Why TG’s should support gay rights. (Part 2)
Whenever this topic is brought up, there’s a host of t-girls who trot out the same arguments. Well, today, we tear up those arguments.
1. Transpeople shouldn’t support gay rights because we’re not gay. Oh, really? I happen to know some transpeople who are. And I know many transgendered people who are bisexual. Should we abandon them? But even beyond that, the same people who hate gays aren’t too crazy about us either. And the enemy of my enemy… is my friend.
2. The gay community doesn’t support the trans-community. They do. That’s why those festivals in June are called “Pride” events now, and not “Gay Pride”. And that’s why your local resource center refers to GLBT. And that’s why the HRC is backing the latest incarnation of the hate crime bill.
3. The gay community resisted inclusion of trans until recently. Yes, they did. Why? Probably because the trans-community didn’t make enough noise for inclusion. They didn’t think there were enough of us to warrant inclusion.
4. Gay people are not nice to me. No, some people who happened to be gay weren’t nice to you. There are plenty of gays and lesbians who are warm, friendly, inviting and accepting. Don’t turn away from them because you’ve had a bad experience. That’s prejudicial, and it’s something we, too, are victims of.
5. The gay agenda is liberal, and I’m a conservative. Yeah, there are a lot of liberals in the gay community. But only because the party of Barry Goldwater has moved so far to the right, there’s not many other places for gays and lesbians to be politically. Encourage tolerance next time you talk to a GOP candidate. Republicans used to be about “getting government off our backs.” What happened to that?
Did I miss any?
Category: All TGForum Posts, Transgender Opinion
About the Author (Author Profile)
Ronnie Rho has been writing for Transgender Forum since May of 1999. One of these days, she'll get it right. She's been described as the "world's most famous recluse," but only by people who don't know her very well. She is unmarried, and lives in Cincinnati.Subscribe
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I think there’s a component of homophobia to the trans “I’m not GAY!” protestations; implicit in that is the statement that there’s something wrong with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or any other queer orientation. I’m queer, and it’s just as important to me as being trans is.
As trans people we have very few natural allies, but many natural enemies. Sure, some people in gay and lesbian communities can be jerks to us, but as a group, non-trans queers are trying much harder to be inclusive than non-trans straight people are.
Hello everyone…
It has been through my experience in life that I have come to the conclusion that gay is essentially trandsgender light. If there were the opportunity to just choose a sex to be I stongly believe that there would not be much of a gay community as everyone could be who they are in mind and spirit. For this reason i also believe that as TG/TS individuals, we should embrace the gay community. *smack* – Maddie