HRC, ENDA and 25 years ago
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KristenS
- Miss Sapphire Goddess
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 11:26 am
- Location: Atlanta, GA
HRC, ENDA and 25 years ago
At lunch today, I read in the Atlanta GLBT newspaper "Southern Voice" of the Human Rights Campaings decision to include gender identity as part of the Employment Non-discrimination Act. I caused me to think back to when I was a senior in college and how much in "the dark ages" we were. I attended a state university in the rural midwest and the word "gay" was just coming into use. The first pride parade was my senior year, it went peaceflully as not many people knew about it. The next year, after I had already graduated, it was not peaceful. I was already "trans" but the isolation was difficult. I sometimes wonder what my life would ahve been like if 25 years ago we were where we are today. Sometimes it doesn't seem like much, but we have made progress
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Anita
- Miss Diamond Goddess
- Posts: 3068
- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:55 pm
- Location: Burlingame, CA (San Francisco Bay area)
Hi Kristens--
We have come some distance in 25 years, for sure. It is now hard to remember how I saw trans people back then. I only knew about transsexuals and drag queens, though. They had the articles written about them; they had a high profile.
I never stopped to think that there might be men walking around dressed as woman in ordinary life, or that crossdressing was going on in many homes. Guess I didn't want to think about that, as it was not always easy to deal with when I had done it as a teen.
It's always a big question to me: tolerance has gone up, for sure, but how much has acceptance gone up? I'm thinking more of gay rights movements. Then after that comes more tolerance and acceptance of transsexuals who live full-time, whether or not they do surgery. There's certainly tolerance of performers who dress as women. I believe that the public feels more comfortable when they can at least see a reason for dressing.
Crossdressing comes in last, because it's more invisible, and no one understands why people do it. My hope is that more and more of us will appear out, so that little boys like I was once will know that yes, there are men out there dressed as women, and I see them in my neighborhood.
For good or bad, at least "different" kids can see that people like themselves exist in the world now. That wasn't as true 25 years ago.
A
We have come some distance in 25 years, for sure. It is now hard to remember how I saw trans people back then. I only knew about transsexuals and drag queens, though. They had the articles written about them; they had a high profile.
I never stopped to think that there might be men walking around dressed as woman in ordinary life, or that crossdressing was going on in many homes. Guess I didn't want to think about that, as it was not always easy to deal with when I had done it as a teen.
It's always a big question to me: tolerance has gone up, for sure, but how much has acceptance gone up? I'm thinking more of gay rights movements. Then after that comes more tolerance and acceptance of transsexuals who live full-time, whether or not they do surgery. There's certainly tolerance of performers who dress as women. I believe that the public feels more comfortable when they can at least see a reason for dressing.
Crossdressing comes in last, because it's more invisible, and no one understands why people do it. My hope is that more and more of us will appear out, so that little boys like I was once will know that yes, there are men out there dressed as women, and I see them in my neighborhood.
For good or bad, at least "different" kids can see that people like themselves exist in the world now. That wasn't as true 25 years ago.
A
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Elizabeth
- Miss Ruby Goddess
- Posts: 1878
- Joined: Mon May 03, 2004 3:02 am
Kristen,
I feel very strongly that those of us who can find it in ourselves to go out, must. We owe it to all of those who will certainly follow us. I think about when people could not admit they were gay, or they could not get a house, or a loan, or a job. But as gays came out to be counted, it became apparent their money was indeed green, and just like all things in this capitolistic society we have created, money drives priviledge. According to stats I have read, combined with estimates, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000,000 crossdressers just in the USA. That is a lot of dollars. But we will not gain acceptance until our demographic is recognized. I beleive just as racically mixed couples had to fear for thier lives, and later gays, and now us, the only way to overcome it, it numbers. Show the public there is so many of us, that it will never go away. That it is not a perversion, but a human condition. I know it will happen, it is just a matter of time.
Love always,
Elizabeth
I feel very strongly that those of us who can find it in ourselves to go out, must. We owe it to all of those who will certainly follow us. I think about when people could not admit they were gay, or they could not get a house, or a loan, or a job. But as gays came out to be counted, it became apparent their money was indeed green, and just like all things in this capitolistic society we have created, money drives priviledge. According to stats I have read, combined with estimates, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000,000 crossdressers just in the USA. That is a lot of dollars. But we will not gain acceptance until our demographic is recognized. I beleive just as racically mixed couples had to fear for thier lives, and later gays, and now us, the only way to overcome it, it numbers. Show the public there is so many of us, that it will never go away. That it is not a perversion, but a human condition. I know it will happen, it is just a matter of time.
Love always,
Elizabeth