Columnists :: Reality Check
Gender-based discrimination is a gay issue by Jeff Epperly
contributing editorThursday Nov 29, 2007 I belong to an e-mail list out of New York City called the Queer Justice League, which bills itself as being "dedicated to challenging oppression in all its forms through coalition building and direct action. We are people of all gender and sexual identities working to build a more just world that fully accepts and celebrates difference. We stand opposed to any actions and policies that challenge that vision."
I like the vibe of the list, which started partially to organize protests against a Manhattan restaurant that stupidly decided to eject a gender-non-conforming woman from one of its restrooms because she was deemed not feminine enough to use the women’s bathroom. The list’s member have gone on to do some admirable work trying to fight for the rights of people whom much of society would rather not think about, much less champion, including homeless LGBT youth.
But lately the list has taken a nasty turn, with some of its members trying to organize protests against the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for its role in the debate over whether the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) should include transgender protections.
To cite one example, one person on the QJL list posted recently, "As for Barney Frank’s so-called leadership, his selling out the transgendered community with regard to this legislation is no surprise either. He’s just another slick politico who also happens to be gay. For those who may not remember, he only came out years ago because of a scandal which resulted in his being outed." I’ll give this person the benefit of the doubt and assume that he’s confusing Frank with Gerry Studds, but even then the charge is nonsense since Studds ended up being one of this community’s greatest advocates on Capitol Hill. Not only that, but to turn a procedural difference with Frank - who I’ll bet has done more for us than most of the QJL list combined - into a vendetta against him is immature nonsense.
I don’t have fundamental issues with anyone taking on HRC over ENDA, which I think should include the transgender protections, especially if ENDA’s not going to make it into law in any case. However, there is a difference between debating someone and engaging in the LGBT equivalent of the GOP’s questioning the patriotism of anyone who disagrees with Bush on the Iraq war. On the other hand, deciding that transgender folk are the enemy seems even more counterproductive and downright mean, which nonetheless is what quite a few of us appear to be thinking if the message boards on many of the LGBT sites I visit are any indication.
Some of the opponents of the T-inclusive ENDA have engaged in the worst kind of exclusionary silliness, claiming that "nobody consulted them" when transgender folks were made part of this community. Nobody but a fool would argue that you have to support every single part of the LGBT political agenda in order to be included under our umbrella. Movements evolve and tents grow bigger, almost always for the better. Some of today’s biggest supporters of the marriage fight started out completely opposed to the idea because they thought marriage was linked inextricably to the male patriarchy. There are lots of people who still think we shouldn’t be spending a lot of time or resources fighting for marriage rights or military inclusiveness, but I don’t hear very many people arguing that including those battles is unfair or unwise because we didn’t have community-wide referenda about them.
There is evidence that sexual orientation may be linked somehow to biologically determined gender anomalies - and before all you butch homos out there get your undies in a bunch, that is not saying that all gay men secretly long to be feminine. Gender is about more than wearing dresses. But even if it turns out that there isn’t a gender-based component to homosexuality and bisexuality, there have always been more than enough gay, lesbian or bisexual people who have been, and still are, targeted for hatred mostly because they are gender-atypical that it doesn’t make any sense to think that the fight against gender-based discrimination could be anything other than our own.
To their credit, many of the leaders of the transgender movement have also been the most thoughtful and patient throughout this controversy, mostly refusing to take the bait of those who would try to draw them into pointless discussions about whether they have a place under the LGBT umbrella. That train left the station a long time ago, and anyone who thinks that a majority of us are going to turn our backs on the transgender community is foolish.
Pat Robertson and Co. must be standing on the sidelines loving the fact that we have so much energy to expend against one another. I wouldn’t be surprised if some right-wingers are actually doing their part to keep the intra-squabble going.
Jeff Epperly is the former editor of Bay Windows. He can be reached at jepperly@laquidas.com
|
|
|
