Part of the problem, as I see it, is that the people who run most GLBT political organizations are woefully uneducated when it comes to transgendered people. They want to help, but don’t know how.
And so these organizations frequently have nothing to offer transgendered people. So, not surprisingly, transgendered people don’t show up at meetings, rallies, etc – why would they? Thus the people who run these groups remain in the dark about how they can help, thus these groups have nothing to offer… and so the cycle continues.
I get frustrated with GLB people who say this isn’t our fight, that we have to focus on our own rights, because I simply see that as untrue. But I think the majority of GLB people would like to help, if they knew how.
The main reason for the GLB/T fusion is the fact that it was NYPD harrassment of gay crossdressers that ignited the Stonewall riots. For most of the life of the “gay movement” the form of transgenderism most obvious to the gay movement has been gay male crossdressers, draq queens, and the like (think Divine, or RuPaul, although I have no idea if either were actually gay). Since there are issues that DQs have that are unique to them, they formed a subgroup within the gay movement. When other transgenders (not of the gay male crossdresser variety) turn to gay groups for help, they usually get referred to this subgroup as being the closet match for them. It’s not a very good match, in most cases.
Transsexualism is completely unrelated to sexual preference, but there are still even today many people who think of transsexualism as a form of “being gay”. Although the days where reassignment was considered a radical but acceptable treatment for being gay are past us, many people still believe that a male-to-female transsexual is just a man who wants to be able to have sex with other men so he gets himself changed to a woman so he can have sex. As a result of these and other absurd attitude, transsexuals are subjected to much the same discrimination, social stigma, and other negative effects as gays and lesbians. This is why it makes sense for HRC and other advocacy groups to represent both. However, the commonality between gay and trans is pretty much limited to the ignorant prejudices of the majority.
There are some stunning examples of antitransgender prejudice in the gay community: the Advocate has run editorials calling transsexuals “traitors to the cause”, and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival continues to this day to restrict admission to “womyn-born-womyn.” Discrimination against male-to-female transsexuals in lesbian groups is pretty much the norm, although the situation is improving. Attitudes toward female-to-male transsexuals can be almost bizarre at times.
The main resource required by a transsexual is highly specialized counselling. No student organization, advocacy group, or the like is going to provide that; that’s a medical function and on a college campus should be provided by the student health service. At best, a GLBT organization is going to be able to provide referrals, and I’ve found that very few can (the requirements for a TS counselor are pretty specific, becase of the Standards of Care). Most transsexuals will not be benefitted by “being around others of their type” and in fact it is my opinion that seeking out other transsexuals is harmful to one’s long-term interests. Lumping transsexuals in with other transgender types is often not helpful, and may actually be harmful (especially “fetish transvestites”, who wear opposite-sex clothing as a form of sexual arousal).
Another problem with the GLBT mix is that it’s often used to marginalize gay, bi, and lesbian transsexuals. I’m a lesbian, but because I’m also transsexual I am likely to be shoved off into the T corner, with my opinions being taken as irrelevant or even dangerous by the born female lesbians. I no longer know any gay female-to-male transsexuals so I can’t really say how the gay male community accepts them. I can say that I have received a rather cold reception from the lesbian community, to the extent that I am reluctant to claim to be a lesbian at times.
It is my considered opinion that the GLB/T marriage has not been very helpful to transsexuals. The advocacy groups, especially HRC, have far too often sold out transsexuals on the argument that “getting gay rights is all we can hope for, better luck next time” indicating that their committment to trans rights is wavering at best. (HRC, in one case, advocated against an amendment that would have prohibited discrimination against transsexuals because they thought it will kill the bill as a whole. Fortunately, HRC was wrong; the bill passed, with both sexual preference and gender identity discrimination prohibited.) Since the union of GLB and T is not helping much, and reinforces incorrect assumptions about transsexuals both by the ignorant majority and by non-T GLBs, I would just as soon lop the T off the GLB.
On the other hand, gouda, lettuce, bacon, and tomato makes a good sandwich. It wouldn’t be quite the same without the tomato.
To avoid the AOTM-LA the Human Rights Campaign could be about all humans and drop all the distinctions of GLBTQSY ad nauseam. But is that really practical?
Well, no. But the debate over how inclusive the gay rights movement should be vs. overinclusiveness watering down the movement to meaningless has been raging since The Mattachine Society days.