Everyone and their fairy godmother’s got an opinion on the ENDA/GENDA political showdown, not least of all our trans allies.
Los Angeles Times‘ Christine Daniels, the all-star sportswriter once called Mike Prenner, spilled some ink against Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank’s political foul. Using a sports analogy, Daniels writes:
The basketball expression for it is “low-bridge.” It is the dirtiest foul in the sport, the act of suddenly taking out a player’s legs as he or she leaps for a rebound, pass or jump shot. It’s a cheap and devious move, in that it may look spontaneous but is almost always premeditated — and almost always a prelude to a fight.
That’s what happened to the transgender community on Sept. 26. We were low-bridged. By — of all people — Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Did Daniels get claws implanted, as well?
gayboyguadalajara
First, calling an integral part of our community our “trans allies” is yet another example of the way so many queers who happen to have a more traditional gender identity (even though we all suck cocks, no matter how well you can pull off facial scruff, you bunch of queens) push away transgendered folk like you did your fat cousin when she was lonely at your senior prom. Stop calling those who are brave enough to live their real gender, whatever their biology, your “allies” when they are, in the most essential way, our brothers, sisters, and everything elsers. Also, “Did Daniels get claws, implanted, as well?” I sure as hell hope so. At least she’s brave enough to not sit in silence as she is betrayed by those she thought her most powerful allies. HAVE SOME FUCKING RESPECT.
Woof
Um technically if a man becomes a woman and identifies as a woman and is considered a woman with mostly woman parts and then has a relationship with a man…Isn’t that woman considered STARTIGHT????
Woof
That would be STRAIGHT
Bryan
Wow the claws are coming out! Let’s heaar it for infighting! we certainly won’t get anything advanced this way. But hey, whenever anyone tries to do something good there will always be someone saying they aren’t doing enough good for MEEEE.
It’s a thankless job fighting for the rights of our community. You’re always too far right, too far left, ignoring this group, being too inclusive, being too bold, or not bold enough.
I applaud Barney Frank for acknowledging what is achievable (even if does ultimately get vetoed) and fighting for ENDA even as he gets attacked from every angle.
Lena Dahlstrom
Woof — You’re correct. Trans woman who are attracted to men are seen as straight. Same as trans men who are attracted to women.
But two points.
First, pre-transition these trans women were seen as (usually very femmy) gay men and these trans men were seen as lesbians — and the latter usually have spent many years living as lesbians.
Second the vast majority of “late transitioners” (those who transition in their late 30s/early 40s) are attracted to women. So they go from being seen as hetero men to lesbians.
There’s more of them today, because in the not too distant past, if a trans woman said she was attracted to women, she’d be blocked from getting surgery. (Likewise, the medical establishment pressured trans women into cutting all ties to their past — including to the LBGT community — and going “stealth” (i.e. being permanent closeted) into hetero normative society.
There’s a smaller number trans men who are attracted to men and go from being seen as hetero women to gay men. And then there’s a small number of both trans women and trans men who find their sexual attraction shifts (although arguably they’re probably bisexual to a greater or lesser degree, and that it’s the emphasis of that which changes).
Bottom line, being T isn’t mutually exclusive with being L, G or B. And the majority of those who transition are seen as L or G.
Bryan, I’ve led lobbying campaigns and it _is_ a thankless job. But Frank threw in the towel without trying to first rally the troops. In his speech last night he was bitching that the 300 some-odd LGBT groups hadn’t been there before — conveniently forgetting that he never asked them to show up. Imagine how this would’ve played out if Frank had instead said “I need your help getting the votes” BEFORE unilaterally throwing gender identity/expression protections over the side.
Eric
Whoa !
Carol Brady sure is looking old and ragged.
Mr. B
I take issue with referring to trans people who are stealth (that is, living as one’s preferred gender, often with the only people knowing said person is trans being their doctor, their romantic/sexual partners, and maybe family) as “closeted.” The closet implies hiding some important aspect of one’s true self, often impeding someone’s happiness. For many trans people, once they’ve transitioned they’re perfectly happy to leave the process behind, and they’re not denying some important part of themselves by living as the men or women they are perfectly happy to be–it’s just not relevant to them anymore. A closeted trans person is one who is (mostly or exclusively) living as her or his assigned gender and keeping the desire to transition (if s/he has one) a secret. (For instance, you might hear a trans woman say she’s not “out” at work, which means she still presents as male in the workplace.) Now, there are other trans folk who are very open about their trans histories, or who incorporate it into their identities (for instance, people who ID as genderqueer or cross-dressers might present very differently than trans people who are interested primarily in medical and full-time social transition). There isn’t just one label to fit all.
Naturally, not everyone–in the trans community or otherwise–agrees with these definitions. But I think it’s important to remember that “coming out” as trans is a different process from coming out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
Gregg
@ gayboyguadalajara – you scream in all caps “HAVE SOME FUCKING RESPECT.” And you are practicing what you preach by calling gay men in general a “bunch of queens”?
You are exactly the kind of bitch that gives our community a bad name.
MonicaH
I think that Christine has a great analogy on what happened to us. As a former submariner (me, not Christine) I also have an analogy to throw out there. By Barney gutting the bill in secrecy at the end of the day on “Black Wednesday” and putting it into the hopper as quickly as he could is no different if a sub snuck into the harbor and planted a few torpedoes into the sides of several ships, then tried to sneak back out. Too bad he got caught in the sub nets and now he’s trying to do everything he can to cause as much problems he can before we sink his dumb ass.
NGLTF and NCTE have a War Room set up in the NGLTF building. They got people on the phones all around a huge map table, while some people push little plastic figures around the map with long sticks. I guess that would make Dave Nobel General Eisenhower and Mara Keisling . . . well, the best I could come up with is Captain Janeway. What would that make Barney and Joe?