Sprinkling Seeds of Trans Equality and Other Tales from Netroots Nation

 Blogging for Transgender Equality panelists Dr. Jillian T. Weiss,
Jos Truitt, Monica Roberts, Autumn Sandeen and Jennifer Levi

It’s true – I chose to spend the Saturday of Boston Pride hanging out at GLAD’s booth in the Netroots Nation exhibition hall, and I liked it. Drag queens, Mardi Gras beads and block parties are great, but who can resist the opportunity to spend the day inside a hotel convention center gazing into the eyes of progressive bloggers from around the country as they peer at you over their open laptops? For me and my colleagues Amanda Johnston and Carisa Cunningham, the hottest ticket around last week was for Netroots Nation 2012 down in Providence, Rhode Island*.

The highlight, of course, was the GLAD-organized panel Blogging for Transgender Equality on Friday morning, the first trans-specific panel in Netroots Nation’s seven-year history. We had a great line-up of panelists: our Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi; and bloggers Autumn Sandeen, Jos Truitt, Monica Roberts and Jillian Weiss. Jillian was a most excellent moderator for the panel, which was well attended by a crowd that seemed as excited as we were that trans issues were being discussed at Netroots Nation. The discussion was wide ranging and nuanced. For instance, while Jos noted that the mainstream media’s coverage of the transgender community has improved overall, Monica lamented the lack of coverage of trans women of color and their accomplishments. Ultimately, said Jos, the trans community needs to guide the mainstream media to the stories of the community that need to be covered.

The Netroots website has a great page dedicated to our panel, featuring a complete video of the presentation and discussion, panelist bios, and a catalogue of some of the awesome Tweets from folks who attended. See what you missed here. And check out Amanda’s photos from the panel on Facebook (don’t forget to “like” and “share” – this is a social media conference, after all!). So exciting!

My favorite Tweet during the panel was this one, from Netroots conventioneer @nolanpack:

 

#NN12 Blogging for Transgender Equity - amazing panel! Learning so much!

Yay! That’s why we organized it.

Another great thing about Netroots was the opportunity to meet and hear from some of the community’s most influential bloggers and activists, particularly at the LGBT Connect, a daylong pre-conference that took place last Wednesday, courtesy of online activist guru Mike Rogers. The most interesting portion for me was a panel discussion that featured activists from Florida, Indiana, North Carolina and South Carolina discussing the successes and struggles of LGBT organizing in conservative states. It was an eye opening discussion, and a reminder that despite our community’s gains -- from the recent rulings striking down DOMA to the historic support we have from President Barack Obama -- that in many states LGBT people are still fighting for the most basic legal protections.

We wrapped it up with the LGBT caucus on Saturday morning. I didn’t expect great turnout after Friday night’s numerous festivities, especially since while I was at the coffee bar in the convention a hall, a woman talking on her cell phone noted that a discussion with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman that morning was poorly attended “because everyone’s hungover.” With all due respect to Mr. Krugman, the LGBT caucus was pretty crowded. We even got a visit from Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, a staunch LGBT supporter who addressed the crowd and took a bunch of caucus-goer questions. Given our recent victory in our Gill DOMA lawsuit (which, incidentally, Dahlia Lithwick raised in Friday afternoon’s Big Decisions panel as very likely to be taken up by the Supreme Court next session), I was heartened to hear Sen. Cardin tell the crowd, “I want to repeal DOMA. I want to get it done. Marriage equality is a basic right.”

A nice way to end my visit with the Netroots Nation, and this blog post.

*And anyway, we get another chance to celebrate Pride right there in Providence next weekend, when Rhode Island Pride honors our own attorney Karen Loewy for her years of advocacy in the state. Join us there!

Transgender Pride

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Nearly 800 proud, visible transgender marchers took to the streets of Northampton last Saturday, June 7. What a fantastic day it was and how delighted I was to have been a part of it.

When I drove through Northampton around 11:30 that morning, I was not confident that the first New England Transgender Pride March would be a success. While it was a busy day in the downtown area, I did not see much of a crowd either lining the streets getting ready to watch a march or heading to Bridge Street School where the march was to begin. In fact, I decided that there was no rush for me to get my family to the assembly point in time to march, guessing that the organizers would have to start late in order to get an adequate mass assembled before taking to the streets.

As a result, it was probably around noon (the time that the march was scheduled to begin) when my family and I got a ride across town to where the march was to begin. So, given my complacency (and just a bit of pessimism), imagine my surprise when we drove under the train bridge only to see hundreds of beautiful trans marchers heading directly toward us and a police car with flashing lights ordering us to pull over so the march could begin. We quickly pulled over, jumped out of the car, and joined the marchers just as we saw the GLAD contingent heading toward us (following closely behind the march organizers and the very vocal Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition).

Whatever crowds had been lacking when I scanned downtown earlier that morning had assembled by the time the march made its way to the area. People were chanting (“What do we want? Trans Rights. When do we want them? Now”). And the crowds cheered and clapped as we made our way to the rally. My kids were too excited to be part of the march to be willing at any point to step out to watch the marchers who had assembled behind us. So I had no idea of its magnitude until we finally got to the rally space at the end. I never heard any official tallies but was unsurprised to hear credible reports of between 800 and 1,000 people being part of the march and rally.

Of course, for me, it wasn’t so much the numbers that mattered as the incredible range of identities (and bodies) I saw participating in the event. What struck me throughout the day was how few opportunities there are to be in a space where trans identity is the norm and where something more conventional is aberrational. For me, it was a day of feeling at home.

One of the more clever ideas of the march organizers was making available nametags for rally participants that had a blank for “name” and “I identify as.” Lots of people put “male,” “female,” “boi,” “girl,” or “trans.” Pronoun designations ranged from “he/his,” “she/her,” to “ze,” “hir,” and “you pick it.” Some of the more creative entries for identity included, “me,” “human,” “here,” and “person.” The feeling of freedom was palpable; the celebration was intense.

The day was a scorcher and everyone was happy for the bottles of water freely available through the duration of the rally. GLAD had a table not far from the speakers and stage seating and from where I could see everything. There was little coverage, though, from the sun so I spent a fair bit of time huddled in the shade behind GLAD’s table. But the heat of the day seemed to wither noone’s spirits or enthusiasm for the event. The nearly 5 hour rally was a great opportunity to talk to people about GLAD’s newly launched Transgender Rights Project as well as a chance to hear more about the injustices many of us face in our daily lives.

Unsurprisingly, I heard from a lot of people who have been plagued by the challenges of getting gender markers on identity documents that reflect their lived gender identities. More than a few people shared their experience of being denied insurance coverage for medically necessary surgery or hormone therapy, some foregoing essential procedures and others emptying savings accounts in order to get the care and treatment they need and deserve. A couple of people spoke of the challenges they faced as parents defending their relationships with their kids in the face of a legal system rife with bias and prejudice against anyone who doesn’t fit the stereotype of what a “real woman” or “real man” should look or act like.

I was reminded of why GLAD believes it is essential at this moment in time to launch a Transgender Rights Project. So few laws exist that clearly protect our community and so many of us face daily legal obstacles to living our lives with dignity and in safety.

I wanted to round out this blog with two personal stories that were highlights of my day. At the GLAD cocktail reception, I was delighted to meet up with a trans woman (forgive me if that’s not quite an accurate description of your identity) who I first met nearly fifteen years ago. Danielle (not her real name) and I first met at a Sunshine Club barbecue in Western Massachusetts where she and I bonded over neither easily fitting in the gender typical community nor easily fitting in the trans community into which she and I had both just recently found our way. A lot of our trans brothers and sisters at the barbecue were mad that she unapologetically wore her hair butch short, rode a motorcycle, and retained the physique of (for lack of better description) a male body builder. I thought she looked great (still do). But more than that, I was grateful to find someone within the trans community who comfortably exploded so many myths about gender. I was thrilled to learn that she continues to live her truth with all the challenges (and comfort as well) that brings to her.

The other highlight of my day was finally meeting Imani Henry. Imani is a performance artist, trans activist, and all around fantastic guy. I have been a fan of him and his work for many years. He and I have corresponded about a number of issues, political and legal, that have come up in the community throughout the last 12 years or so. We have not, however, ever formally met. We finally did last Saturday. We were both happy to finally be in the same room and have the chance to talk in person. Probably the funniest part of that meeting was his learning that I am not someone who identifies from an MTF-perspective but rather from an FTM one. I suspect it was my name in combination with my trans identity (but no visual context) that supported his assumption. He didn’t come quite out with it, but I knew from his energetic laugh and delight at the discovery of my actual identity that he and I (and likely everyone in the room) still hold onto prejudgments and expectations based on gender categories despite all our work and best efforts. We laughed for a while before putting our heads together again to figure out how best to continue to challenge gender stereotypes.

Jennifer Levi
Director, GLAD Transgender Rights Project

Maine Pride

Several representatives from GLAD attended the Southern Maine Pride festival in Portland, Maine on June 16^th. We distributed information and fliers, and spoke with members of the Maine LGBT community who were interested to learn more about GLAD and our work.

The festival was a really wonderful event, featuring performances, tables with information and educational presentations. Many people were excited about the results of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, as well as the recent inclusion of LGBT domestic partnerships in the Family Medical Leave Act in Maine, and many had questions about GLAD recent legal developments.

This year, Southern Maine Pride had the largest attendance in the history of the event, and it was really encouraging and exciting to see people from around the state coming together to learn and celebrate.

It's that time of year again

It's Pride week in Boston. Many activities are taking place across the city, and it's exciting to see some real diversity in the events. The nature of Pride - particularly in large American cities - has changed over the years. What were once political marches demanding equal rights are now parades, celebrating our community. But we must remember that the fight for full equality is not over, and the visibility that Pride affords is still crucial.

GLAD congratulates this year's Parade Marshals: Representative Liz Malia, SpeakOut, and Jacob Smith Yang (who once worked at GLAD!) - all have done great things in, and for, our community.

This year's theme - Ask. Tell. Proud to Serve. - has generated some controversy. While there is no doubt that LGBT people serve our communities in many capacities and in every part of society (including the military, when allowed) - and that we should be proud to speak out about who we are and what we do - the military reference is complicated in the midst of an ongoing war that continues to take the lives of US soldiers and Iraqi civilians alike.

Because we believe that visibility is important, and because part of our mission is to ensure that LGBT citizens know the legal rights they have - and those we are still fighting for - GLAD will be marching in the parade tomorrow. Look for us behind the big purple banner, and visit our table at the Festival on City Hall Plaza, where you can pick up important information about your legal rights in Massachusetts and across New England. Or just say hi - we'd love to hear from you.