Craiglist has a great transgender forum that I ocassionally like to browse. One recent forum post mentioned that the Human Rights Campaign’s position on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) currently doesn’t support transgender inclusion, like it did when it first pushed for ENDA to be passed. The author of the post went on to say that:
I was so incredulous at that that, while I couldn’t take it out on the happy young woman in front of me, it redoubled my feeling that any transfolks who believe that HRC is on our side is delusional. We ALL need to write to HRC and tell them what a lame philosophy that is and how much it makes us feel like second class citizens in the alt.lifestyle community.
I don’t believe that HRC’s stance on ENDA and transgender inclusion makes us second class citizens. I also don’t believe that it is “lame”. Here’s why. There is no way that ENDA would have passed with transgender inclusion. That’s not HRC’s fault. That’s the fault of the narrow-minded politicians who are responsible for passing legislation.
There are a couple of points that I want to address before moving on. First, how does this make you feel like a second class citizen? Please, explain this to me. I’m Transgender and I don’t feel like HRC is treating us like second class citizens. Is it HRC’s fault that a transgender-inclusive bill wouldn’t get passed? No. Do you really think trans-inclusive legislation would change people’s minds? It wouldn’t automagically make people more tolerant or accepting of trans people. Who creates second class citizens? The lack of legislation, your fellow citizens who are narrow-minded, or you?
Secondly, being transgender isn’t a “lifestyle”. It’s not the same as being a nudist or being a goth or being a skater. Being transgender is your life. There is a huge difference between a lifestyle, which is a choice, versus something that you really have no choice over. I am transgender. If I could choose to be something, out of everything in the whole world, do you honestly think I would choose to be trans? Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of who I am, but I could save a lot of tears and anger if I weren’t trans.
Now, why is this such a huge deal? Did you honestly expect that Congress would pass a trans-inclusive bill? Did you think that HRC would be able to force Congress into passing it? I hate to break it to you, but Congress wouldn’t have passed a trans-inclusive bill no matter how hard HRC fought. That’s just how Congress works. According to HRC in November of last year:
While HRC was disappointed that HR 3685 did not include protections for transgender Americans, it believes the successful passage of Congressman Frank’s bill is a step forward for all Americans, and that it paves the way for additional progress to outlaw workplace discrimination based on gender identity.
HRC isn’t saying that we are second class citizens, or that we are less important than other groups. They are just saying, at this point in time, our society isn’t ready for a trans-inclusive bill. I mean, you can’t expect a society or culture, who’s views of gender are completely black and white, to just accept people who dramatically change a cultural construct in a short amount of time.
HRC is looking at the bigger picture here. Which, I beg all of you to do as well. Instead of taking one giant leap forward with a trans-inclusive bill, we are taking a small step forward. Would it be nice to have a trans-inclusive bill? Yes, it would. But it’s not going to happen.
Why is a federal bill more important than state legislation? According to the same article linked to above, there are currently 39 states in which it is legal to fire someone for being trans. See if your state is one of them, and fight for that! Start more locally then work for something bigger.
Update: I just read on the HRC blog that the House Committee on Education and Labor will be holding a hearing on trans discrimination in the work place! This is excellent news as it is the first hearing, ever, to exclusively talk about transgender issues.
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