Transgender flag
Transgender Day of Visibility is Sunday, March 31. But, as a friend commented, these days, transgender issues don’t need a day of visibility. He’s right. If you’re paying attention, you are certainly aware of the most recent development in the regime’s war on transgender military service members. After a protracted battle, transgender men and women were permitted to serve in the U.S. armed forces. However, in July 2017, the regime issued a new transgender ban, citing medical costs and unit cohesion (despite studies proving the contrary). Legal stays followed until January 2019, when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ban that will affect nearly 14,000 troops going forward. Meanwhile, a bipartisan bill to block the ban has been introduced in Congress.
Then there was the ACLU lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin for denying its transgender employees medical coverage. Last fall, the ACLU prevailed, with damages of $780,000 awarded to the two plaintiffs.
In both cases, the matter was simple discrimination based on trans identity. Like the Muslim ban and the anti-immigrant rationale for the “wall,” the regime seeks to stoke fear while subliminally or directly dehumanizing the targeted group. The salient message feeds the ideology that difference makes them unworthy and of lesser value than those who are white, Christian and straight. That has a broad appeal, even reaching the LGBTQ community.
Trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERF), including a lesbian fringe, are particularly vocal. Fox News recently trotted out a lesbian who, like most anti-trans feminists, had no medical credentials upon which to found her vehement transphobia (she’s an English major and trombone player). To the delight of her Fox host, she pushed the long-debunked fearmongering trope of predatory men in women’s clothing gaining access to female-only spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms. She went on to argue the “T” in LGBTQ is not based in biological reality—in fact, as she put it, “it is opposed to biological reality.” Spoken like a true trombonist.
We had our own TERF moment when the Milwaukee Pride Parade selected a well-known lesbian activist as its grand marshal. When parade organizers later learned of her outspoken animus towards trans women, they rescinded the offer. Wrathful, scorned-woman vitriol ensued. Sadly, it’s not only feminists who can’t seem to simply accept trans people. Some gay men take to social media where they publicly amplify their ignorance. As stupid as their comments may be, they have their cheerleaders.
Still, overall, Milwaukee’s trans record is positive, supportive and inclusive. Transgender individuals hold leadership positions in various community organizations, including the Lesbian Alliance and Cream City Foundation’s board of directors. FORGE, a national transgender organization, was founded here, and UW-Milwaukee’s LGBT Studies Program is under the direction of a transgender man, a professor of sociology. PrideFest has also been on the forefront of trans inclusion. SHEBA, hosted by Diverse & Resilient, promotes HIV awareness among trans women.
Ultimately, the trans people I know are regular people. Many are veterans, parents, artists and teachers. All, like the rest of us, are just living their lives.
