Come Out, Come Out Where Ever You Are…

This is a topic that I have discussed before, but the Huffington Post just posted a column about coming out to bring about political change. First of all let me state, that I am not in favor of blindly coming out. You should assess your safety first in coming out, then weigh the other facts and make your own judgment. In addition, we should not judge other their choice to either to come out or not to come out, we do not walk in their shoes.

The column by Steven Petrow in the Huffington Post talks about the CNN documentary on Susan Stanton, the former Largo, FL city manager that was shown last week,

Cracking Open the Transgender Closet Door

Just recently my partner and I watched CNN's gripping documentary, "Her Name Was Steven," the story of former Largo, FL city manager Steven Stanton's gender reassignment from male to female and its collateral damage to his marriage and job. For those of you who missed it, the film's power lay in its ability to delve into Stanton's private world, most notably the struggle between her private and public selves and the painful transition from Steven to Susan. It was a tour de force that will hopefully further open the door to the inequities and discrimination faced by transgender people in this country.

He then goes on to talk about all the negative comments that were post about the show and he goes on to write about the first trans-person that he met. He tells about what he learned from that encounter. He then writes about what a Hollywood PR agent whose specialty is helping celebrities come out told him,

The research is shockingly clear and straightforward. If we know somebody who is gay or lesbian, we are less afraid and more accepting. The same holds true in the transgender community. The CNN documentary [this past weekend] helped millions get rid of their fear of transgender people and replace it with understanding.

He then writes about being a ten-year-old boy and seeing a documentary on homosexuals,

The novelty of this story on television made me think back to my parents' generation, and how in the 1960s and 70s they had such trouble accepting gay and lesbian family members and friends. There was even a CBS news special called--drumbeat please--"The Homosexuals," which labeled homosexuality a disease, in accordance with the American Psychiatric Association's classification of it as a "mental disorder." What struck me most watching as a ten-year-old boy was that the men interviewed were cast in dark shadows so as not to be recognized. Their shame was completely recognizable to me even as a young boy.

Mr. Petrow then says that he sees none of that shame in CNN documentary and that Susan invites us to try to understand.

I also believe that if someone knows someone who is Trans, that they are less likely to be afraid and more accepting. I believe that we fear the unknown. In the past I wrote about the auto repair shop manager who when he realized that I was Trans stepped away, but then closed the gap once he became comfortable again. I see it my classes at the beginning of the semester, the students are a little leery of me but by the end of the semester, they are relaxed around me.