Statement on Workplace Discriminations, in favor of House Bill 1022, House Health & Govt. Operations Committee, Mar. 3rd, 2010, Maryland House Of Delegates
Maryanne A. Arnow
Germantown, MD 20874
Most Honorable Chair, esteemed members,
I am Maryanne Arnow, a native of Maryland and 40 year resident of Montgomery County. I come before you again today to discuss the critical need for anti-discrimination protections for the transgender constituents of our State, as I have known years of discriminations, hateful ridicule, and fearful misperception beyond description.
You have heard before, and will again today, concerns of opposing viewpoints, including frightening and inaccurate characterizations. As one of the very women in question in such issues, I think such distortions must have more balanced perspectives.
You will hear we are "disordered", and worse, intimated as unstable & confused. It is convenient for such arguments to never publicly state, that although listed as "disorder", this language comes from an oversimplified read of a 20 year old diagnostic manual. It is also convenient that such arguments never mention current medical texts or experts that clearly acknowledge that "transition", or change of gender, is now widely regarded as the most effective standard of clinical care.
You must know there are no social or economic incentives in this difficult & often impossibly costly process, and not undertaken lightly, or without considerable clarity of sane forethought of the consequences. Such skewing of facts incites the worst fears, and intentionally reinforces the most negative stereotypes of transgender citizens.
Who could consciously face such damaging stereotypes and permanent life changes, just to "throw on a dress" and manufacture a "confused and sexually deviant" change of gender every day, as if on a mere whim? I am neither a "drag queen" nor "gay man in a dress", and legally married to my wife and best friend of 16 years. To foster such untrue stereotype is unreasonable, dangerous to me personally, and disgustingly insulting in the most extreme ways imaginable.
Our esteemed opponents use the word "transgender" – still misunderstood by most, and THEN REPEATEDLY USE IT IN THE SAME SENTENCE AS "PEDOPHILE" OR "PREDATOR". This reckless conflation of transgender people with the most fearful criminal elements is an utter lack of human respect, which is then paid, BY ME, in the continued price of highly negative socioeconomic consequences.
Other distortions like, "naked men undressing in the stall next to our daughters and wives" are blatant fallacies that only promote fear, precluding acceptance, understanding, or any equal perception whatsoever. All this, yet never stating in 100 US legislative districts with similar protections, that no such fearfully conjectured "incident" has ever occurred in context to transgender citizens. No legitimately transitioning person willingly invites such exposure, lest lose everything we've literally risked our lives to accomplish. All others can be easily exposed, ejected, or arrested as appropriate under current laws, which are not affected by this bills' implementation.
It is often called a morally abominable, scientifically impossible "lifestyle choice" that deprives others of rights to privacy and safety. How is this possible, as I involuntarily recognized MY OWN gender as female from first conscious awareness at age four?
Such inherent self-knowledge occurred in me years before "sexuality", or any so-called "lifestyle choice", could possibly exist, by any social, theological, or cultural standard I know of. I never realized that my struggle to survive, infringed upon rights that, as a woman in public society, I am also concerned with.
Please do what is right in this issue, and resolve our demand for equal fairness. Most of us have never had the luxury of taking equal fairness for granted for no reason, other than simply being ourselves in ways that most assuredly could never be changed, or willingly "chosen".
Most Sincerely and Respectfully,
I am,
Maryanne A. Arnow
