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A gay person’s understanding of transgender issues
We have previously explored the differing views about the validity of linking of gender diversity with the gay community
(Trans community splits from GBLIQ http://forum.tgr.net.au/cms/forum/F319/1980-980).It is encouraging to therefore see articles appearing from the gay community questioning how we mutually support each other.
As Sydneysiders prepare to march in the Mardi Gras tonight there are signs that some people who associate with GBLQ are becoming aware of the significant differences of being T.
Todd Clayton (a student) writes in the Huffington Post an article titled
The Queer Community Has to Stop Being Transphobic: Realizing My Cisgender Privilege
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/todd-clayton/queer-community-transphobic_b_2727064.html
The article shows that Todd has realised that the issues we face are quite different from he struggles he had coming out as gay. I won’t quote the entire article but there was one paragraph that made me nod in appreciation. In many ways Todd has become aware of issues that we struggle to articulate ourselves.
Quote:When I checked in at the airport later that month, I couldn’t get my boarding pass until I clicked either “male” or “female” on the screen. When I went to the bathroom in public, I realized how difficult it would be if the people around me questioned whether or not I was going into the right one. When I showed my ID to get into a bar, I didn’t have to worry about the bouncer accusing me of having a fake. When I went to the doctor, I didn’t have to wonder if my physician would know what to do with my body. Like some dense morning fog, the gender binary seemed to loom everywhere, and I felt burdened like I never had before to fight for the trans* community that I’d been including for years in the acronym with which I identified.The article gives me increased hope that over time the sex and gender diverse communities can move closer to understanding each other.
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1 Reply
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I am glad to hear that some in the Gay community are starting to realise that the “T” that they have been tagging onto the end of GLBTQ actually stands for something other than an extra letter to add weight.
When I was first exploring my own “gender expression” years ago, I found myself mixing in with members of the Gay community because I didn’t fully understand what it was that made me different to the majority of people I knew up to then. I realised we had much in common on the surface. But, the more I mixed in, the more “different” I felt.
I think it is unfortunate now that there are members in “our” community who have also come to this realisation and have started a fight against the Gay community BECAUSE “they” have failed to realise that “we” ARE different to “them”. I have begun to see postings and comments around the place by trans people ANGRY with gay organisations because of their failure to understand our plight. This is happening more now that more of “us” are finding the courage to speak for ourselves, rather than having someone else speak for us because they “think” we are the same as them.
It is this “US” and “THEM” mentality which gave the Gay communtiy such strength in the first place.
Unfortunately for us, the Gay community was always united. It was always about the right for people attracted to the same gender to be accepted and treated like “normal” people (I use that term for effect only and it is not a reflection of my personal beliefs).
The “trans” community however is divided on so many levels. We have so much difficulty defining “who” we are. There are so many of us who are in hiding, how can we, as a community, stand up and be counted? And, exactly what is it we want? The right to use public restrooms as we see fit? The right to be accepted as a member of the gender we weren’t born into?
I am questioning whether or not I have deviated from the thread but I don’t think so.
I have read the article. I tried to mix in with the Gay community. I have gay friends but I do not identify the gay community as a support group for myself. Gay men in general are put off by transwomen. We are something completely outside their comprehension. They are not attracted to women, yet “we” want to be, or at least look like or be accepted as, women? Gay women are also put off by transwomen because we used to be, ughh, “men”!!!
But, I know many in the trans community who identify as gay as well and are inclusive in the gay community. Whether it be those who identify as women who love women, or “drag” part time women who love men as men. For me, I fit into society as a straight woman, mostly receive the same rights as any other woman. Yes, there are gray areas that still need attention, but not enough to create any particular issues for me.
I find it interesting that after all these years (54 years since Stonewall) of being included under the GLBTQ umberella that finally some of the people who identify as “gay” are trying to come to some understanding of the people who come under another letter in the rainbow banner other than “G” or “L” or heaven forbid “B”.
To quote Wikipedia about the Stonewall riots – the beginning of the “Gay movement” – “The Stonewall Inn, at the time, was owned by the Mafia.[5][6] It catered to an assortment of patrons, but it was known to be popular with the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens, representatives of a newly self-aware transgender community, etc”
