private and personal that decision and that 'past identity' should be.

Nature loves variation - we humans seem to have a lot more trouble with the concept.

In the straight community it runs from the snickering sort of snide comments all the way up to murder.

In the LGBT community there's a lot of transphobia like that expressed by Chris Crain. I think there are a good deal of gays (and frankly that's where I hear it the most ... from gay men) who have extremely archaic ideas about transpeople. I think a lot of it is residual bullshit from living in a culture that devalues women. Some gay men have been brought up and bought into the idea masculinity being the pinnacle of creation and to behave in any other way is to deny your rightful place at the top of the heap. They cringe at the idea of being considered a "sissy" and all those years of culturalization makes them particularly vitriolic toward men who they consider effeminate and especially men who "want to be women."

Unfortunately, there are still gays who think that we should focus on "our own issues and struggles" and exclude transgender folks as being too extreme and socially unacceptable. I only hope that they can educate themselves on gender issues ... just as I hope all Democrats will educate themselves on LGBT issues.

I am trans and pre-everything. I bind and present as male as I can, but I don't pass most of the time. I'm also gay. Not a lesbian - GAY. Queer as a football bat. I've had relationships with women, but they weren't lesbian relationships, and if I had to ID as anything - well, I'm here, I'm queer, and I'm just now getting used to it myself.

I worked until recently for a large company with a remarkably enlightened employee policy, and that was my safe little world. It was OK there - the company even has e-mail templates for how to send out the "I am transitioning" memo. They have a policy for how to handle transgendered people, and it's not "Fire them". Medical insurance still doesn't pay for transitioning costs, but it doesn't pay for emergency dentistry, either. I see that as a lousy insurance policy more than I do as a discriminatory thing. Now, I'm in a new work environment. My sense so far is that nobody cares - I went to the job interviews in a suit and tie, freshly shaved, as masculine as I could, just so it would be all up front. The only response I got was "Great suit! It's ok to wear jeans if you want."

However, all of life is not at work. I am struggling to get the non-work part of my life back. I've got one gay friend, a former co-worker, who "gets it". My straight former boss with gay family "got it", and really wants to know how things are progressing. I've got several other friends who "get it" and that's a good thing. Out there in the wild world, I have no idea.

As far as the gay community goes - I live in a gay neighborhood, moved here on purpose. There was one mostly gay bar I could go to where the owner "got it" and he was fantastic - the place was open to anyone and everyone. It's closed now. Most other places I get treated with confusion: I am taken for a lesbian, a straight tourist or a fag hag. I think that's mostly because nobody knows what slot to put me in. People don't like being confused.

The minority of lesbians who give a crap about what anyone else is doing in their lives or who dislike men in general tend to be vocal and visible - FtM's violate all the rules, and really screw up feminist stereotypes. Why would anyone WANT to be a man? Gee, I don't know. I don't know if it's OK for me to go have a few drinks at a lesbian bar, even though I know that's not going to be a place where I'll have to deal with straight men either hitting on me or acting out that they're threatened by my very existence. It's not "my place" to be.

And that's just socializing. For real issues, it seems to me that trans issues interfere with the gay and lesbian community's push to be seen as another kind of normal. Sure, the odd drag show is fun, but we're just too damned weird to deal with as real people. Go dance on the stage for my entertainment, but please don't pee in my bathroom. And if you're FtM - what the hell are you? A gay FtM? Come on, you're making that shit up. Nothing that weird really exists.

I'm not sure trans issues even belong mixed up with GLB issues. The more I think about it, the more trans issues seem to be part feminism and part disability advocacy. Feminism at its simplest professes that gender shouldn't dictate what a person's rights are in society or under the law, and disability advocacy at its core holds that a person has the right to be a full member of society (and society has the responsibility to make that abstract right concretely possible) even when that person's body or mind are divergent from the norm.

Sometimes, I feel that I have more in common with little people than gay and lesbian people. I want a safe place to pee, clothes that fit, and a dressing room I can use to try them on in. I don't want to be a spectacle for anyone, I just want to live my life. No, I don't have a physical problem with toilets that come up to my chin or doorknobs that are a foot over my head. I have a social problem. I have a medical problem, in that there are medical procedures that would make my life easier that are hard to get and harder to pay for. Let's say, top surgery. Boob jobs on healthy boobs are optional surgery to make things "look better". Having one's kitchen remodeled is normally optional to make things look better, too. However, remodeling one's kitchen to bring the counters down so that one might not have a sink that's impossible to see, let alone reach, is not optional nor is it cosmetic. Agitation and advocacy can get that kitchen remodel paid for, and the agitation and advocacy that it would take to get top surgery paid for in a transman is the same kind of work in my opinion.

Um, that might have really been off topic, but... thanks for the invitation to rant.

Could not believe it at the time and still don't. Wounds hurt the most from those closest to you and those you think would understand. The willingness of some in the gay community to write off or sacrifice the T* people is sickening.

Not a tranny, but have personal reasons to be very symathetic to their cause and issues

However, I encounter a lot of anti-trans crap in the straight immigrant communities. To them, transgender is just an extreme form of being gay. I am so fed up to a point of turning from an immigrant rights supporter to a nativist.

The fact that I am an MTF lesbian confounds them even further, because I don't like men, confusing them even further. If I don't like men, what is the point of becoming a woman? (In cultures with less developed gay subcultures, "tranny dykes" simply don't exist. Even true of places like Thailand.)

All they can do is just lash out at me and be very nasty.

I've learned over the years that homophobia is really about a person's perceived gender presentation/identity as opposed to his/her sexual life. Which means that what we call homophobia is really TRANSPHOBIA. I also consider transphobia and homophobia to be an extension of sexism. So for gays and feminists to not embrace the transgenders is a BIG MISTAKE, as far as I can tell.

...I think something that needs to be emphasized a lot more (and explained, since there's so much confusion about it) is that being transgendered is an entirely different issue from being gay or lesbian.

Wait, wait! Hear me out! It's not what it sounds like! LOL

I readily accept the idea of lesbian MTFs, gay FTMs, and bi MTFs and FTMs. AFAIC, if you're lesbian, gay, or bi, you're part of the LGB community. If you're lesbian, gay, or bi, and transgendered, you're part of the LGBT community. No questions asked, nobody's genitals examined at the door.

What's difficult for me to deal with are straight MTFs and MTFs -- they're not lesbian, gay, or bi (and, barring the grace of God/dess, they never will be). I wish them well, and hope they find the MOTOS of their dreams, but it's a big stretch for me to include being transgendered alone (and not L, G, or B) as part of the LGBT community. They're straight -- and while they face the same brand of persecution any L/G/B trans does, they want (as far as I can tell) to integrate into straight society, not gay society.

I wish I could think of a better example, but let's use one we all know: Brandon Teena. Brandon was not a lesbian. Brandon, as far as Brandon was concerned, was a straight man. Brandon (as I recall) was grossed out by lesbianism, and wasn't too keen on being around gay men, either.

Of course, not all straight TG's are homophobes -- but they're not homos, either.

So for this lesbian, I embrace lesbian MTFs as part of the lesbian community as much as I would if they'd been born with all the plumbing I was -- and by extension, gay FTMs as part of the gay community.

Where I draw the line is embracing straight TGs as part of the LGBT community simply by default. (In the same vein, I've known countless straight male X-dressers who hung out at lesbian bars just because there was nowhere else they could go in a dress and not get beaten up. No problem -- but they were never, ever gay.) I'll support them, I'll cheer them on, I'll push for their right to be who they are and live as they should, and I'll be their friend -- but beyond that, they're part of "gay society" only in the way any other straight ally is part of "gay society." In other words, no matter how much I love our straight allies, they're of another world -- the straight world.

And then there's the question of intersexed people. Are they queer? OK, then they're L/G/B+I. If they're straight, then they're not.

I know, I know -- we're all victims of persecution for the same basic reason: sex, sex, sex. And I'm not trying to draw lines in the sand out of some phobia about whether or not somebody has a penis, a vagina, both, or neither. And I acknowledge all persecution by the non-queer world as equally important, and I'm more than willing to stand up for the rights of people with whom I have nothing in common (i.e., straight TGs and straight intersexed people).

But: To me, working alongside straight TG's and I's is the same as working for the rights of any other minority to which I don't belong. I have nothing in common with, say, repatriated Sudanese students, but if I found an opportunity to do something to make their lives better, I would. But that doesn't mean they're automatically part of my culture (not that they would want to be), nor I part of theirs.

And while I hate emphasizing differences (we're all human, we are all one, yada yada yada), we have to be realistic.

That said, I believe emphasizing the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation (better than it has been explained before) will go a long way toward diminishing transphobia in the LGB community. It's no instant cure -- but if there's one thing I know, it's that phobia = fear of the unknown, and education is the only way to clear the fog of mystery.

(Ally, I know, this is probably all TG 101 remedial stuff, but as I said, I think it's something that isn't spelled out often enough, and I feel the need to spell it out.)

Now, there's another issue about L/G/B TG's that will probably always be a sore point, on both sides. I almost hesitate to bring it up, but it's a valid point, as it makes the transphobia issue even murkier: It's one thing to fully embrace L/G/B TG's -- socially, politically, etc. -- in the LGBT community, and it's another thing altogether for a L/G/B person to decide if s/he wants to be involved romantically/sexually with a TG person. Does the TG accept the fact that there are those of us who want "native-born" genitalia like ours, without labeling us as transphobes all over again?

Did I just hear a few heads exploding?

That's another difference that needs to be discussed, openly and honestly, no matter whose feelings get hurt (mine included). And if you (or anyone) wants to get into that sticky subject, I'm game -- but everybody has to agree to do their best not to take everything so personally that it dissolves into a flame war.

If that's too touchy a subject (for now), I'll leave it alone. But someday, we all have to talk about it (and about biphobia, in the same terms).

But I still need to stress one thing.

The straight world does NOT care. To them, especially in places with less developed gay subcultures, transgender is just an extreme form of being gay. Again, "tranny dykes" like me don't exist, period; the "only reason" for me becoming a woman is, according to them, to seduce, and fall in love with, a guy. They don't get me and my lesbianism, as a result. This is even true of even "tolerant" places like Thailand (in fact, Asian countries - and Asian-American communities - are notorious for this). Much of the US is not any different either. Only hardcore liberals in places like WeHo or San Francisco can tell the difference between gay and transgender, to be honest.

I completely understand your point, however. The straight-identified transpeople, many of whom I know, refuse to identify with the LGBT movement. They just want to be a straight, period. They want it so bad, to a point of moving into a white-picket-fence house in the suburbs with a wealthy man, "marrying" him, and voting for a ban on gay marriage just so that their "marriage" will stay sacred. Never mind that in the eyes of the law, their own "marriages" are illegal same-sex unions anyway (even for MTFs who have had their birth certificates amended, this is true, as proven in Kansas and Texas).

In fact, these are the very people who have taught me the worst of the freeper/neocon concepts, such as the notion that healthcare is not a right, and the idea of a 23% flat sales tax to replace the income tax. And I am so sick and tired of the male-pattern socialization and thought systems that are so pervasive in the MTF communities; in fact, a few MTFs, myself included, will only hang out at bio-female lesbians' communities.

But I will say this again. Last month, I took a trip to South Korea, a country not known for well-developed gay culture. The moment I touched down in Seoul, I ceased to be a dyke - I was a hyperfeminine gay man. Everyone treated me that way, and there was nothing I could do about it. Even the gay community seemed to treat me that way; I stayed away from lesbian bars, fearing that I'd be told to "hang out with the other guys." The Koreans have popular MTF entertainers, but they all are products of the gay male community, and everyone (including these MTFs themselves) sees them that way - hyperfeminine fags, not women. It was a relief to return home and be a dyke again.

I've been rambling. So what's my point? There indeed are transgenders who do NOT belong in the larger LGB movement. But, most of us do, and rightfully so, because even though our issues are different, the straight world's prejudice is the same.

The fact is, the LGB community needs to get over our own discomfort, prejudice, or whatever we want to call it regarding the trans community and issues of gender identity. The rest of the world cares not, and won't for what I am sad to say will likely be many, many years.

I am proud to say that in the great state of Maine, my home, we had a long-time-coming victory on November 8th; after 30 years, we finally passed an anti-discrimination law based on sexual orientation. What makes me most proud is that gender identity and expression were included in this law, and we are only the 6th state in the nation to include the trans community. I work for the only statewide LGBT political organization in Maine, and I can tell you that we fought extremely hard to keep that in the bill as it was being debated in the statehouse. Our biggest argument? If we don't include the trans community, it is likely there will never be a law on preventing discrimination on their behalf.

I know it's going to sound hokey, but as a community, we are being completely hypocritical when we ask the world to 'celebrate diversity' if we cannot embrace that diversity ourselves.

Just my opinion...

"I know it's going to sound hokey, but as a community, we are being completely hypocritical when we ask the world to 'celebrate diversity' if we cannot embrace that diversity ourselves."

Excellent point. Especially since there is a lot of racism and sexism to fight within the LGBT community itself as well.

In fact, if you're gay AND nonwhite, it's a double-whammy. Because of racism (even of the kind that says "because you're not white, you cannot be hatemongers"), you don't belong in the gay community. Because of homophobia, you don't belong to your ethnic community.

it's another thing altogether for a L/G/B person to decide if s/he wants to be involved romantically/sexually with a TG person. Does the TG accept the fact that there are those of us who want "native-born" genitalia like ours, without labeling us as transphobes all over again?

I'll stand up for the rights of ALL LGBTI people, as well as the capacity to develop intra-group mutual/community friendships in a social context.

But you can't help who you're attracted (or not attracted to), sexually/romantically.

Some of us simply desire that romantic/spiritual connection with another person who was biologically born the same sex as us. It's how we are hormonally and psychologically wired.

And one would think that any transgender person would prefer to be open and honest with a potential spouse about her/his experiences growing up and living as a transgender person.

frequent and they BOTH tell me that, despite the support they get, they are still told, "see ya" quit often once they "come out" to other gay guys that approach them on the board. both of these transguys are hot as hell so they get approached quit a bit. another FTM friend I knew from the Boston chapter of ANSWER dated women and he told me women seem to be more open and less judgemental about transfolk based on his experience. I see societies' bigotries mirrored more in the gay male community than with the lesbian community and not just over trannies.

I seen hostility more often among the gay guys too.

Right now I've kind of settled in my mind that if I someday have another partner after my husband, he'll probably be an FtM or maybe a bi genderqueer person of whatever flavor. I don't think it's realistic to expect to find a gay man who hasn't had the transgender experience for himself who will accept me, my odd construction-project body, and all that comes with it.

That works for me, though. Honestly, I am mostly attracted to people who are hard to classify - bi people, genderqueer people, people with complicated cultural, racial, or religious identities, and so on. That's my "type", and it doesn't mean I am phobic about people who are easily classifiable. So I don't think not being someone else's "type" really indicates a phobia on their part, either.

Do you mean they are not interested in them romantically when they learn the people who they are talking to are FTM...or is it that they blatantly don't want to associate with transgender people even as potential friends?

I've had several friends that are transsexual. The basis should be respecting people for what they are, not what you want them to be.

Although maybe my perspective is just different because I've actually gotten to know transgender individuals...

Part of the prejudice is simply that many gay/lesbian/bisexual people simply don't know anyone who openly identifies as transgender (or, at least, they haven't had topical discussions about it).

This is similar to the mindset of those heterosexuals who *know of* homosexuals and bisexuals, but don't really know queer people on very personal levels.

Think of LGBT as an alphabet soup in need of more letters! I am not going to go into my own grievances regarding the community's own lack of tolerance towards its own members, such as lesbians that practice bondage and the way some gay men relate to women in general, and lesbians in particular. Using the alphabet soup as an analogy, we wouldn't think of using a spoon to remove letters that we don't like out of a bowl of alphabet soup, likewise we must refrain from dividing further a community that is under attack by the American Taliban.

Who we choose to associate with, or sleep with, is no one's business but our own. When it comes to the right of an individual to live in peace, hold a job without being harassed, or their choice of partner, I stand solidly on the side of full equality for all regardless of their race, ethnic background, sex, gender, national origin, religion, etc. I don't have to understand all of the things that go into making LGBT community what it is, I only need to defend the right of all people to be treated equally with dignity and respect.

Although I consider myself to be transgendered (albeit to a lesser extent since I only crossdress-MTF-occasionally and only at home in private), I have not had much contact with the GLB community but generally think of it as being a safer place to be myself than within the general public. I can't say that I've experienced a lot of discrimination as a result of my crossdressing/transgender identity personally because I haven't been very open about my crossdressing/transgendered identity thus far but I've overheard a few negative comments made about transgendered persons among my co-workers. Also, religious fundamentalist groups in my state have gone crazy over our governor's executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity within Indiana government and the recent passage of an ordinance doing the same thing here in Indianapolis. One caller on a talk radio program yesterday stated that she was concerned about the possibility that women would become easier targets of sexual assault because of the law. I firmly believe that transgendered persons are dealing with a lot of the same issues as the GLB community and we all need to stick together in order to achieve full equality in society and GLB persons, of all people, should welcome transgendered individuals into the fold and support the same kinds of protections for them and treat them well.

I can say I don't understand it. But I can also honestly say it has nothing to do with my life or my life decisions, and that any discrimination against someone for something as abstract as gender identity is just as stupid as discrimination against someone for being gay. Or asexual. Or heterosexual. That and my friend Ma-Hellanie who was not merely transexual but also possibly transhuman; why would anyone think they needed to even HAVE an opinion. What you gonna do with that opinion? Fry it up and serve it for dinner?

So I do not for one moment think that feebleminded Chris Crane had a valid point - he's been in Washington too long. You MUST fight on the global principle of equality, or else you'll be splitting hairs forever. If the issue is what you do with your sex (organs, life, orientation, choices) is not a valid basis for discrimination, then there is no difference between gays, heteros, trans, asexual, or people with one of each. It ain't nobody's business.

What gay people or straight people or trans people do with their sexual organs is nobody else's business, and judging them the other 99% of the time that they're not using their sexual organs by that is just reeedamdickulus.