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• com m unity’
SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
WWW.JUSTOUT.COM
Trans 101
Because som e of us still need it
BY A A R O N S P E N C E R
I'm not what most in the
transgender community would consider quali­
fie d to teach trans sensitivity. I'm not tra n sf er
one , and I only recently emerged from a place of
ignorance to a place of nascent understanding
o f trans issues. Rut in light o f recent events , /
felt it was important to educate myself and use
my perspective to explain trans issues to others
who might he as clueless as I was.
F u l l d is c l o s u r e :
T h e push for tran s allies
is e sp e c ially im p o rta n t
as B R O beg in s w o rkin g
to bring tran s-in clu sive
health c are to m o re
p e o p le in th e s tate .
Oregonians. Within
d transgender me-
o>* needs m
h face
c a ' unique barrier;.
healthc a , e a n ^
After the Portland City Council in June
unanimously
approved
trans-inclusive
health care tor city employees, it was cause
tor celebration in the trans community.
But the victory wasn’t without its dark
spots. Comments to the office of Mayor
Sam Adams, who with Basic Rights Oregon
championed the efforts, as well as comments
in the city’s media, reflected attitudes to­
ward the trans community that were unedu­
cated at best and offensive at worst.
Even among my EGB peers—and in the
comments on Just Out's website—some voiced
their dissatisfaction with the move. Some ar­
gued whether gender identity issues should
be lumped in with sexual orientation issues.
Some debated whether gender reassignment
surgery is “elective” or “cosmetic.” Some
balked at the very idea of gender identities.
Was I guilty of some of this? Yes. I knew
very little about trans issues, save for what I
gleaned from watching Transamerica and
Roys Don't Cry. I’d never taken the initiative
to educate myself on the matter, and I’d
never personally known a trans individual.
But I hadn’t been isolated from the issue,
either. I’m active in Portland’s LGBT com­
munity. I freelance for this newsmagazine.
I’ve volunteered for BRO several times, where
volunteers arc always asked to introduce
themselves with their names, sexual orienta­
tions and what gender pronouns they prefer.
(It is not uncommon to hear,
Thai'S Why we
‘’
of „am and g>
“I am trans and queer, and I
Policy Working Group -
„licit con»
prefer gender-neutral pro­
across .ho
"** * *
nouns or my name.”)
campaign, and desig
¿ ¿ ress the neet
S B S S 3
pnorit.es were « ¡ ^ 9
criminal Justio
So while I may be excep­
m O R R IR G E
Oregonians in health ca , ....
tionally thickheaded, I have
to imagine that others may
have a harder time coming
to understand trans issues
than I did. For direction, I spoke with Sasha
You should refer to a trans person by the
Buchert and Tash Shatz, both part of the pronouns of the gender with which the person
trans justice effort at BRO, as well as Jenn identifies. So if a person identifies as female,
Burleton, executive director at TransActive, a use “she” and “her,” even if the person has a
nonprofit for transgender children.
male body. If you can’t tell the person’s gender,
First of all, gender identity disorder is a use the person’s name instead of pronouns.
legitimate, formal diagnosis recognized by
The proper term is “transgender person” or
the American Medical Association, Ameri­ “trans person.” “Transsexual” is an older term
can Psychiatric Association and the World and not as commonly used (though some
Health Organization, among other groups. prefer it). You should also avoid saying “a
You may think that goes without saying, but transgender,” “a trans,” “sex change,” “her­
it is a critical starting point in a person’s ed­ maphrodite” and “transvestite.” And no, you
ucation about trans people. Also note that shouldn’t use the word “tranny.”
many in the trans community take issue
Trans children identify as such early on in
with the word “disorder,” as they don’t think childhood. A transgender child will do more
being trans is any more of a disorder than than behave like the opposite sex; the child
being gay or lesbian.
will say that he or she is the opposite sex.
Second, trans people do not necessarily
Keep in mind that some people may not
want to talk about being trans, and they identify with a single gender. These people
likely do not want to talk about their geni­ are genderqueer or gender nonconforming.
tals. This means you shouldn’t ask about They may feel genderless or partially male
surgery or hormones or about a person’s and partially female.
prior name. Likewise, you shouldn’t use the
The trans justice team at BRO says it’s also
terms “pre-op” or “post-op.”.
important to realize that transgender and
gender nonconforming people face dispro­
portionate levels of discrimination and hard­
ship. They are unemployed at twice the rate of
the general population and are four times
more likely to live in poverty. Also, 41 percent
of them reported attempting suicide, com­
pared to 1.6 percent of the general population.
These statistics are from a poll by the National
Center for Transgender Equality and the Na­
tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
These struggles, like discrimination and
harassment, are shared to some extent by
those in the lesbian, gay and bisexual commu­
nities. The harassment is on the basis of gen­
der expression—on people being too mascu­
line, being too feminine or not fitting into
gender norms.
But as seen in the recent debate following
Portland’s approval of trans-inclusive health
care, not all in the LGBT community think
the Ts should be included with the LGBs.
Transgender advocates are trying to bridge
whatever rifts may exist.
The push for trans allies is especially im­
portant as BRO begins working to bring
trans-inclusive health care to more people
in Oregon. The organization is looking at
other cities, counties and businesses, and has
an ultimate goal of being the first state to
ban health insurance discrimination based
on gender identity.
If and when they hit that goal, I know
my reaction will be different than it was in
June. I *
For more information on trans issues and ac­
tual Trans 101 training, visit the National
Center for Transgender Equality at transe­
quality. org. You can also get involved with
TransActive (transactiveonline.org) and the
transgender justice team at Rasic Rights Ore­
gon (hasicrights.org).
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