LGBT community would be nothing without the 'T'
Mark A. Cecil
http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_9422.phpI have to say that Crews Inn's Tuesday night ban on drag queens (Dallas Voice, July 18) is very disturbing. You cannot group all people, who dress in drag or who live as women, as thieves and troublemakers. You have to look at the caliber of people who go into this bar in general. You have your druggies, hustlers, and alcoholics, and a small group of your normal low-key gays, who frequent this establishment. Drag queens are not the only people who are capable of stealing from the bar. I have seen, at times, many people, not dressed in drag nor would they ever, stealing tips off the bar, but the owner doesn't take any action against them. This is a form of discrimination. When is he going to make gay men hold one another accountable for their actions? This is a bad form of doing business, and he should know that.
and
Article perpetuated transgender myths
Cece Cox
I'm not sure what was more disturbing about the July 18 Dallas Voice article on the co-owner of Crews Inn banning transgender patrons from his bar — that news itself or the fact that the article served to perpetuate misunderstanding and confusion about the transgender community by failing to distinguish between behavior and identity. After what was the debacle known as ENDA last fall, the "G," the "L" and the "B" in our GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) community had a nearly unprecedented opportunity to learn about our transgender brothers and sisters and the level of discrimination they face by simply trying to exist as their true selves. Many local and national organizations pulled together after ENDA to learn about discrimination faced by transgender persons, such as loss of employment and underemployment, lack of access to proper and compassionate healthcare and lack of legal recognition in many instances. I hope that this local incident does not disrupt that progress. It clearly indicates that there are more opportunities for learning.
