We Are The Ambassadors…

Whether you like it or not, we are the ambassadors for the trans-community. I have written many times about how when we go out in public, people are not only judging us but also the trans-community. We don’t choose to be the ambassadors for the trans-community, but for many people we may be the first trans-person that they see and they will form an opinion of trans-people in general based on our behavior.

Gay Activists Flip Off Ronald Reagan Portrait At White House
Huffington Post
By Patrick Svitek
Posted: 06/22/2012 

If several raised fingers are any indication, some LGBT activists who visited the White House last week are fully evolved on what they think of President Ronald Reagan.

In a photo, removed from her Facebook page Friday afternoon (but posted here by the Philly Post), Philadelphia photographer Zoe Strauss is pictured waving two middle fingers at Reagan's presidential portrait. She did, at least, have the courtesy to tag Reagan in the photo.

Strauss joined Matty Hart, national director of public engagement at Solutions for Progress, in using the White House's 2012 LGBT pride reception to express his distaste for the late Republican president. On Friday, Hart posted a similar photo on Facebook, accompanied by a certain four-letter word and the ex-commander in chief's last name.

Now do you think that the public make a distinction between the individual and the LGBT community? What they did reflects on the whole LGBT community, people see that and conclude that we are all like them. You cannot separate your action from the community, you may feel that they are separate but the people who view your actions do not, they judge the whole community by your actions.

"I have friends who work in that building," Segal [Philadelphia Gay News publisher] told the Philly Post. "I'm not going to do something that could embarrass them or that could somehow damage a campaign that is so important. 'Be on your best behavior,' my staff told me. I think they know me too well."

The White House released a statement Friday saying…

“While the White House does not control the conduct of guests at receptions, we certainly expect that all attendees conduct themselves in a respectful manner. Most all do. These individuals clearly did not. Behavior like this doesn’t belong anywhere, least of all in the White House.”

You can let your hair down when you are not out in public, but once you step out the door you wear the cloak of ambassador for the trans-community. I know it sucks, but that is just human nature.

A few months back, I read an article that a trans-woman was arrested for indecent exposure at a mall. What did she do, she sat down with a skirt on and she had her legs apart, probably in typical male fashion, and she was arrested. It became the leading topic on all the conservative blogs.

Two weeks ago I was at a business seminar with big corporate types and a number of VPs from a major insurance company were there (I was there as a guest of a LGBT chamber of commerce, which was there as a guest of one of the sponsoring companies). And like other corporate functions they had their camera crews there taking photos of the invited guests. I think everyone of the photographers there snapped a photo of me talking to other atendees. Why do you think they photographed me? Could it have been because they wanted to show how diverse a corporation they are? “Look, see we even have transgender people at our events!” I never wanted to be in the spotlight there, I wanted to hear the topic of the seminar, starting a small business.

Unless you want to sit in a corner and hide all the time, you will be in the spotlight and you will be the ambassador to the trans-community. You can deny it all you want and say I’m not, but you and the community are being judged by your actions.