Know Your Bisexual History: UNITY: Keep the “T” in LGBT Support a Trans-inclusive ENDA
This is a popular BiNet USABisexual & Trans* Activist Poster from 2007. On September 27th 2007 a weakened Lesbian/Gay anti-discrimination Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) supported by major Gay/Lesbian Groups that did not include protections for gender identity and contained exemptions concerning employer dress codes was proposed in the US House of Representatives.
Within 24 Hours then BiNet USA President Wendy Curry had completely withdrawn the support of the USA’s biggest national Bisexual/Non-monosexual organization. She explained this decision in the piece published on September 28th 2007 “No ENDA without ‘T’” in which she explains:
The trans community is part of the bi “net”.Unlike other national groups, we will not discard “inconvenient” parts of our community in order to win a political victory. Likewise, we would never consider tossing out the polyamourous, the monogamous, the pagan, or the christians; our diversity makes us strong.
Since the beginning of our organization, the trans community has been our closest ally. They were excluded from the same organizations as the bisexual community. We fought along side each other to forge a LGBT community. We have benefited from their hard work (as they us). Now is not the time to look the other way.
The people who wish to “shave off” gender identity and the same people who, when necessary, will remove bisexuals from marriage, military, or any other civil rights actions. We’re too complicated. We distract from the “core” issue.
Back in the 90’s, BiNet USA’s membership body voted via consensus to direct board members to support trans causes and stand with them - even when difficult. We are continuing the battle to this day …
A wise person once said “United we stand, divided we fall”. There was no mention of when it’s “convenient”.
Under the new policy, you can obtain a full ten-year passport with an updated gender if you have had CLINICAL TREATMENT determined by your doctor to be appropriate in your case to facilitate gender…
Can’t make it to this event? Please join our Facebook Page: Bloomsburg/Danville/Berwick PA LGBTA Community, a group for LGBTA people in the greater Bloomsburg PA Area to connect,network and support each other.
Our group is for ALL people in the area who otherwise do not have access to support and fellowship so all local residents can receive such as well as students and alumni of various universities. Together, community, students and alumni we can improve all our lives.
person:
she--
me:
it's he.
person:
*condescending smile* well, on your birth certificate--
me:
yeah, it also says ' 8lbs, 6 oz ' -- a lot has changed over the years
The official stance of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival indicates that the Festival is open only to cisgender women and that transgender women are not officially allowed on the grounds as volunteers or attendees. This is in accordance with a long-standing policy of exclusion that founder and producer Lisa Vogel confirmed as recently as 2006.
Although in the past some of the staff has “looked the other way,” the policy against trans women that is in place has cultivated a climate of transphobia at the Festival. This situation is unwelcoming and unsafe for transgender women and has become a divisive influence on feminist communities, both at Fest and around the US. The reality is that Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival is not safe for any women until it is welcoming for all women.
Click the header link to read the full article and sign the petition.
and always remember MichFest is none to fond of bisexual women either
My Facebook and G+ newsfeeds have been filled with pink and red lately, so it seemed important to point out to the queer and allied in my life that Human Rights Campaign actually has a track record of promoting some rights at the expense of others. Being a fairly rough-and-tumble sort of cisgender queer man, I waded in.
It’s frankly unconscionable; transgender rights are integral to queer liberation, and moreover transfolks are our sisters and brothers, have shed the same blood, sweat, and tears in horrifying numbers for the same goals. The fact that names like Virginia Prince and Sylvia Rae Rivera aren’t as prominent in our histories as Harvey Milk says, I think, all it needs to about the need for some pink and purple soul-searching. Go forth and introspect.
Visually, too, I think the HRC equality logo leaves a bit to be desired, but I made minimal changes. The colors are based on the transgender pride flag designed by Monica Helms in 1999, the most widely used of several designs and to my eye, the most pleasing.
People need to know that the most visible LGBT “equality” organization out there continues to only fight for gay and lesbian equality at the expense of everyone else.
Trans allies, please repost. (And don’t give money to HRC.)
We’re big supporters of same-sex marriage (as one issue among several other major ones facing queer people these days), but also really disappointed in the Human Rights Campaign for their multiple screw-ups when it comes to trans* issues. All of this is something to think about as, on Facebook anyway, support for same-sex marriage has become synonymous with support for the HRC. You can absolutely support same-sex marriage without supporting the HRC, and there are plenty of other organizations out there who are doing great work for the LGBTQ communities in regard to marriage equality as well as queer homelessness, job discrimination, and anti-bullying that are not throwing trans* people under the bus (GLAAD is an excellent example of one such organization!)
Tune in NOW! at 8:00 PM ET tonight Thursday, January 24th 2013 to watch the opening plenary featuring Deepak Bhargava, Kate Clinton and Daniel Hernández. Please share to spread the word!
“The Administrative Court of Appeals in Stockholm, Sweden announced today, December 19th 2012 that the requirement in the Swedish Law on Legal Gender Recognition that a person wishing to change gender marker must undergo sterilization indeed violates the Swedish Constitution (Regeringsformen 2 kap 6 §) as well as the articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights.”
Transgender Day Of Remembrance (TDoR), observed every year on November 20th, is a time to memorialize all those trans and gender non-conforming people who have been killed or suffered violence as a result of transphobia.
Bisexual Activists Randall Ellison of Champaign IL and Marisa Thomas of Orange County CA share their thoughts and feelings on the day of 2012 TDoR; and Martin Rawlings-Fein of San Fransisco CA shares his thoughts and message of hope, and brings us a TDoR Prayer by Rabbi Reuben Zellman:
“God full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.
As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot, and for whom no Kaddish may have been said. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.
And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.
Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world. Blessed is God, in Whom no light is extinguished.”
… the backing Mr. Obama received from gay [Ed Note: and lesbian and bisexual and trans* and queer/questioning et. al.] voters also has a claim on having been decisive. Mitt Romney and Mr. Obama won roughly an equal number of votes among straight voters nationwide, exit polls showed. And, a new study argues, Mr. Romney appears to have won a narrow victory among straight voters in the swing states of Ohio and Florida.
Mr. Obama’s more than three-to-one edge in exit polls among the 5 percent of voters who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual [Ed Note: and trans* and queer/questioning et. al.] was more than enough to give him the ultimate advantage, according to the study, by Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law, in conjunction with Gallup …
“In the younger population, there is a much wider range in the geography and ethnicity of those who are identifying as LGBT,” Dr. Gates said, using a common term for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. That range now extends well beyond major cities and into multiple swing states …
