The last few days have involved much controversy over a blog post on The Bilerico Project written by Ronald Gold, a gay man who essentially denied the existence of transgender people. The post has since been taken down, and I’m not going to add to the discussion, as you can read some fine insights and comments over at Pam’s House Blend, Peterson Toscano’s blog, and on many other blogs as well, including Bilerico.
What I do want to talk about is the ongoing friction between the LGB communities and the T community — I always use the term “community” loosely, because we are so diverse and varied, both within each individual letter and across these letters, that “community” is really a term of convenience rather than a realistic representation of who we all are.
Regardless, I don’t understand why we can’t all see that we’re in this together — there are battles that we are fighting together, and to allow transphobia or homophobia to creep into our own larger community and destroy our ability to work together is only going to hurt all of us.
To transphobic LGB people (particularly gay men): Until we eliminate transphobia, we will not eliminate homophobia. As long as trans women are mistaken for gay men by an uneducated public, the two concepts are intertwined and cannot be separated. You are not saving yourself by turning your back on trans people.
> When Fred Martinez Jr., the subject of the film Two Spirits, was murdered in Cortez, Colo., his killer bragged that he had “bug-smashed a f*g.”
> When Angie Zapata was brutally murdered in Greeley, Colo., her killer said later that “gay things must die.”
> When an unnamed trans woman was brutally attacked in Trinidad, Colo., her attacker used anti-gay language as he tried to strangle and drown her.
> When Lateisha Green was shot point-blank in New York, her killer later used anti-gay language when talking about incident.
> Even when Zikerria Bellamy was denied an interview by McDonald’s in Florida, a manager called her and told her, “We don’t hire f*gg*ts.”
This is homophobia. This is violence and hatred and discrimination that is a result of anti-gay sentiments. In fact, the use of anti-gay language is a hallmark of anti-trans bias. Homophobia and transphobia cannot be separated in these instances. These are your battles, too. If it’s not us, then it could be (and has been) you.
To homophobic trans people: Until we eliminate homophobia, we will not eliminate transphobia. If we can’t work together on this, we will go down together. No matter how straight, mainstream, and assimilated you are, you will continue to watch your brothers and sisters — primarily your sisters — suffer and die at the hands of homophobes. You are not saving yourself by turning your back on LGB people.
We’ve got to stand together on this, recognizing our similarities and our differences while understanding that this is not a zero-sum game. There are not a limited number of rights to go around. Everyone is entitled to a safe, productive life, free of fear, hatred, and discrimination, and until that exists for everyone, it cannot securely exist for anyone.
(There are still a lot of interesting follow-up posts and comments on the Ronald Gold controversy over at Bilerico, including a series by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss on transphobia in the gay community that also deconstructs the concepts of “transphobia” and “homophobia.” Head on over and check it out.)
Absolutely concur. I really should have read this before posting something in a similar vein
Good analogy, Sophie. I love the elephant concept!
If you’re interested, just did another post on this subject, that’s rather more offbeat and amusing.
I read your post and like it. You should have posted what you did, so thanks for commenting and thanks for bringing my attention (and others) to your post and your blog.