LGB Dumping Trans

Either by action or inaction the LGB part of GLBT is effectively dumping transgender people. The action part is currently most obvious in the UK but the inaction part is currently most obvious in the US. The biological scientific ties between LGB and transgender are minimal. The historic social science ties have to do with police harassment of street LGBT people for fun and profit. In the political area, LGB organizations have led because LGB people outnumber transgender people and more of them are out. Despite unscientific claims of gaydar, LGB people are less obvious to recognize.

The Science

There are no genetic or epigenetic factors that tie LGB sexual orientation and the Transgender behavioral category. Transgender people are a mix of sexual orientations but the studies providing percentages are old and only involve small numbers of respondents. However, there are indications in these studies that transsexual transition can sometimes change sexual orientation or, at least reports about sexual orientation. For trans women, this change begins after TGPS (Transgender Genital Plastic Surgery), while for trans men it begins just after Hormone Therapy starts.

There does not appear to be connections between LGB and T in genetic or epigenetic factors. There are some 300 genes that have been identified which predict transgender predisposition and scientists are intensely studying 30 of the. These 30 are involved in the genetics of parts of the brain that have anatomical differences between transgender and non-transgender people. A genetic factor is supported by twin studies in which, if one transgender identical twin is transgender then the other will be transgender about half the time. A genetic factor is also supported by the occurrence of biological traits which appear to be associated with genetics such as handedness. Transgender people are less right handed—they do more everyday tasks with their left hand. There is some evidence that transgender people have more maternal aunts than uncles, indicating a genetic factor that predisposes for survival of fetuses who turn out to be female. Evidence does not support an epigenetic factor for transgender predisposition. This includes prenatal hormonal exposure.

At one point a “gay male” gene was reported but this could not be replicated. We now know that genes tend to work in networks to produce a given trait, so that we ought to be looking for a multiple-gene network, not a single-gene causation mechanism. There are no genome-wide scans of male or female homosexuals versus straight controls but there are beginning to be such scans for sexual organs. There are some 5000 or so genes that influence sexual anatomy and function but we do not know how much they overlap with the ones identified for LGB or T sexual orientation or gender category predispositions.

There is evidence for an epigenetic predispositional factor in male homosexuality. Male homosexuals appear to be more common in later births by the same mother, after other siblings have been borne. This would indicate some sort of immunologic or chemical factor that accrues from previous births. Immunological mechanisms have been hypothesized but never proven. Presumably such a mechanism would affect brain organization. Research continues in this area.

The Historical Social Science

Historically, the social science ties between LGBT became visible in the early 1960s. Street LGBT indigents in several cities came together in several cities, usually late at night, in cafeterias and bars. Although everyone has heard about the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, most do not know about the 4 riots that occurred for similar reasons in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia that preceded Stonewall, starting a decade earlier. Street LGBT people were tired of being harassed by police who would raid the establishments that they frequented and publicly strip-search the transgender people. That was the fun part for the police but the profit part occurred when the establishments would be required to pay protection money to them or be raided. At Stonewall, the rioters threw coins at the police to symbolize this police corruption. Local and subsequent national organizations grew up serving each of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups. Local groups concentrated on helping the street indigents, often obtaining grants from government and private organizations. National organizations grew up to advocate for HIV/AIDS research and treatment, marriage rights and political causes. Transgender groups supported LGB and other minority causes but this was not always reciprocated.

UK Sex Matters But Not Trans People

Helen Joyce

In the UK, there are LGB and feminist organizations that are seeking to dump transgender people, especially trans kids. They do not want to be associated with transgender organizations or people. There is the “Sex Matters” and “LGB Alliance” organizations which lobby to prevent enactment of liberalized gender laws (e.g. gender markers and birth certificate modifications) to accommodate transgender people. They use the old litany of being afraid of trans people in bathrooms and locker rooms and, heaven forfend!, a transgender person competing in athletics. Then there is the feminist Wolf (Women’s Liberation Front) group and others like it that feature TERFs (transgender exclusionary radical feminists) such as Kathleen Stock, Kara Dansky and Helen Joyce who have written anti-transgender books for fun and profit. Stock was forced to resign from the UK Sussex University and will be teaching here at the University of Austin. Some of them are out-and-out male haters. J.K Rowling’s of Harry Potter authorship sides with them but most of the actors in her films do not. The TERFs are a radical part of the fourth generation feminist movement and try to stir up fear that males might transition and take over their movement. Their stances gain attention to feed their egos and fatten their book proceeds.

Former head of Mermaids Susie Green.

Most recently, these LGB feminist groups have influenced the UK government to reject a law passed in Scotland that make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender. The Scots, especially Nicola Sturgeon, the head of the government of Scotland, were outraged when the Conservative Party in the UK Parliament refused to send the law to the King for signing. So much for Scottish independence. These LGB oriented groups have agitated against affirmative treatment for trans kids which has resulted in such treatments only being available by signing up for clinical trials. This would violate ethical codes here in the United States since participation in clinical trials has to be voluntary. But, never mind, the National Health Service has a backlog of transgender patients such that it takes several years to get treatment anyway. Many trans kids will have completed puberty by the time they will be eligible for puberty blockers. There are currently over 13,000 adults on the waiting list to be seen. In a recent court case, the UK judge ruled that waits of 18 months or more are legal. So much for government-run healthcare. And they have harassed the former head of the trans kids advocacy group Mermaids (Susie Green) until she resigned.

Tepid Action by LGB Organizations in the United States in Support of Transgender Issues

Transgender groups have always supported LGB and other minority groups in common initiatives such as equal rights laws. However, transgender people were often excluded from being visible in these efforts. They were banned from full participation and speaking at the 1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights and subsequent events. Proposed LGBT bills (e.g. Employment Non-Discrimination Act bill) have been stripped of protections for transgender people with the encouragement of LGB groups and Congressional representatives. Other rifts have occurred including banning of the transgender flag from national rallies.

Several current national LGB-dominated organizations purport to represent transgender people but do not feature transgender spokesmen in responding to transgender attacks and proposed/passed anti-transgender legislation. These organizations provide only tepid responses to anti-transgender government and private actions because of their weak commitment to transgender rights. Most of these groups have gone “left collectivist” and have done a lot of public complaining and “conscious raising” about transgender issues but no action. Compare woke recent actions on civil rights with the tepid press releases coming from LGB-dominated organizations. Provider organizations such as WPATH have tried to fill the gap but they are, by their conservative nature, not effective advocates.

What to do?

I contend that we need an organization to provide public education on transgender issues. I know some people won’t be immediately persuaded by facts but I believe that the facts are in our favor. Persistence in public education and political independence are musts. Such an organization would engage in the following:

• Provide factual information, including scientific information to the public.

• Maintain a “war room” for quick press response to anti-transgender claims and actions through social media.

• Provide transgender experts to the media to explain being transgender and debate anti-transgender spokespeople. Transgender people should be on the media to explain transgender issues, not LGB.

• Establish the capability to make educational and topical videos on YouTube and other platforms to educate the public and put pressure on “big” media to air important information.

• Organize “lobbying days” to present transgender people in their Sunday best to meet with their representatives and explain the facts about the implications of proposed legislation and government policy. This improves visibility that transgender people are real.

• Establish continuous contacts with administrative and legislative leaders and staff to show that transgender people are here to stay.

• Write “pocket guides” and “graphic novels” to various transgender issues for distribution to government officials, press people and the public.

• Provide a speakers bureau of educational experts

• Involve selective advocacy partners in organized demonstrations.

• Insulate themselves from radical political collectivists. Counter their hollow rhetoric.

We used to have such transgender organizations but our success in tolerance and acceptance made us assume that they were no longer needed. But collectivists on the right and left are now dominating the landscape, one side seeking to destroy us, the other to profit from us and ultimately destroy us because they abhor individualism. We need to establish positive, factual, scientific ground that can withstand attacks from both sides.

Tags: featured, politics, Transgender

Category: Transgender Opinion