Stonewall and Disparity: A Transgender Woman Voices Her Frustrations

Stonewall and Disparity Cross-posted with permission from Erin Vaught Ok, first I would like to state that when I talk about LGB in this note, I am not lumping everyone into the same group. I have a lot of supportive wonderful L & G friends, and I love them so much. I am speaking in general... Stonewall...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots...Everyone in the LGBTQI community knows about Stonewall. This was the pivotal moment, which started the modern gay rights movement. (Note I said modern.... the movement has been around in one form or another for a long time.). Stonewall, just as with Compton's cafeteria, and Cooper's Donuts, were started by the harassment of Transgender, transsexual, drag and other gender variant persons by the police. Stonewall and the resulting gay rights movement was ignited when WE FOUGHT BACK against police bigotry and violence. Flash forward 41 years later and we see that the struggle for Lesbian and Gay acceptance has come very far. Notice I didn't include Bi or Trans. This is what I do not understand. We (transwomen and men) were at Stonewall, and were one of the key demographic which helped spark the riots and the resulting movement. Why then, the animosity from the L & G community? Let me clarify. I have spoken with and seen many posts online from members of the Gay and Lesbian community, which range from a little condescending to outright hateful. A few examples. I had one man tell me, "I didn't need to take hormones and cut my cock off to accept my homosexuality" another said "We as a community need to distance ourselves from these freaks of nature if we have any hope of being truly accepted." Incident at a LGBT event in Houston, Texas, 1999...Transwomen showed up, (it was, after all, lgbT) and they were asked to leave, and were told they were not welcome. When they refused, the police were called and they were arrested for criminal trespass. The chosen media rep for the group holding the conference told the news media that our "presence undermines what we have been struggling to gain all these years." I do not understand this. What in turn, do we do? We show up at every pride, march tirelessly for L & G rights, and make our voices heard for the struggles of ALL in our community. Why can we not have unity? Why is there disparity from people that I gladly call my brothers and sisters? Is there a way to mend the rift between us or is it going to get ever wider? I have read on a prominent Lesbian and Gay website that the general consensus is that the community as a think that BTQI should be removed from the community, as we cannot possibly understand their struggles.  Why? For the benefit of a few of my friends on here, I will touch on the Bi issue. There is a lot of disdain for Cisgendered Bi-sexuals as well. Many in the Lesbian and Gay community see Bi sexual womyn as promiscuous, and attention seeking. Unable and unwilling to make up their minds. Why can’t we embrace the beauty of sexual fluidity? For some, attraction is not completely written in stone. Bi-sexual men are said to be "in denial" and afraid to come out of the closet. I do not understand all the judgment imposed on Trans and bi people by others who preach tolerance and equality at every turn. Tolerance for all, just don't try to be in our group, unless it's at pride...this is the message I am getting. My response? I will continue to fight for the rights of ALL, and I will keep on raising my voice for the struggle of any oppressed group...Gay, lesbian, bi, Trans, queer, Intersex...ANY!.... See you at pride 2011