cassket:

Body Politic is a new co-authored column at Girl w/ Pen on queer bodies, law, and policy.  Avory will be writing this column along with Kyla Bender-Baird, our newest editor.  Kyla is a writer, researcher, and activist currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the CUNY Graduate Center.

KYLA:

When interviewing self-identified transgender people for my book, Transgender Employment Experiences, I had several conversations about the intersections of visibility, passing, and discrimination.  These conversations were particularly striking in regards to transmen who transitioned from a highly visible, queer identity to a passing male identity (whether or not that’s how they experience their gender).  These experiences illuminate how privilege works and underscore the importance of providing protection for gender expression in addition to gender identity and sexual orientation.

Visibility was a key element in the interviewee’s stories of harassment.  For instance, Carey—a queer white transman in his mid-20s living in New York—had this to say during our conversation: “A lot of what being trans is, especially if you go on hormones and have surgery, is becoming an identity that, although it’s a stigmatized and oppressed identity, it’s not a visible identity anymore.”  Carey was far from alone in this analysis.  Several of the folks I interviewed brought up how their experiences of harassment related to how visible their trans and/or queer identity was. Dante, a queer South Asian transman in his early 30s also living in New York, reported that he experienced more harassment as a butch than as a transman.  Dante now passes as a gender normative, non-trans man whereas before his gender expression as a butch signaled “difference” and triggered harassment.

From these experiences, a strong connection between visibility, homophobia, and harassment can be drawn. As trans men’s identities became less visible, they faced less harassment. Being able to blend into society, therefore, sometimes protects one from discrimination. Professor Kristen Schilt’s research on trans men in the workplace confirms this trend: “as they become men, some FTMs in blue collar jobs report that their work relations became more collegial than they were when they worked as ‘butch’ women.”  Schilt attributes this change to the movement of trans men from a stigmatized identity (butch) to a valued and privileged identity (man) with many workplace benefits. While I agree with Professor Schilt, I would like to push this analysis further, suggesting that it is the move from gender nonconformity to gender normativity and thus the erasure of a visible queer identity that also leads to the lessening of harassment.

The trans women I interviewed also reported on the relationship of harassment and visibility, only they used the language of “passing.”  For instance, Zoe—a straight white trans woman in her 50s living in Texas—reported instances of harassment, which she attributed to her “unconventional gender presentation.”

While harassment caused by a visible, non-normative gender or sexual identity can happen to folks anywhere in the gender galaxy,  the experiences of the transmen I spoke with are particularly telling due to the interplay of gender identity and sexual orientation and how changes in these identities were followed by changes in visibility and subsequently occurrences of harassment.

All but two of the people I spoke with on the trans feminine spectrum transitioned from a straight male identity to a female identity; one experimented with a gay male identity prior to transitioning and the one bigender-identified person still maintains a masculine presentation on some days. For those on the trans masculine spectrum, the transition was from a lesbian or bisexual female identity to a more masculine identity. The affirmed gender identity and sexual orientation of the participants on the trans masculine spectrum post-transition was split between three straight men and three queer transmen. Thus, participants on the trans masculine spectrum articulated not only their experiences with transphobia but also homophobia—particularly pre-transition.  Chris and Courtney, both young white straight trans men living on the east coast, related their experiences of homophobic harassment prior to transitioning or coming out as trans. Going from a visible lesbian identity to an invisible straight identity has decreased the homophobic harassment both men have faced. Their experiences demonstrate that it is often the visibility of queerness that triggers harassment.

The centrality of visibility in the experiences of trans, queer, and gender non-conforming folk confirms the importance of including gender expression in legal protections as it is often gender expression that triggers harassment and discrimination.  The interplay of gender identity and sexual orientation also confirms the importance of working in coalition for broad social recognition.  Our social movements must reflect the complex identities of the people they claim to represent if we are to make any progress.

AVORY:

What you’re saying about queer visibility here really strikes home for me, and I do think that a lot of it stems from the professional context, what’s seen as “professional.”  Of course, that varies from workplace to workplace, but most of what I’ve read in international law publications about workplace discrimination, and what I’ve seen among peers, really boils down to perception rather than a professed identity.  If someone is perceived to be queer (gender-wise or sexuality-wise), there seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to push that person out of the professional circle, to stigmatize queer presentation as unprofessional.

Saying that someone is “unprofessional” can be a convenient mask for discrimination.  It disproportionately happens to people who present a certain way—visibly queer, not conforming to gender norms in terms of hair and clothing, but also “punk” or “urban.”  There’s a clear intersection with class and race.  While it’s reasonable to set a dress code for a professional environment, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that’s gender-neutral.

Legal protections against discrimination get at the heart of the problem with “unprofessional” serving as a proxy for “queer in a way that makes me uncomfortable.”  If an employer wants to claim that disciplinary action is being taken due to a violation of professional standards under the kind of protections you’re talking about, that person can do so, but has to prove that the standards are actually reasonably related to a business interest—not just arbitrary discrimination based on “non-conforming” gender expression. These laws are a definite step in the right direction against workplace discrimination based on queer visibility.

KYLA

I’m so glad you brought up dress codes!  In the fall of 2007 (yes, the very weekend that the first trans-inclusive ENDA was split into two bills), I attended HRC’s Out for Work conference.  During the conversation, several young, visibly queer students repeatdely brought up concerns about how to navigate conservative workplace dress codes while still maintaining their queer identity. For them, their identity was written on their body.  But how would that work in the job search process?  Unfortunately, panelists skirted the issue by pointing to all the companies listed in HRC’s annual Corporate Equality Index.  This oversight continues to haunt me. In fact, I write about it in my introduction to the section on dress codes inTransgender Employment Experiences.  In addition to passing laws and policies, we also need to do a better job as a community of helping each other navigate these often hostile spaces that don’t deal well with visible “otherness.”

(via pansexualpride)

fuckyeahgenderstudies:

cassket:

I love it when we get to hear from young people about what’s going on in their own lives. Too often, the voices of those most impacted by youth issues are ignored in favor of adults. So I was glad to read the words of a 10-year-old trans girl in England who returned to school this year presenting her actual gender.

The girl’s mom told the Worcester News (in an article unfortunately trapped in the “trapped in the wrong body” frame, but which does keep the girl’s identity anonymous) that the school administration has been supportive of letting her daughter present as a girl, but some parents have walked by them muttering, “That’s that freak family. That’s that freak child.”

Her mom said there has been some bullying from the girl’s peers, but that the cruelty has mostly come from adults. Now let’s hear from the girl herself about how she’s been treated by her friends at school. From an interview on BBC 5 Live, via Pink News:

Of her friends, she said: “They haven’t really said anything. It’s been a little eye-up and then, ‘Whatever’.

“They haven’t really taken any notice. There have been a couple of little glitches but that’ll pass.”

However, she said she was forced to change for games in the disabled toilet after parents complained.

“It is split for girls and boys, but in PE and stuff I do have to be with the boys’ team,” she said.

“But my friends stick up for me and say, ‘He feels like a girl so he can be on the girls’ team’.”

I hope it’s clear that the acceptance she’s felt from her peers is much more important than the specific pronoun they use. Yes, language matters, but I know I greatly prefer the support I get from a friend who genuinely accepts me as myself, even if they’re not up on all the lingo, to someone who talks the talk but doesn’t ultimately treat my identity as valid.

Further, this girl’s experience is a pretty great refutation of “won’t somebody think of the children!”-type moral panic. Actually, seems like the kids will be fine, provided adults don’t poison them with their own hateful ideas.

I’m glad this has come to me in a nicely rebloggable format as I was listening to coverage of this on the Jeremy Vine show earlier in the week. As regards pronoun use, nearly everyone—all the callers, all the emailers, and including Jeremy himself—was calling the child “he”—and at one point, when Jeremy was discussing the issue with a transgender guest, he referred to her (the guest) as “that”.

Whilst pronoun use is a secondary concern in the day-to-day life of this girl when she’s facing such abuse from adults and the parents of her friends, I really think that the comes a point when pronouns do matter.

I mean, fine, for ignorant guests you might say that misgendering someone is, if not “okay”, at least understandable. But for Jeremy Vine, seasoned broadcast journalist in both TV and radio at the apparently world-acclaimed BBC? There’s no excuse. His disregard for “the rules” as concerns how to respectfully treat a fellow human being who happens to be trans—of which i am sure, as a journalist for the beeb, he has been duly informed—sets an example for his listeners (who are not few in number) to do it wrong, too. The man has authority; it’s not okay. There’s no excuse.

Author: Everett Maroon.

Being transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming isn’t a commodity one should market like one’s haircutting license. It’s a necessary state of being that, if people like [Thomas] Beattie will only try to remember, was our only option for continuing to walk this planet. The way Beattie insists on marketing his gender only adds fuel to nasty ideas about transfolk. I have a whole lot more sympathy for trans artists, writers, intellectuals, and activists who prioritize community building and empowerment than self-serving accolades.

Author: Mac Pogue

Among other Facebook nuggets of wisdom, Douche du Jour Corgan wrote “..if i ever run into you, anywhere, at anytime, for as long as i live, i will knock your fucking lights out.” And as if threats of violence weren’t awful enough, his string of tweets launches into even more overt, undeniably transphobic statements. Corgan continued, knowingly insulting Ever as a transwoman by using the pronoun “he/she,” saying, “his/her pedals suck. He/she sucks. Never associate my name and his/hers ever again.”

Using some pretty harsh analogies herself, Ever illustrates how hurtful and insensitive the phrases “he/she” and “his/her” really are in her nearly 20-minute long Youtube response. She has since removed the video (and almost all trace of the dispute) from the Internet, which is a shame, because the composure she retains in the face of the incredibly hurtful things Corgan has been throwing at her are really astounding. In a message board comment (also deleted) she confessed that she ought to have

“gone for a hike, cooled off, then spoken with Billy privately about my disappointments with his reactions / non-reaction to my pedals over the years, but I still don’t think that excuses Billy for going as far as he did in retaliation, and I’d still greatly appreciate if Billy apologized via Twitter, and perhaps donate to a trans-rights organization”

Come on now. Billy Corgan running off his mouth as per usual is truly BORING, but Billy Corgan thinking he can get away with hateful transphobic statements makes me want to scream. Devi Ever should be proud that she stood up to Corgan’s unbelievable ranting.

We should all admire Devi Ever for not stooping to Corgan’s level and for maintaining a level of maturity that we have yet to see from the historically transphobic Smashing Pumpkins leader. She not only works in a fiercely male-dominated industry (as Amy Klein writes here), she has risen to the forefront of boutique guitar electronics manufacturers, finding patrons in the likes of Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and the Flaming Lips. A statement on her Facebook demonstrates the ridiculous amount of strength she’s shown over the past few weeks that everyone (especially a certain douchebag) ought to take a cue from:

“Treat yourself well today. Play a lot of guitar. Drink a lot of water. Feel free to not sweat the little things. ♥”

Author: Trish Bendix.

Part of Amber’s figuring out who she is does include her sexuality, Whitman says. Last season, Amber developed a friendship with Zosia Mamet, and Whitman said there was some discussion in the writer’s room as to where the friendship could lead.

“That was definitely brought up,” Whitman said. “‘Where is this friendship going to go?’ Is it gonna hit that weird point of when you’re 15, 16 and you love your girlfriend so much — it’s less about ‘Am I gay?’ and more of ‘I just love this person so much!’ It happens a lot when you’re young. I personally feel that’s very important to portray. Either way, I think it’s obvious Amber is open enough to be down with whatever. That’s something I really respect about her.”

When we last spoke, Whitman told me she was up for a lesbian role in another film. This week she told me that the film is still in the works but, in the meantime, she’s continuing to push for some gay visibility on Parenthood.

“I’m going to go to the producers again and try to convince them to have Amber be a lesbian, too. I mean everybody has confusion,” she said. “I do think it’d be cool for her character.”

And even though Amber is a little bit of a mystery to both viewers and her on-screen mom, there are a few things we can count on, according to Whitman: “The only things we know for sure about her is she knits and she’s a bad ass.” The best of both worlds.