I get asked a lot about trans people who want to be an activist, my answer is simple… go out the door or pick up the phone. It is as simple as that.
By being out there and being seen in the world as trans is a form of activism* by showing you are not afraid, by showing that we are trans and we are proud changes cis-people. I have known many people who have come up to me and told that they never meet anyone trans. I was on a panel Wednesday for the showing of the movie Gen Silent at a retirement village that was sponsored by the AARP and afterwards I had a number of people tell me that I was the first trans person that they met (one of the other things that they said I will talk later in this post.)
As I said it doesn’t take much to an activist, just going out in public or calling your legislators on a bill or an issue you felt strongly about. It doesn’t have to a bill or issue that is trans related, it can be on anything. In town I went to a Park and Rec committee meeting to protest a park that they wanted to convert to soccer and lacrosse fields. It was the only park in town with wooded paved trails that were handicap accessible and I got up at the meeting and spoke about why it was a bad idea… we would file an ADA complaint.
Now if you want to get involved that is different aspect of being involved, it takes work.
How many of you are a member of a political party? How many of you have talked to a legislator? How many of you have donated to a candidate? Have you ever been to a rally for any other causes besides a trans rally? Have you ever went to a LGBT center? If you have, have you talked to any of the staff there? Have you read the executive summary of the 2015 Transgender Survey?
I had a trans person keep asking me what can I do to help and one time I told her that the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was having a free seminar on trans student’s rights in Connecticut. She said, “oh that doesn’t sound very interesting.” Beep… one strike against her. From that seminar I learned about Guidance on Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender Students that I wrote about on my blog here. I also networked at the event I met the Commissioner for the agency and said hi to others who were there. Do you subscribe to any government agencies newsletter? Well you just might learn about upcoming events about trans issues.
When I was at that event yesterday a number of people and a co-panelist came up to me said I was very knowledgeable on trans issues… well the internet can only teach you so much the rest you have to learn by meeting people. Do you go to support groups? “…Oh support groups are not my thing.” Well it is also a place where you can hear the problems and concerns of our community, go there to listen.
When I see my state representative or email him I usually say that ”it’s that trouble maker Diana again.” He laughs and says that I’m not a trouble maker, well a couple of weeks ago I was in the grocery store and who was walking down the isles? It was my state representative and he stopped and said “Hi,” he remembered me and my name.
So if you want to be an activist it’s easy, but if you want to get involved it takes work and learning about the issues, the community, and government agencies. Also you have to willing to have your name all over Google; if you google my name you get about 5 million hits and I pity the woman who has the same name as me.
Also I have a webpage that I write about; writing your testimony for a public hearing, testifying at a public hearing, and talking to your legislators.
*This is for those who want to be an activist, I realize that not everyone wants that or that they can be out.
By being out there and being seen in the world as trans is a form of activism* by showing you are not afraid, by showing that we are trans and we are proud changes cis-people. I have known many people who have come up to me and told that they never meet anyone trans. I was on a panel Wednesday for the showing of the movie Gen Silent at a retirement village that was sponsored by the AARP and afterwards I had a number of people tell me that I was the first trans person that they met (one of the other things that they said I will talk later in this post.)
As I said it doesn’t take much to an activist, just going out in public or calling your legislators on a bill or an issue you felt strongly about. It doesn’t have to a bill or issue that is trans related, it can be on anything. In town I went to a Park and Rec committee meeting to protest a park that they wanted to convert to soccer and lacrosse fields. It was the only park in town with wooded paved trails that were handicap accessible and I got up at the meeting and spoke about why it was a bad idea… we would file an ADA complaint.
Now if you want to get involved that is different aspect of being involved, it takes work.
How many of you are a member of a political party? How many of you have talked to a legislator? How many of you have donated to a candidate? Have you ever been to a rally for any other causes besides a trans rally? Have you ever went to a LGBT center? If you have, have you talked to any of the staff there? Have you read the executive summary of the 2015 Transgender Survey?
I had a trans person keep asking me what can I do to help and one time I told her that the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was having a free seminar on trans student’s rights in Connecticut. She said, “oh that doesn’t sound very interesting.” Beep… one strike against her. From that seminar I learned about Guidance on Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender Students that I wrote about on my blog here. I also networked at the event I met the Commissioner for the agency and said hi to others who were there. Do you subscribe to any government agencies newsletter? Well you just might learn about upcoming events about trans issues.
When I was at that event yesterday a number of people and a co-panelist came up to me said I was very knowledgeable on trans issues… well the internet can only teach you so much the rest you have to learn by meeting people. Do you go to support groups? “…Oh support groups are not my thing.” Well it is also a place where you can hear the problems and concerns of our community, go there to listen.
When I see my state representative or email him I usually say that ”it’s that trouble maker Diana again.” He laughs and says that I’m not a trouble maker, well a couple of weeks ago I was in the grocery store and who was walking down the isles? It was my state representative and he stopped and said “Hi,” he remembered me and my name.
So if you want to be an activist it’s easy, but if you want to get involved it takes work and learning about the issues, the community, and government agencies. Also you have to willing to have your name all over Google; if you google my name you get about 5 million hits and I pity the woman who has the same name as me.
Also I have a webpage that I write about; writing your testimony for a public hearing, testifying at a public hearing, and talking to your legislators.
*This is for those who want to be an activist, I realize that not everyone wants that or that they can be out.
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