Violence against members of the transgender community has been increasing by almost 8% per year. Concerned activists recently planned a national conference to develop strategies to stem the tide.
Expectations for the meeting ran high....
Until a prominent anti-violence organization walked out of a planning conference because a planner used the word "transgender" as a noun.
One of the presenters claimed that "transgenderism" was NOT a mental illness, so a nationwide Gay & Lesbian powerhouse withdrew all support.
Conference sponsors wrangled over which one was in control. A vote was taken, and the losers took back the resources they had committed.
The conference never took place.
INSPIRED LEADERSHIP
Efforts for transgender social and political recognition has been assimilated by Gay & Lesbian activists: transgenders are the
T in GLBT. Transgenders are just another flavor of gay.
G&L activists have worked hard to tack both "sexual orientation" AND "gender identity" on domestic partner and non-discrimination legislation. ...And their efforts are to be appreciated, applauded and supported.
EXCEPT... Transgenders aren't just another flavor of gay. The critical difference is that transsexuals need to transition from wrong-gender expression to right-gender expression. Gay & Lesbian activist groups have completely ignored that need, and all that comes with it. For example, transsexual transitioning usually involves life-long hormonal treatment. Virtually all health insurance specifically excludes transsexual medical care. In other words...
Transsexual survival (literally and physically) depends on access to medical care.
Male androgynes (formerly known as "
cross-dressers", although it has nothing to do with clothing) are by far the larger part of the transgender community --they actually outnumber the entire gay population, although social stigma forces them deep into the closet.
Androgynes aren't impacted in the least by marriage and non-discrimination efforts. Androgyne survival depends on
education: they'll only be liberated from the closet once they're no longer perceived as a threat.
But gays don't need to transition; medical care isn't a concern. Those issues aren't anywhere on the G&L radar -- look at any G&L website. When Obama's health care reform was labeled "
trannycare" G&L activists responded with a deafening silence. Specific transsexual exclusion from Veteran's benefits since 1993 receives a collective G&L yawn. THEY have veteran's benefits, after all. Their concern is Don't Ask--Don't tell.
And education? That's a totally different story. And it goes back to whether "transgender" is a noun. (It's an adjective, but is frequently used alone with an implied noun.)
Gay theory
depends on labeling transgenders as insane. It's not a coincidence that the same diagnostic manual that omitted gays as a mental illness, first included transgenders in their place (the 1973 DSM edition).
Lesbian feminism was founded on the concept that there are no fundamental differences between males and females. Any perceived differences are merely a "social construct" -- arbitrary stereotypes imposed by a malevolent patriarchy. However transgenders boldly highlight the differences between males & females. If transgenders were offered any form of legitimacy, lesbian feminists would lose theirs.
"Transgenderism" MUST be a mental illness for lesbians to exist.
Whenever supposedly transgender-affirmative legislation is enacted, it's written in terminology that establishes "transgenderism" as a mental illness. In effect the laws prohibit discrimination against mentally ill people such as transgenders. Prohibiting discrimination is nice, but the real result is exclusion of transgenders from mainstream society. It establishes enforced tolerance instead of acceptance and understanding. It condones non-violent harassment. Any protection earned by being insane would be lost by ceasing to be insane.
Gay theory forces androgynes deeper into the closet and attaches legal locks on the doors.
If transgenders ever do achieve social recognition, they will need to unravel the maze of disparaging legislation established by "well-meaning" G&L activists.
In fact, being transgender is NOT insanity; it's a medical phenomenon. Lesbian existence is not in jeopardy even if females turn out to be different from males. The patriarchy is still malevolent; there's still a need for a feminist movement. Transgenders suffer at the hands of the same patriarchy and want to join the feminist ranks.
But far more important, the transgender community is fragmented and has placed faith in G&L leadership who are invested in pursuing only their own interests.
Can the transgender community find its own voice?
Is there a transgender forum where transgender issues and concerns can be identified and prioritized? Is there an uncensored place for open discussion?
Can the transgender community disengage itself from the mental illness paradigm?
It remains to be seen whether the community would be best served by adding a transgender-affirmative voice to established Gay, Lesbian AND
Transgender advocacy groups.
...Or better served by awakening its own energy that lies so carefully hidden in America's closets.
