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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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Letters |
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| ENDA:
TRANSGENDER
INCLUSION
Dear SGN, Every struggle for justice and equality has bright moments of self-awareness. One of those moments has come for Transgender and gender identity! Never in the years of my own experience has there been such unity among so many L.G.B. and Allied people - unity around the awareness that Transgender is fully and wholly a part of our common march to equality. The current Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2007 struggle is the focus, but I believe the great truth is that we have all grown in power and understanding. This is a moment of LGBT history. I am especially proud that here at home, the Seattle Gay News, Ingersoll, and our local LGBT groups have led the way in unity and Trans inclusion. But now comes a new time, one of even greater need for unity across all the current work: Unity from the grassroots and the beltway, the street and the office, the individual and every new organization! How far we have come. In the 1970's, I sat in a meeting of a few Trans folk - not in Seattle - and we were debating whether or not to go on a radio show to talk about our lives. We debated for hours, and finally voted not to appear on the program. The reason was that we feared for our lives, feared to let the general world even know about us. Do you see how the world has changed! We are doing this work together. I remember that in the mid 1990's, during one historic Saturday meeting of some Washington State activists, a brave group of Lesbian and Gay leaders said YES to full inclusion of Transgender people. They led the country back then, and left a legacy of inclusion. Today the new and strong Equal Rights Washington has taken the best of those times and moved on to a new interpretation of the work, one that has Trans equality as a core value. And, on another level, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has been the leader in the ENDA work, along with the National Center for Transgender Equality. I was the proud co-chair of the Task Force Board of Directors in 2005-2006, and I know it is the truth that the Task Force has long maintained a policy of full Trans inclusion. I thank you for everything you have done to welcome Transgender into the world, to welcome Transgender people as equals and as allies in the great work of justice. Now is the time to stay active, to join in this historic moment. Will you do that for justice, for equality? Please join the local work, contact your congressional representative with a message of Transgender inclusion in ENDA, and also check out the Task Force, Equal Rights Washington, Ingersoll and NCTE. Task Force ENDA Center http://www.thetaskforce.org/enda07/enda07.html Equal Rights Washington Action Center http://eqfed.org/erw/home.html National Center for Transgender Equality http://www.nctequality.org/ Ingersoll Gender Center http://www.ingersollcenter.org/ With respect and appreciation, Marsha C. Botzer Founder Ingersoll Gender Center [Editor's note: The following is a letter to Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA). The author asked that it be republished here in the pages of the SGN.] Congressman McDermott, I've already written you on the issue of ENDA and Transgender inclusion, but I wanted to give you an example of what we face, even from our supporters. There was a newspaper quote attributed to Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) where he stated: "(there is) an unwillingness on the part of many, including leaders in the Transgender community (to acknowledge that) there is more resistance to protection for people who are Transgender than for people who are Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual." I was astounded at this statement. We in the Transgendered community are more aware of this than anyone. Resistance to protections not only comes from more conservative people, but from leaders in the Gay community itself. Even back as far as the 50's, the Mattachine Society, one of the predominant Gay right societies, only supported rights for straight appearing Gay men and Lesbian women, turning their backs on the gender variant members of those communities, as well as Transgender people. Perhaps Congressman Frank should study the Gay/Transgender rights history more carefully. I recommend Stonewall, by Martin Dubermann. Transgendered people contribute greatly to society in general. Contributions to computer technology by Dr. Lynn Conway helped bring about the computer revolution, for instance. Transgender Americans are engineers, doctors, musicians, writers, lawyers, and are even politically involved. We also contribute more per-capita to the Gay rights movement. Although 'out' Transgender people are fewer than 1 in 100, we are well represented on the boards and volunteer pool of many important LGBT organizations, including the Task Force, the HRC, and so on. We pay taxes, we vote, we raise children, we fall in love. We are constantly misrepresented in the media, and by those politically motivated to suppress our rights. Want to explain to a 2nd grader why their teacher came back after summer break with a new gender? You say "Your teacher is a woman now". Kids get it. They don't worry about it. Ask kids of Transgender parents, with Transgender teachers, and so on. You say "Isn't it great that someone can be who they are." Nondiscrimination laws are there to protect the most vulnerable. The increased resistance to Transgender rights should make it clear that there is truly a need for rights legislation, not as an indicator that one should drop that legislation. Please continue to support the rights of your constituents, all of them. Thank you, Roxanne Skelly Seattle, WA CONTROLLING RELATIONSHIPS Dear SGN, I enjoyed Michael Raitt's excellent article on controlling relationships (SGN, 9/28/2007). He is correct when he says, "No adult in a relationship, under any circumstances or at any time, should be told what he/she can or cannot do, think, say, feel under the threat of some kind of negative reaction." The problem is that all of us feel that way all the time because we live in such relationships every day of our lives. The very political structure of our society dictates that we do. Both liberals and conservatives operate under the premise that it is desirable to gain control of the machinery and guns of government in order to impose their will on others, attaching penalties like taxes, incarceration and even death upon those who dare to resist the laws imposed on them, laws usually designed to benefit special interests. We must all be mindful as yet another election day approaches that voting is an act of aggression against the will and choice of others. Its purpose is to impose the will of majority voters on a political minority and to attach "the threat of some kind of negative reaction" to any failure to comply with the will of those in the majority. It is for this reason that I decided years ago to discard the basic premise of both conservatives and liberals--the notion that there is a entitlement to force one's will upon others--and adopted the libertarian premises that every individual owns his own body and his own life and that all relationships in a free society are voluntary and free from coercion. This implies an inviolable right of self-defense as well, which was addressed by Jim Allbaugh in his letter to the editor this week. As Mr. Raitt notes, relationships based on control are dysfunctional and destructive. That doesn't just apply to our lovers and significant others, but to our neighbors and fellow citizens as well. It is impossible to heal our most intimate relationships if we practice the use of force and coercion in every other relationship in our lives. The general social anxiety that results from such a political process is bound to infect the relationships most important to us as well. They do not exist in a vacuum. Negotiation is absolutely important in healthy relationships. It becomes lopsided or non-existent when one party in a relationship (individual or political) gains control of the guns. Sincerely, Chip Gibbons www.chipgibbons.com DAVE KOPAY COVERAGE [Editor's note: The following letter was sent to the Seattle Times regarding their lack of coverage of Dave Kopay, who was honored at a UW football game for his athletic and philanthropic achievements. The author asked that it be republished here in the pages of the SGN.] Dear Editor, I searched in vain through the many pages of coverage of Saturday's UW football game against Boise State, looking for mention of the between-quarters ceremony honoring former Husky football great Dave Kopay. I couldn't find a word. Was it because Kopay announced he is donating $1 million to the UW for a Gay student's center? It seems strange that there was no mention of this appearance by the UW football's most famous alumnus. Sincerely, Tim Burak Seattle, WA |
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