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Mardi Gras and Me. Some ramblings.
I was watching the reports about the Sydney, ‘Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’. A good time seems to have been had by all, I am pleased. I have been reading other events about the activities of LGTB and the work they do.(I read a lot. Don’t get out much). I’m not sure why but the main drive seems to be the LG part of that acronym. We all know a lot of Transgendered who took part. so why is there so little activity being reported compared to the GL or LG?
I know some of the answers will include ‘who started it’? Well oddly it was drag Queens in the US, after the Stonewall riots, the queens started protesting and parading. And yes, I know they were mostly gay but it just seems to me that we are getting left behind in the race.
There was an article in TGF which pointed out that we are now in the same state as the gay community were in the 50’s/60’s. People are more aware but……. The ‘but’ being that the era of free love that was then didn’t necessarily include they gay community.
It had been suggested that we are more confronting to the genera public. Gay males and females generally do nothing to distinguish themselves as gay, the more flamboyant types notwithstanding. I worked in a hospital which had so many gay people that I thought it was Gay Central. One of the girls there, very attractive, groomed, lovely make up, I was so envious. She was saying how she never had the issues that others had, she looked ‘normal’! Politically incorrect I know but let’s be honest, we know what she means.
Here is the conundrum, we wish to appear as…, we may wish to actually be , we certainly want to be taken as …women! If our build snd facial features are within a certain socially accepted parameters it is possible we will manage to do this. I know many who have transitioned and meld into the general public with nary a problem and good luck to them. I always feel I am too tall, too broad, facial features need attention and modifying, I want to do the blending thing. So much to do, so little time (and money)!!!
with these thoughts does anyone else think we need more activity in LGBT activities? -
13 Replies
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I have no TG peers around my part of the World but have several gay friends so I gravitate to them for political purposes and they accept me as part of their Queer world. I think we have much to gain by seeking gay peers for support as they have gained the freedom of expression by their struggles of the past. Many of them were very active in Mardi Gras circles in the past but are now older , more settled and staid members of this community.
I am also finding very good acceptance from the general community so perhaps the need for enclaves is less important than in past years but the Mardi Gras is so main stream nowadays , it is an excuse for a party more than anything . Things are in flux and moving so quickly it it is a heady time to be gender fluid and the fear and shame that we older folk carry is not there for so many young ones I see about me. That has to be good thing but we must find a comfortable place to live wherever we can so LGBTI is as good as any IMO.
( How’s THAT for rambling????) -
I too have no T.G. peers in the area, ‘peers’ as in those I meet, can respect and give the mantle of equals. I haven’t actually met them. Over the year I have met many gay people who have become good friends, male and female. I am glad you have been accepted, I have had varied responses. Acceptance and rejection which I had difficulty understanding. I think I may have mentioned an incident when a gay colleague made the reference, ‘I can’t stand trannies’. For obvious reasons this threw me, considering the discrimination gay people have gone through over the years this always amazes me.
If we are getting more acceptance from this I welcome it. This could explain the seeming increase in support meetings, I used ot have one SHV then two, EBP now there seems to be all sorts of little social get together’s happening. this is obviously wonderful and means the closet doors are getting wider.
It is also getting confusing as once upon a time there were two definitions, TS and TV. Now we have gender fluid, cisgender, so many others I get a headache trying to keep up. The more the merrier.
And you are right we must find a central rallying point, a banner we can all walk under with our own pride. Rather than spreading out and getting lost in the crowd.
And yet again, “How’s THAT for rambling” :woohoo: -
You are SO competitive Claire!!! I , unlike you , are So humble it is worth crowing about!
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I’m not sure what you mean, about me being competitive. I am usually the one in the corner sitting quietly with a glass of chardy in hand smiling sweetly, waving graciously to all and sundry.
Your ‘humble’ reference brought to mind something Winston Churchill once said, I paraphrase, “A humble person, who has much to be humble about”. :ohmy:
Claire xxx“I , unlike you , are So humble it is worth crowing about!”
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Hi ladies this is my first post and I’m not sure of protocol but I would like to put my 2 cents worth in as a country girl we have to watch from afar so can only imagine what it would be like at mardi gras but what little we see on tele I have never seen a transgender banner I think perhaps the time is right to promote ourselves with our own celebration and make trans formal the centerpiece
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Hi I from Far South Coast some 7 hrs away and attended 2013 Mardi Gras which was fab! I have the fortune to have a wonderful relationship with 2 very special lesbian girlfriends who have 2 children together and was asked to accompany them in the Equal Rights for Marriage group. They had the father his partner and two children attend also. Was an amazing experience to parade down Oxford Street ( we one of the last floats) and be cheered on by so many people and to see the overwhelming acceptance to the issue of marriage equality. So I know there was trans people dotted in and around the different floats and this could be more formalized in a float of just a mob of trans people with a banner! However this takes organisation of people and one that needs facilitation by some dedicated soul!
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ClaireStafford wrote:…so why is there so little activity being reported compared to the GL or LG?Under the heading “Gender Fluidity and Paper Mache” the broadsheet had an article describing a float in this years Mardi Gras.
http://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/entertainment/article/making-mardi-grasQuote:Amnesty International has partnered with the Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust (CRMT), a group that continues the legacy of trailblazing trans icon (and Australia’s first Maori drag performer), Carmen Rupe. They are creating a float that expresses gender fluidity, using body-part swapping puppets and more than 200 marchers.Julie wrote:H… but what little we see on tele I have never seen a transgender bannerHard to see how people missed 200 marchers – that would have been a pretty strong transgender message in this years parade.
Maybe we don’t see the message we want on the banner – so we assume there is no T involvement?
Interesting!ClaireStafford wrote:…
with these thoughts does anyone else think we need more activity in LGBT activities?Over the years the idea of a transgender message in the LGB’s celebration of Mardi Gras has been discussed over and over.
The fact remains that as a community we are deeply divided over the benefit of closer ties with the gay community. This is NOT to say we don’t have good friends and supporters within the gay community (so please don’t respond by posts that confirm this). Rather the concern repeatedly expressed is whether the message we want to give to the general public is best delivered in combined activities.Should we be involved more under the GBLTI* banner?
NO: On the no side there is the argument that that LGB message is about sex and sexual expression. This is not a good platform to talk about gender which has nothing to do with sex. Putting the two together just confuses the general public. Interestingly Intersex people (the I) also express similar reservations about the umbrella grouping with GLB and also with T!
YES: On the yes side people recognise that as minorities we all experience similar issues with regard to public acceptance and tolerance of diversity. Using the same platform allows us to send a more powerful message about our rights and the respect we seek.
Having watched this issue lead to heated and counter productive “debates” I don’t take sides. Except to point out the each activity should be considered on a case-by-case basis – and any blanket decision for or against involvement is destined to fail.
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I watched the entire SBS broadcast of the Mardi Gras Parade and there was a brief segment on TG, but if you’d blinked you’d have missed it. To be fair given the huge preponderance of LGB floats and issues I can’t blame SBS.
For me the good news in the last year or so is that virtually all activists and official statements talk about LGBTIQ. I’m not too proud to take a hand up from the letters that represent more participants. -
According to Same Same there were two specifically transgender themed floats in this year’s parade (out of about 149)
Quote:Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust & Amnesty International NSW LGBTQI Network & TGD SGLMG Working Group – I LOVE MY BODY RIGHTS
Here they are! Teaming with Amnesty International Australia, 250 marchers will carry electric candles, flags and banners wowing the crowd as they parade up the street with their powerful creative statement about the importance of bodily autonomy as a basic human right!. Watch out for the giant puppets and the trike pulling the tray-top with the “Beacon of Bodily Autonomy” which evokes the universal transgender symbol. A visual feast of celebration!
Quote:My Body My Gender
Bravo to the people! This group of marchers are walking to promote transgender rights – and the right to have surgery or not.
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For those who didn’t see it, SBS included a great segment in their summary of the parade –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Xut5L5fhk&feature=youtu.be
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Some pictures I was fortunate to take during the parade –
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More pics –
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