Politics: Dropping The ‘T’ To Save It
Submission by Josh Becker, TNG contributor
Photo by Theodoranian
The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell “provide[s] for the repeal of the Department of Defense policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces.” No mention is made of transgender soldiers.
Out of the forty-five US states that have hate-crime laws on the books, 32 include sexual orientation; just eleven include gender identity.
Twenty-one US states have legally banned employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; only twelve also protect against discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
According to a 2007 study conducted by the University of Virginia, the 63 schools that make up the Association of American Universities, all but one include sexual orientation in their official nondiscrimination policies; however, only a quarter of these schools also include gender identity in their policies.
Notice a trend? Across the board, gays and lesbians have made more quantifiable advancements in terms of civil rights than our transgender brothers and sisters. This calls into question the truth behind the “LGBT” acronym, which implies a unified community of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders (not to mention our straight and/our questioning allies). I am cisgender; if I were trans, however, I’d feel left behind.
Arguments for “dropping the T” are nothing new, but they usually represent the interests of gays and lesbians; the theory goes that we homosexuals would be better served by abandoning our unity with trans people, whose own struggles for equal rights and recognition are simply “holding us back.” This reasoning is as fallacious as it is offensive — clearly, the inclusion of trans people in our community has not held back the swelling tide of gay rights legislation that we’ve been fortunate enough to witness this past decade. But I can’t help but wonder if the transgender population would make more gains by representing themselves more independently.
I’m certainly not arguing that gay people should dissociate themselves completely from the transgender community; after all, the very notion of the LGBT community came about because of our shared marginalization from heteronormative society. And the cultural histories of gays and trans people are so intertwined as to invite several sites of overlap; for instance, drag performers and cross-dressers play with some of the same ideas about gender performance that trans people test and transcend.
But doesn’t it hinder the trans community to often be the also-ran of gay rights advancements? Almost paradoxically, gender identity is as distinct from sexuality as it is similar, and while I have and will continue to fight for transgender rights, as a cis I really don’t viscerally understand the struggles that trans people go through and I never will. Just like heterosexual people are often blind to their position of straight privilege, so too am I blind to the benefits of cis privilege. Which bathroom I enter, which locker room I use, the pronouns with which I refer to myself; these are things I take for granted that my trans friends, by contrast, cannot.
Yet when we promote the idea of an “LGBT” community, we are consciously and erroneously equating gender and sexuality struggles. We assume, for instance, that a victory for gay rights is a victory for the LGBT community when really, it’s not — it’s a victory for, well, gays and lesbians. While trans people can share in our joy over such victories as DADT repeal, they sadly cannot claim that the victory is theirs as well. We launch media campaigns discouraging the pejorative use of “gay,” but aside from a few concerned bloggers, we let references to a trans person as “it” go unpunished (as was the case on a controversial Jersey Shore episode last year.) And it’s not like gay people are immune to incidents of transphobia; in late 2009, for instance, legendary gay rights activist Ronald Gold wrote an article for the Bilerico Project (which, tellingly, has since been removed from the site) in which he suggested that the “concept of transgender” should go “down the tubes” and condemned “the surgeons who use such spurious diagnoses to mutilate the bodies of the deluded.” Not exactly a shining example of LGBT unity, was it?
Indeed, it does a great disservice to the trans community to simply attach its struggle to that of gay and lesbians; by shoehorning trans people into the gay rights movement and then accepting legal and cultural advancements that exclude them, we fail to realize the potential of an independent trans rights movement. And while the “LGBT community” has often been the only place to welcome trans people with open minds and open arms, we too often place trans-centric issues on the back burner, doubling trans people’s subaltern status, ignoring their specific needs, and further muting their voices, experiences, and perspectives.
None of this is to suggest that any unification of trans and gay issues is unnecessary or harmful; in fact, the discrimination we all face from mainstream, heteronormative society is often the same. But when I pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly and see two gay characters from Glee on the cover, I don’t consider it to be a proud moment for the LGBT community. It’s a proud movement for the gay community, and the notion that trans people should be equally satisfied by some abbreviated association — reinforced by statements like that of a student ambassador for GLSEN, who claims that “Kurt will become a historical figure in LGBT history” — is inadequate.
The “LGBT” acronym implies that trans people make up a fourth of the community’s importance, but the pieces of the pie are not always doled out equally. But trans people deserve their own spotlight, instead of being stuck in the shadows of their gay peers’ achievements.
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what you’re saying isn’t new, it’s been said from inside and outside trans and LBT circles. if you really are interested in this question you should this monologue into a productive dialogue by contacting the leaders of trans-rights groups, local and/or national, to get their feedback.
So you’ve done your legal review, how about doing a historical and a sociological review as well? LGBT is not simply a legal category and the four groups (where’s the bi-specific legislation?) interact and make sense as a collective if you step away from the lawyers. By your reasoning, we should abandon adoption reform laws because many (most? I don’t know) LGBT people do not have children and we should abandon marriage reform because most LGBT people are not seeking to get married.
Are you really so naive to think that excluding trans people even more than we already are will some how magically make things better for us, because this way we can have our own movement?!
Beyond that, it is not up to anyone other trans people to even ask whether or not our interests are being best served by the current alliance. You know, poor black lesbians dont really gain all that much from upper class white gay male acceptance – maybe they should form their own movement too? Actually, why not just take it even farther. One movement per identity!
I dont need to be saved, least of all by you.
There are plenty of trans centric activists and activist groups doing amazing work. We are not just sitting around waiting for the cis gays to save us.
The National Center for Transgender Equality was instrumental in the recent changes removing the requirement of surgery changing one’s gender on one’s passport (Sylvia has previously talked about how important documentation is). The DC Trans Coalition has done astounding work in our city getting a trans and gender-nonconforming inclusive human rights code, improving access to documentation, bathrooms, and homeless shelters, and improving interactions with the police.
If you’re pissed off about how queer organisations back-burner trans issues, donate your time and money to groups like these.
(Also – “when we promote the idea of an “LGBT” community, we are consciously and erroneously equating gender and sexuality struggles”? What? Cis queers don’t have gender struggles? Trans folks don’t have sexuality struggles? None of us can tell the difference? This statement doesn’t make any sense.)
I don’t even know where to begin with this…
My biggest concern with dropping the T from the acronym is that it sends a message to the wider world that not even the gay community wants transpeople. I agree that not all of the same benefits and strides that gay, lesbian, and bisexual people have achieved in recent years have been equally shared in by transpeople (although things are certainly markedly better), but I really don’t think that the solution is to further marginalize an already very marginalized group within their own supposed community.
Finally someone who thinks exactly as I. Excellent article. People who find sexuality and gender synonymous are people who are beyond stupid. Sex is about whose privates I enjoy. Gender is about whose clothes I enjoy. Oversimplified? Why absolutely. But the point is made.
As a Trans women in Australia who looks with horror at the way many of my sisters and brothers are treated in the U.S. and some other parts of the world I find the discussion concerning. When I came out in the early 90s it was almost impossible to find another trans person in the city where I live – it was my Gay, Lesbian and Feminist friends who provided the critical social support that got me through so much of the hard stuff.
The commonality of the struggle by non heteronormative people is a given in my world and so many of my local Transgender friends also identify as gay or lesbian, as I do. So the struggle for rights can not so easily be categorised as lesbian or trans – a victory against bigotry and discrimination for one surely is a victory for all – even straight cisgender folk.
Speaking as someone both trans and gay, I strongly oppose any further dissociation between the two.
It is wrong to ignore that there is an exponentially higher incidence of homosexuality amongst trans-people. At present, the trans-community tends to be more deeply closeted than the gay community, and the community does not have the strength on its’ own to setup support networks of remotely comparable quality to the existing LGBT networks.
Let’s look at what has happened for trans-rights in countries where it has separated from the LGB (like, the UK, for example)– transsexual rights receive almost all the attention, while other trans-people are ignored. Transsexuals are a minority amongst trans-people (the majority being crossdressers/transvestites), but it is their rights which win through in comparison to others, because it is easier and simpler to approach legally.
I crossdress full-time, 24/7, have done so for most of a decade, and that’s what I need to be happy…but I fully identify as male, and my appearance is deliberately presented as an androgynous male in feminine clothing and cosmetics. What good to me are laws which require one to be undergoing ‘transition’ (living as a female, hormones, name-change, etc.), if one is to enjoy their protection?
Even if there is a degree of friction, the alliance is valuable. Throwing out the ‘T’ would not help trans-people in any way, it can only harm, especially if that (further) dissociation also carries over into the attitudes of individuals.
As it is already, there is enough anti-trans feeling (especially amongst rad-fem lesbians, some of whom are viciously anti-trans), to make trans-people feel at times unwelcome, and if that oft-wished-for dissociation were made a reality, it would validate those anti-trans feelings– and gay trans-people like myself would be made to feel even more displaced, disenfranchised by our own non-trans gay peers.
Sorry for the length, I didn’t have the time to write a shorter comment, so I wrote a long one. ;]
Sorry to post twice in a row, but I felt the need to clarify one of my earlier comments, it was this one:
“What good to me are laws which require one to be undergoing ‘transition’ (living as a female, hormones, name-change, etc.), if one is to enjoy their protection?
That was intended to draw a parallel which in retrospect I realize may have been unclear– you mentioned some advances in LGBT rights which have shown preference for the LGB, and I wanted to point out that ultimately the very same problem of the issues faced by the most vocal element taking center stage often to the neglect of the less vocal elements– would certainly persist.
Besides, I feel you are looking at the disparity in rights the wrong way. With things like protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, or the repeal of DADT– these things can easily be looked at as ‘the thin end of the wedge’, I do believe these advancements are a gain even for heterosexual trans-people, as they will make parallel advancement on these issues in trans-rights easier in the future, as these victories will have an acclimatizing effect on the public.
Sorry for being so long-winded about this, and I’ll cease rambling now, pending any replies. It’s something I feel passionately about; I always find the suggestion of separation between gays and trans-people offensive, and I do find the suggestion itself alienating and marginalizing.
hi all
Thanks to my Aus friend Jenny Scott for her comments with which I concur.
I believe alliances are important in any community setting and vitally so for trans*/SGD people.
There are still not enough trans/SGD who can and are out and are able to do advocacy.
We therefore need allies in both GLB and “wider” communities – on their merits. Some you win, some you lose in both. I have found bi folk incredibly trans supportive, lesbians 95% (yes the 5% are the separaist feminists!!) and gay men, well, a range of extremes.
Melbourne, where I live, was very fortunate to have visionary gay men and lesbians in the late 1990′s (Jenny knows KM). They didn’t abandon trans: they helped us set up a seperate trans lobby from the G&L one as a form of mentoring/community development. It worked: it is still running and we have a strong and united trans community – not even any label debates! Further, we finally have a community where all the self-proclaimed GLBTI orgs are genuinely inclusive or working co-operatively towards being inclusive.
I think this co-operative model is more win-win than separatism or “36 font g, 24 font l and 8 font bti coalitionism.” Proof: lots of heterosexuals gave a co-operative hand-up to gays and lesbians and now G and l are getting somewhere. It’s time the wheel turned and gays and lesbians did the same for trans – and bi, and if desired by people experiencing intersex, intersex too.
Cheeyars
Sally
The desire to mutilate your body is clearly a mental disease. Homosexuality is no more related to transgenderism than it is related to sadism or masochism….
Transgendered people need treatment… not enabling.
btw, for those who say the same arguments have been used to suppress us queers: I don’t need surgery to be gay.
to be clear, I advocate voluntary treatment… not forced treatment.
Any thinking human has the right to decide the state of their body. But I maintain my argument.
“btw, for those who say the same arguments have been used to suppress us queers: I don’t need surgery to be gay.”
Whilst the whole of your comment is nonsense, that line is especially so.
There are a number of different types of trans-people, to put it simply– only transsexuals *require* surgery of any kind. They are a minority. The majority of trans-people have no interest in surgery whatsoever.
LGB without T is just a trainset.
http://focusontherainbowopine.outloudblogs.com/2011/02/16/is-it-time-to-cut-the-t-from-lgbt-and-let-the-ts-fend-and-be-activists-for-themselves/
T folk are fundamentally different from the GBL set, and there is really little reason for us to be part of all that. By in large, T folk are celibate, at least the MtF folk are. I know little about the FtM men so I do not know if the testosterone produces a sex drive. In my case, the estrogen certainly does not.
This does not mean that MtF women can not be affectionate, but for me at least that comes from a different place. It is a place of gratitude and soul love that has little to do with intercourse. Though, from my female friends, I find that my response to men is seen by them as almost the same as theirs. It is an area that has been poorly researched, in my opinion.
Many times, Lesbians are openly hostile to T folk, as if we are trying to be interlopers on their private realm.
Much peace
Gwen
Dear Gwen,
“By in large, T folk are celibate, at least the MtF folk are” What an incredible statement, as you say there is little or no research in this area. On a personal level my libido may not be what it was when I was 30 and overdosed on testosterone but now as a nearly 60 MtF woman I gather from talking with other women in my age group that my libido is similar to theirs.
I hope as and when we debate these issues we can stick to known personal experience or acknowledged research and not go making broad generalisations.
Dear James,
I also advocate voluntary treatment and I didn’t ‘need’ surgery to be transgender but I did need surgery to to make me whole. If you are not transgender and have not lived my experience where can your opinion come from other than ignorance?
Best
Jenny
Actually, I was transgender, but since the surgery, I am a woman. I’ve been living as a woman since 1995 in stealth and since 2005 openly. I had SRS in 2006. It has been an awfully painful path to take and I would never have embarked on it had it not been for a temporary overdose of psych drugs after I had a break. Had it not been for the drugs, I would not have transitioned. The price was far too high.
Now that I am a woman, I will live out my life that way, but I intend to see that anyone that approaches me gets the whole story. There are some people out there that make a lot of money feeding on our pain.
Much peace
Gwen
Gwen,
While it may indeed be true that you were/are celibate– that is not true for the majority of trans-people.
Remember that the majority of ‘trans’ are CD/TV, TS may be the most vocal element, but they are also a tiny minority within the large ‘trans’ minority. Many CD/TV are if anything– bordering on hypersexual. There is an extremely high level of promiscuity on the scene, mostly between two crossdressed men, or between one crossdressed man and an ‘admirer’.
Now, that description doesn’t fit me either (I am CD, gay, partnered, and monogamous), but I would never suggest that my own personal feelings and sexual experience are representative of the majority, and neither should you, it’s intellectually dishonest.
Dear Gwen,
I am sincerely sorry! It must be traumatic to have transitioned and have such painful regrets – I can only wonder at the quality of medical advice you received.
I transitioned in 1992/93 and had surgery in 1995, with the pain of years of living my lie behind me I have been able to build a loving relationship, now 15 years, and my career as a photographic archivist. I know I have been tremendously lucky with the support of my beautiful partner, children, friends and colleagues. I would imagine this journey is impossible otherwise.
Love and very best wishes for your journey
Jenny
Carmine:
I really, really tried to be promiscous, even before surgery, but somehow there is an emotional full stop in me that simply will not allow it. And you are right in that men had a great deal of interest in me prior to surgery. Three dates, (sexless, save for my giving blow jobs) were all I could handle, before I was remorseful, contrite and weeping. It took me months to get over that. I do believe that if a man came bearing suitable jewelry indicating committment, I could do it, but not without that.
Previously, I’d been an extremely committed christian, with three children and headed for Bible College. The events post 9/11 took my country to the brink of being a police state, and working for city government, we saw it all happening. It was frightening, and in a year, I simply lost it.
The dosage of psych meds I was on, will now days cause one’s driving license to be revoked, and it completely disinhibbited me. The rest you already know.
Jenny:
Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I do have sufficent purpose now to give life meaning. That is all I ask. But one of my passions is to stop the indescriminate use of psych drugs.
Much peace
Gwen
Hi Gwen,
Thanks for the polite response. My point was just that the majority of trans-people are not celibate…though I don’t doubt you are, and of course there’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what suits you.
I’m curious though, if you don’t mind answering, you say this above:
And now you talk about campaigning against indescriminate prescription of psychotropic drugs– so, I wonder, are you suggesting that you regret having the surgery? You really feel you had it only because the drugs impaired your judgment?
If that’s so, I’m really sorry to hear that, that’s very unfortunate for you. If I’m misinterpreting, then never mind I guess.
Hi Carmine:
I will make this as brief as possible. I knew I felt like a girl when I was 4 or 5 years old. In fact Gwen is my birth name and Mom had wanted a girl when I was born; raising me that way until she married my stepfather when I was about 5.
He was an extremely brutal, angry man of Amish extraction, and over the years frequently threatened to kill me if I did not “act male”. By my early teens I had entirely forgotten any woman thoughts, literally on pain of death.
So, by the time I matured, armed with a testosterone flood, I served in the military, married, raised three children, and was devout.
My wife and I had talked about my GID as I gradually became aware of it once again. You never forget. It was so sublimated that I’d just suppressed it; feeling great shame for my true feelings. We’d decided that they were of the devil and for the next 15 years, we prayed, and attended every help seminar we could find. Religion does an abominable job of dealing with these things and that is a great shame.
So that brings us up to 9/11 and the events after it, which I already mentioned. So after my “break down”, they put me on massive doses of Celexa, Welbutrin, and Trazidone. I literally could not think straight, but they let me return to work. I fell down an open manhole that I’d been working in, doing electrical work, and fractured my lower back.
So, in a nut shell, the psych drugs destroyed my life; causing the loss of my family when I transitioned. I also lost my church and job, owing to the incompetence of the psych community.
Had I been able to transition when very young, I would have done. But after I had a whole other life, the losses were simply too painful for all concerned. It was not worth the price. I am very sorry it happened that way. But, as you know, there is no going back.
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