Open Letter: 200+ Trans Women and Transfeminine People Stand Against Calpernia Addams and Andrea James
http://www.transadvocate.com/open-letter-200-trans-women-and-transfeminine-people-stand-against-calpernia-addams-and-andrea-james_n_13507.htm
4/15/2014
"We, the undersigned trans women and trans-feminine individuals, are appalled at recent attacks on trans woman journalist Parker Marie Molloy published by Calpernia Addams and Andrea James on the Huffington Post and Boing Boing. Addams' and James' hit pieces exhibit a pervasive hostility to young, queer trans women, and indeed any trans woman who is uncomfortable with the use of transmisogynist slurs by cisgender drag queens like RuPaul. They display homophobia, transphobia, ignorance, dishonesty, and hatred throughout.
We believe that these pieces should not have been published, and that they are not representative of the views of trans women as a community. Calpernia Addams and Andrea James do not speak for us."
Powerful. Seriously impressive critique of Calpernia Adams and Andrea James. Left me feeling bemused but not amused at the publication of their pieces by the Huffington Post.
Aisla
Thank you for posting that.
About 15 years ago I learned a lot about transition and being transgender from Andrea James, back when there wasn't much information available online (or anywhere for that matter). But I really don't care for the way she and Calpernia Addams are trying to portray themselves as THE voices for our community. Transition was harder 25+ years ago when they did it, but that certainly doesn't give them the right to dictate the terms of our existence now.
Honestly, my favorite part of the letter was reading the names and jobs of the signatories -- attorneys, software engineers, physicists, artists, consultants, nurses, students, truck drivers, writers.... This is what our community needs, Normal people, in all parts of society, representing us well. What we don't need is activists with a rockstar complex defending their turf by publicly attacking others in our own community.
Signed,
KatieJ, financial controller, MBA, CMA
Interesting observation in the linked piece -
James variously describes trans women who take issue with RuPaul as "hecklers", "shut-ins" who "spend their waking lives online", "victim cultists", "self-haters" engaging in "attention-seeking behavior", "elitists", "the language police", "finger-wagging schoolmarms", ">-bleeped-<ing stay-at-home transactivists", and "trans separatists" with "internalized transphobia" who "transition from male to female with the zeal of a religious convert."
I can see why the signers of this "tranifesto" are so upset. I'd say that was an accurate description that probably hit home and made them uncomfortable.
Transmisogyny is never OK. But just because somebody says something you don't like that doesn't mean it's misogyny. Stupid, yes, but discriminatory? Maybe not. And you know what's worse than that? Self-appointed thought police thinking they can make the rules for others. It's not cool when conservatives do it, so why should it be OK for anyone else?
And FWIW, I'm no fan of RuPaul, but largely because he acts like he speaks for the trans community, and the cis world believes the nonsense he says. He's a dumbass, and he says dumbass things. But here in America we have the freedom to be dumbasses.
I recognize several of the names of the signers of this piece (kudos for having the stones to stand up in public for their opinion), and at least a few of them I know (from having read their narcissistic blogs and online op-eds) to be whiners and professional victims.
Well, hooray for democracy! They get to say what they want, at least until some other thought police come along and shut 'em down.
http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2014/04/18/calpernia-adams->-bleeped-<->-bleeped-<-lgbt-history (http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2014/04/18/calpernia-adams-%3Ci%3E%3E-bleeped-%3C%3C/i%3E-%3Ci%3E%3E-bleeped-%3C%3C/i%3E-lgbt-history)