ju st o u t ▼ o c to b o r 4 , 1 0 9 0 ▼ 2 1
When Mirrors Lie
Continued from page 19
Dean’s point is partially underscored by Dr.
Green. In the Yale Law and Policy Review
paper, Green describes the difference between
transsexuals and transvestites: ‘Transvestites
are anatomic males who have an episodic, com
pelling desire to wear women’s clothes.... They
are sexually attracted to persons of the other
sex.... A transvestite is an individual who is
content being the sex to which he was bom,
[and] does not wish to undergo so-called sex-
change surgery. It is an individual whose prima
ry gratification from cross-dressing or dressing
in women’s clothes is one of sexual arousal....”
Sexual orientation varies among individual
transsexuals. Sometimes treatment with hor
mones results in a change of sexual attractions.
Koteles self-identifies as unequivocally lesbian.
Morris self-identifies as bisexual, but he feels
his sexual orientation is in a state of flux. Some
transsexuals are heterosexual. The experience
of sexual orientation for transsexuals is in rela
tion to the gender of their brains, not their pre
operative physical bodies. For example, a trans
sexual with the brain of a male and the body of
a female who is attracted to other males is a gay
man.
hen this nontranssexual lesbian
reporter shows up at a transsexual
social gathering for a group inter
view, she is greeted warmly. Asked how she is,
the reporter responds that she is disappointed
with that day’s losing Senate vote on the Em
ployment Non-Discrimination Act.
A lovely woman, who requests anonymity,
leans over and gently reminds her, “You know,
we lost out on ENDA a long time ago. We were
never included.”
According to David Smith, communications
director for the Human Rights Campaign, the
language for ENDA was drafted in 1993 by a
coalition of groups including the HRC,
Southern Leadership Conference, National
Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
and the American Civil Liberties Union.
When asked if transsexuals were included in
that language, Smith replies, “No, they were not
included. Transsexuals were never excluded,
though. They were simply not included.”
Asked why, Smith responds, “I don’t know
why they weren’t included.”
Smith explains that the bill was introduced
in Congress in 1994 and 1995.
“The coalition entered into discussions with
some transsexual groups, It’s About Time,
Transgender Menace [It’s Time America,
Transsexual Menace], about including them,
after the bill was introduced the second time,”
he says. “We had some questions. We wondered
if transsexuals weren’t already covered by Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act, based on gender.”
According to Smith, the coalition deter
mined that transsexuals were not being protect
ed from discrimination by the Civil Rights Act.
Ultimately, however, the coalition decided not
to include transsexuals in ENDA.
“It would have unraveled all of the hard
work and buy-in of the people who supported
it,” he says, “the members of the coalition and
W
Dean
the cosponsors in the House and Senate. All of
those people would have had to have been re
contacted, and we would have had to renegoti
ate. Including transsexuals was considered
politically impossible.”
He adds, “We also talked to transsexuals
about including them in the Hate Crimes
Statistics Act.”
Asked if transsexuals were included in that
Act, Smith replied, “No, but we are looking at
amendment strategies to include them in both
bills.”
Asked if HRC includes transsexuals in its
human rights work, Smith responded, “HRC
considers transsexuals to be part of the gay and
lesbian civil rights movement. We work hard to
include everyone.”
Asked to point to one specific gain for trans
ften when we read the accounts o f the struggle for liber*
ation o f other oppressed groups throughout history, we
wonder, “If I had been there, what would I have done?
How much would I have risked? My position? My home? My
life? Surely I could have done something to help. I hope I would
have done something to h elp ...”
We are historically situated at the infancy o f the transsexual
liberation movement. Few in number, systematically and thor
oughly cast out, transsexuals struggle to be heard, to be seen and
to be treated fairly. They deserve help.
Here are som e suggestions, offered by transsexuals and their
allies, o f things you can do to help:
O
■.’.■.‘.V .V .V .'.'.'
sexuals resulting from HRC’s efforts, Smith
responded, “There have been no gains for trans
sexuals, but HRC pushed the entire movement
forward in this Congress, and that benefits us
all.”
eople just don’t give a shit, is what it
comes down to,” says Dean, speaking of
his experiences with discrimination in the
workplace. “First off, it’s hard to even get a job
when you have to act like you don’t have a past.
Try telling the person who’s interviewing you
for a job that you used to have a different name,
that you used to be the other sex. See if you get
the job. Or try telling them you want to transi
tion on the job. That always goes over real
well.”
Dean works at a Portland shipyard.
P
* If you’re an employer, provide employment and a reasonably
accommodating environment for transsexuals. Offer medical
insurance coverage that includes treatment for transsexualism.
* If you’re a doctor, pressure public and private insurers to
cover treatment for transsexualism, and offer some o f your ser
vices for free to impoverished transsexuals.
• If you’re a legislator, change the laws to protect transsexu
als from discrimination.
• If you’re a lawyer, do some pro bo no work for transsexuals.
Challenge the exclusion o f transsexuals from public and private
medical coverage, and from the protections offered others
through the Americans with Disabilities A ct, the National
Rehabilitation Act, the Civil Rights Act and other federal laws.
“1 got the job as a female, and 1 transitioned
on the job,” he says. “They laid me off due to
lack of work. That happens a lot at the ship
yards. 1 looked for work, but I wasn’t getting a
job or any call backs. After a couple of weeks 1
called back some of the people who had inter
viewed me. I asked them why I didn’t get the
job. I found out that the personnel people at the
shipyards were telling them that I was fired and
they would not rehire me.”
Dean went to his old employer and asked to
see his personnel file.
“My lay-off notice was in there,” he says,
“but there was also a termination notice that 1
had never seen. I didn’t know that I was fired.
The reason for termination category listed:
‘Was female, changed to male. When?’ I got my
job back, but only because I had union protec
tion. They got my job back for me because 1
wasn’t properly notified, not because it was
wrong to fire me for being transsexual.”
Lori Buckwalter knew, as she contemplated
transitioning on the job, that keeping her job
was a long shot. A computer systems analyst for
15 years and employed for three years with her
company, Buckwalter thought that if she
explained her condition to her employers and
worked with them constructively she might be
able to complete her medical treatment and
keep her job.
“A year before 1 started my transition, I had
a meeting with my supervisor and the human
resources coordinator,” she says. “I told them
that I needed a medical treatment that often
causes controversy. I said I didn’t want my
treatment to be disruptive in the workplace. I
expressed my strong desire to work coopera
tively with them to make this work well for
everyone concerned. I explained my condition.
I provided them with documentation about it. I
even gave them a letter from my doctor. The let
ter explained that as part of my treatment I had
to live full time, including how I dress, as my
target gender. My doctor’s letter said that I was
mandated to do this, that if I was not able to live
as a woman for one year, I could not complete
my treatment. You know, the RLT [real-life
test].”
Despite all her efforts, Lori Buckwalter’s
RLT did not go smoothly.
“After a year of meetings, I was told that I
could start my transition,” she relates. “I wore a
skirt to work for one day, actually part of one
day, and all hell broke loose. Some people were
supportive, but there was gossip about my
attire, even in offices in other states. The human
resources coordinator sent me home early that
day. He said he needed a couple of days to final
ize policies.”
Buckwalter nervously waited at home, with
out pay, for 10 days before the courier finally
showed up at her door with a letter from the
human resources coordinator.
"The letter said that I had to return to work
the next day unambiguously dressed and
groomed as a male,” she says. “It said that if I
did not comply I would be disciplined, up to and
including termination. There was no mention of
our previous year’s conversations or any of the
policies we had agreed to. I was devastated. I
didn’t want to jeopardize my RLT, but I could
n’t afford to give up my job, either. My partner
Continued on page 23
Explore whether Oregon law allows more liberal protections,
coverage and benefits than federal law.
• If you’re a progressive activist or lobbyist, include trans
sexuals in your thinking and decisions about ending oppression,
and find ways to free others from discrimination without offer
ing remedies that would harm transsexuals.
• If you’re a diversity trainer, include anti-oppression think
ing about transsexuals in your workshops.
• If you’re a compassionate person, challenge bigotry against
transsexuals, in yourself and from others, every time you
encounter it.
Ten Ventura