It’s amazing how, in our society, hair is one of the primary indicators of gender. Naturally, hair isn’t the only thing she changed. She used hormone therapy and Facial Feminization Surgery to make this astonishing transition before our eyes.
‘The T in LGBT is often silent,’ was a statement I read somewhere this week. It was in reference to Barack Obama’s historic inauguration speech in which he spoke out for equality for ‘gay’ people. By ‘gay’ we hope he means Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people, but I am well aware of the game that is politics and how it is difficult for a politician, perhaps more so for a president, to speak out courageously for what is right, without fear of giving fodder to the opposition. The changes in attitude that LGBT people and their allies want to see in the world will not come from the top down, but from the bottom up. It’s great that the president is acknowledging civil rights but it’s the role of the citizens to change societal atitudes and less the role of the president. Let’s not forget that presidents are elected based on how closely they adhere to the majority of citizens’ attitudes.
I implore you not to forget Trans people when talking about LGBT people and their rights. They are easily the most marginalized members of the community. And avoid using ‘gay’ as a blanket term. Gay means homosexual man and we men have enough privilege as it is already. Say LGBT, it may take a couple of seconds longer, but those couple of seconds will be used acknowledging people who are fighting everyday for acknowledgement, both from their peers and from the law.
