This is a really great article by David Moran from the Orlando Sentinel. It gives some pretty sobering numbers, but we already knew that, didn't we? I'd like to thank and applaud David for his candor and support! The more and more people like David who become enlightened to the REAL plight of Transgender people makes me believe that WE SHALL OVERCOME this climate of hate & violence and be able to live productive, happy lives!!
New Voices: Transgendered people deserve same rights that others enjoy
By David Moran | Special to the Sentinel
12:00 a.m. EDT, August 27, 2011
A friend of mine recently told me that she was kicked out of a bar in Kissimmee for being transgendered.
She had ordered a drink and was waiting for her friends to arrive when three male bar-staff members confronted her. They accused her of being a man. She was told she was not welcome there and was escorted out.
My friend thinks the bouncer at the front door suspected she was transgendered after looking at her identification, and that he notified the bar staff. My friend was not disorderly, violent or causing a scene. She was simply a paying customer out for drinks with friends, minding her own business.
I am appalled that my friend would be kicked out of a bar simply for being transgendered. Should all diabetics or people with high blood pressure be thrown out of bars, too? Her transition from male to female is to accommodate a medical condition, just like insulin or blood-pressure medicine are methods of treatment.
What kind of example does this set for youth? That it is OK to bully people and treat certain individuals like second-class citizens because they are different?
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found in its 2009 National School Climate Survey that nearly nine out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students experienced harassment at school in the past year, and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation. We are already breeding fear and ignorance in our schools.
This incident at the Kissimmee bar is more evidence of an ongoing, nationwide transphobia epidemic. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, transgendered people face well-documented and unconscionable levels of hate violence as well as workplace, housing and health-care discrimination.
Twenty-six percent of transgendered people have been fired because of their gender identities; 19 percent of transgendered people have been homeless because of their gender identities; 15 percent of transgendered people have incomes below the poverty level.
Transgendered people of color are even more profoundly impacted, with 28 percent of Latino transgendered people and 35 percent of black transgendered people living in poverty.
The Human Rights Campaign estimates that one out of every 1,000 homicides in the United States is an anti-transgender hate-based crime.
The 2010 National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that 41 percent of respondents reported attempting suicide compared with 1.6 percent of the general population.
Transgendered individuals are human beings with basic rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness like everyone else. I once was ignorant toward the transgender community, but I now am becoming educated on the issues.
Orlando has certainly made strides with the anti-discrimination and human-rights ordinances that aim to protect residents from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
Central Florida is also fortunate to have community organizations like the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, the Metropolitan Business Association, and the Transgender Women's Business Council, which continue to improve the visibility of transgender issues.
The Zebra Coalition is also working to provide services for transgendered youth.
I admire and respect members of the transgender community for having the courage to be true to themselves, in spite of such unnecessary adversity. I am proud to be an ally and an advocate, and I challenge others to educate themselves and do the same.
Email submissions of about 600 words to newvoices@orlandosentinel.com. Include a high-resolution JPEG image of yourself.
David Moran, 27, of Orlando is pursuing an Emerging Media Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Central Florida.
Transgender equal rights: Transgendered people deserve same rights that others enjoy - OrlandoSentinel.com
No comments:
Post a Comment