Many times we hear about how much better LGBT people have it today, many times we hear how life is a bed of flowers, and everyone is singing Kumbaya together, but life for trans-people is not always like that.
No, it is not better for those trans-women or gay men who cannot integrate into society.
No Big Deal?And another headline that I saw this week comes to mind… “Apparent transgender attack in L5P caught on video” where “It is the second apparent attack on a transgender woman in Atlanta caught on video in the last six weeks.”
By Jesse Monteagudo
Gay Today
July 3, 2014
I am old enough to remember when being gay was a Big Deal. When I came out (in 1973) to be gay was to rebel against the universe. To paraphrase the gay writer and film director John Waters, to be gay back then meant you did not get married, have children, or serve in the military. Nowadays, of course, all that lesbians and gay men want to do is to get married, have children, or serve in the military. I am not surprised. Like most other people, most lesbians, gay men and bisexuals are conservative, and if society treats them fairly their natural instincts would come forth. Besides, there is nothing our society values more than marriage, parentage and military service. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people become more acceptable when we incorporate those values, not as pretend straights but as openly lesbian, gay or bisexual people.
You notice that I left out transgender people from the previous paragraph. This is because being transgender is still a Big Deal. Today trans* people are in the same fix, minus AIDS, that LGB people were twenty years ago. It is still illegal for Ts to serve in the military. Legislation that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation often ignores discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Trans* people, especially transgender women of color, are often victims of violence, more so than those of us who are lesbian, gay or bi. Transphobic prejudice is more prevalent than homophobia, even among members of our LGBT community.
No, it is not better for those trans-women or gay men who cannot integrate into society.
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