Why Have You Marriage-Hungry Homos Forsaken Our Trans Brothers And Sisters?
By: Daniel Villarreal
On: Aug 12, 2011
http://www.queerty.com/why-have-you-marriage-hungry-homos-forsaken-our-trans-brothers-and-sisters-20110812/ (http://www.queerty.com/why-have-you-marriage-hungry-homos-forsaken-our-trans-brothers-and-sisters-20110812/)
More than a few transgender people feel they've been sold out by the gay-rights movement and lament the way the "T" in "L.G.B.T." always comes last. It makes me think, "A bunch of straight people in a room? That's a conversation. A bunch of L.G.B.T. people in a room? That's an argument."
When you look at the staggering statistics concerning the struggles of transgender people, it's easy to understand resentment over the amount of resources put into the fight for marriage rights.
- Trans writer and GLAAD board member Jennifer Finney Boylan, discussing the loss of trans politics amid the marriage equality battle in her New York Times op-ed, "We Want Cake, Too."
There are a lot of good arguments in there.
No solutions are offered. It's just a complaint.
"Not all trans folks want to be part of our community." - A good percentage of trans-people live stealth. Speaking for myself personally: I am straight, I am stealth at work; once I get my surgery and I'm finished with my transition, I plan to never say I'm transsexual ever again.
Some people commented and said, "Male to Female, attracted to men, you're straight. What's the problem?" - The problem is it costs lots of money to get our sex marker changed from M to F (or F to M respectively), and that if I do want to get married to a male, I'll have to pay buttloads of money to get my marker changed.
Like it or not, while being trans has a lot to do with gender identity, it has a lot to do with sexual orientation too. If your MtF and attracted to males, society will view you as a gay male dressed in women's clothes. If you're MtF and attracted to females, then society can view you as lesbian. There is really no win-win.
Trans-people make up less than 1% of the population. We don't have the numbers or financial backing to support a huge, expensive movement. We need to be part of a larger group. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual; We're all fighting for equal rights and non-discrimination. There is no reason to segregate the groups and the cause.