The New Gay » General Outcry Expected

General Outcry Expected

11 March 2009, 6:00 pm 7 Comments

TNG reader Rebecca submits this post.

Something deeply upsetting happened outside of Fab Lounge last week and we all need to know about it. Read the full story from the Washington Blade here, trigger warning applies.

Basically, a couple of transmen were physically assaulted, yes physically assaulted, by a group of lesbians (and a male friend) outside Fab Lounge. Read that again because you need to know it.

There are a couple reasons that everyone in the queer community in this city must know about this incident.

The first (and it sickens me to write this) is that apparently transmen – and by extension all people with alternative gender identity and expression – are not physically safe at some of DC’s queer events. So that means they, and those who love them, have to know to watch their backs.

The second is that we as a community have to address this issue immediately. It must be made crystal clear that this kind of hatred and behavior is not tolerated and not welcome.

If you hear or see transphobic comments or behavior, it is your responsibility to stop it. If you have transphobic thoughts or concerns, it is your responsibility to educate yourself. Here are a few places to start:

• http://www.nctequality.org

• http://thetaskforce.org/issues/transgender

• http://www.transgenderdor.org/?page_id=4

What happened last week outside Fab Lounge was a hate crime. It is beyond unacceptable. All the peripheral L Word storylines in the world don’t change the sad fact that there are many lesbians who are transphobic. That things have gone far enough that lesbians feel empowered to assault transpeople is shocking and it points to a failure of our community. It means that other kinds of non-physical violence have been going unaddressed for too long.

Something queer people know well is that being silent in the face of violence does not help anyone. If there are queer events and spaces that are not safe for transpeople, they need to be called out. Same for transphobic people. I hope you all will join me in this.

7 Comments »

Keith said:

Oh my God. Check out some of the comments left at the Blade article. I really had no idea…

11 March 2009 at 6:17 pm

presbyqueerian said:

Hey, TNG, thanks for finally publishing a story on this terrible event. I don’t know how many people in the DC area actually know that this happened. I keep waiting to catch wind of an outcry, and it just hasn’t happened, which is shocking and saddening. I only learned about this event through a friend in Boston whose friend from Durham, NC tweeted about the article in the Washington Blade. Hopefully publicity from posts like the one at this blog can generate some interest in figuring out the most appropriate way to respond to transphobic events.

11 March 2009 at 6:20 pm

Khalila said:

I’m glad this site is covering this story. This incident enrages me. We have a serious problem in this community, and a lot of ignorance, if things like this are taking place. The Blade article mentioned that an employee stood by and did nothing. I think establishments that cater to our community need to do a better job at providing a safe space. And I think some of our national non-profit representatives need to do a better job of being inclusive rather than taking the convenient or expedient approaches to policies.

11 March 2009 at 7:11 pm

Anonymous said:

We don’t have to like each other but we do have to respect each other. Come on people!

Get your shit together.

11 March 2009 at 9:48 pm

Hans B. said:

Fuck, those comments are just about as bad the freerepublic hordes… I had no clue that there was such a level of ignorance in the community.

11 March 2009 at 10:30 pm

Gavin said:

The whole situation is fucked up, but I’m surprised that people are actually shocked that the GLBT community in DC can be made up of people with their own inherent ignorance and prejudices. I’ve been in DC for awhile and have been witness to and am aware of a lot of petty ignorance and straight up prejudice regarding others whether it be based on race, gender, being transgendered, etc.

The same goes for constructive criticism when it comes to negative issues that people see within the GLBT community. it’s easier to simply point the finger at everyone outside of the LGBT community and place blame at their feet, but much more difficult for people to really honestly take a look at the attitudes and behavior within that aren’t necessarily positive. Especially our own as individuals.

So, while the discussions about gender, race, and class bias and how they play out in the community might be uncomfortable discussions, they’re pretty important dialogues to have. So, next time someone has something to say in relation to our own actions and words and how they might be construed as offensive from their own personal standpoint it’s necessary to keep an open-mind and honestly consider their perspective as a means to creating some sense of understanding about our own roles in creating these issues.

12 March 2009 at 4:44 am

Hans N. said:

I’m not surprised that there was discrimination toward these people, but rather that there was violence toward them as well. Very sad.

12 March 2009 at 5:07 pm