Keep SEPTA Out of My Pants

It's time for them to ditch the M & F stickers on their passes
Posted on 5/12/2010 at 4:56PM
MEREDITH BROUSSARD

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/05/12/keep-septa-out-of-my-pants/

I ran across a flyer today for the Ninth Annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, which will take place at the Convention Center next month. It reminded me of Philly's ongoing transgender discrimination problem: the gendered stickers on SEPTA transit passes. The issue has been in the news a bit lately, especially because of the recent drag protest outside City Hall by Riders Against Gender Exclusion (RAGE), who allege that SEPTA's pass policy is discriminatory. [SEPTA]

Finally.

I've been wondering when this would happen. The issue has been on my radar screen for a couple of years, ever since it came up in conversation at a Mt. Airy coffeeshop. I was eavesdropping. A couple of kids on a date were getting worked up about it. One of the flirters, a dead ringer for Justin Bieber, was complaining about the experience of picking up a SEPTA transit pass. Usually, a SEPTA worker looks at you and slaps on a gender sticker. This young person — let's call him Scooter — had a moment of trauma every month. Sometimes the SEPTA worker merely did a double-take and slapped on both M and F stickers. Other times, an argument ensued. It was never pleasant. (Though SEPTA being what it is, "pleasant" is unknown. "Painless" is as good as it gets.) Scooter's date cooed in sympathy. She knew that transitioning was hard, she said, but she hadn't thought about the myriad everyday nuisances like this. Neither had I, I thought.