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Can we talk?
A n
open letter t o
S utree I rving
a n d o th er
CONCERNED WOMEN:
Sutree Irving’s letter asserting that the trans
community has created an ‘us vs. them atmos
phere’ ” (Speak Out, Dec. I7J is not only incor
rect but threatens to be a self-fulfilling prophe
cy. Stereotyping all transsexuals as sharing a
common view of recent events at Lesbian Com
munity Project and the Michigan Womyn’s
Music Festival—and by claiming that the trans
community has “chosen to both attack and
overtake our lesbian community in order to get
their needs met”— ignores the opinions and
actions of those who have publicly and repeat
edly objected to such attacks.
More than four years ago, Transgender
Nation’s Christine Tayleur articulated the senti
ments of many, many transsexuals when she
wrote: “Will gaining access to Michigan help
one single transsexual get surgery or hormones?
Has the Michigan struggle so far helped anyone
win a lawsuit to gain employment nghts? How,
may I ask, has the protest at Michigan helped
one transgendered person (trans if you prefer)
keep from being homeless, gain access to a shel
ter, [helped] one single transgendered woman to
survive domestic violence ?"
I’d like to suggest that preconceptions and
prejudices be set aside long enough for us to
actually dialogue outside the self-serving con
straints imposed by LCP’s current leadership.
For our part, we could show how the majority of
male-to-female transsexuals have been silenced
and oppressed by the very same people invading
the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival; we
could show that the people attacking the festi
val have a long history of attacking transsexuals’
access to health care and mocking transsexuals
in the most disparaging and offensive of terms.
Far from being opponents, the women’s and
trans communities have both been victimized in
recent years by a handful of people whose
accomplishments consist solely -of sowing the
seeds of dissension and discord. If we are to stop
this victimization we must recognize that it is
only the patriarchal status quo which benefits
from conflict between us.
Please, please, can we talk?
M a r g a r e t D e ir d r e O ’H a r t ig a n
Portland
More on LCP
To
the
E d it o r :
I found the recent article written by T.K.
Mantese to be for the most part an accurate one
(“Aboveboard Meeting,” Dec. 17]. However,
there are a few points I would like to clarify.
Regarding the lesbian health care issue, after 1
became a board member and during a conversa
tion with Ellen Greenlaw, she indicated to me
that the previous staff organizer told her that “it
had been decided by the board of LCP that les
bian health care issues were not a priority.”
In the meeting, as I was conveying this infor
mation, I followed it up by saying, “of course les
bian health care is important to us." There is no
board decision that I have ever been made
aware of that would indicate anyone on the
board conveyed that message to the previous
staff organizer. I further stated that I felt it was
more likely that the reason it wasn’t happening
was our overall lack of volunteers to take on a
project of that size.
Also, 1 felt that the comments made by
Smokey Satterlee were quoted out of context
and did not include the comments that I made
assuring her that I did not want her to have to
identify as a “nontrans lesbian.” That I under
stood how hard she and many others had to
fight to be able to use that word. It’s unfortu
nate, when talking about lesbians, that we have
to differentiate.
The reason the words are even around is
because whom I believe is a lesbian and whom
someone else believes is a lesbian may not be the
same folks. If we are having events in the com-
Hast* aalMngj
For this issue, Ju st O ut readers were
asked to give their opinions about a
topic recently tackled by The Oregonian's arts and entertainm ent staff:
“Whose 15 minutes of fame is long since due to be overl”
D avid P a lo n s
Portland
Bar trash
D awn S nider
Portland
Machinist
“I’d like to see a
pre-empt of George
W. Bush—cut him
off before he gets
any more time."
“I’d like to see all
the millennium crap
be done with, and
also all the religious
fanatics associated
with it.”
R ic h a r d C o lom bo
Portland
J o s h u a D ev lin
Musician
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enjoy
“My first thought is
Lon Mabon. I was
surprised to hear that
he’s back at it again.”
Portland
G ay man
“Jesus Christ, mainly
because it’s been 2000
years, and in my opin
ion the effect of his
life on this planet has
caused suffering in
many ways. His beliefs and teachings have
been turned to poison.”
You hate questions Just Asking will get the answers! To submit a query,
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