In the February Issue of GayCalgary Magazine (#52), “Evolution of Community: GLBTQ History Isn’t Quite as Linear as One Might Think,” Stephen Lock presents a brief overview of GLBTQ history in both Canada and North America, but I felt he overlooked mention of the transgender community in places, perhaps for brevity – it is a very complex topic to explore in a single article. But I wanted to amend and supplement this unintentional erasure of concern, as it may legitimize the typical Canadian view that with the victory of attaining same-sex marriage and spousal benefits, the “last major battle” is won, and everyone can go home.
Mr. Lock is correct that activism existed prior to Stonewall, and he sets a sort of genesis with pre-war Germany, followed by the advents of The Mattachine Society and The Daughters of Bilitis. In reality, GLBTQ activism originated thousands of years ago, and has been an ongoing process. At the time of writing, I have a six-part transgender history running at Bilerico.com (which I only mention for the sake of those who might want to delve further), briefly chronicling a community that in ancient eras was respected (even venerated at times), and then was pushed into hiding during Roman rule and the Middle Ages. But trans and gay expression persisted among the peasantry, with mummers’ dances and All Hallow’s Eve, with outbreaks of unrest to fight economic injustice... with bandit groups like “Rebecca and her Daughters,” “Mère Folle and her Children,” and the “Lords of Unreason.” These renegades drew upon cross-gender motifs to visibly signify their allegiance with early paganism and inspire the serfs and the labourers.
Most striking about our history as it’s been recovered from various sources, is that those early traditions respected homosexual and transgender behaviour equally, interpreting sexual orientation and gender identity as all part of a dual-gendered consciousness... even when one aspect appeared without the other. While varying considerably from tribe to tribe in terms of terminology and definition, Native American Two Spirit tradition encompassed sexual orientation and gender identity, and more. Similarly, the Victorian underground frequented by Oscar Wilde welcomed both homosexuals and crossdressers quite indiscriminately, and Mr. Lock himself discusses the presence of both in England’s Molly Houses. But the transgender participation in the community did not end there.
This is where he delves into Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sexual Science, and the pre-war cultural renaissance which was developing in Germany. In fact, it was at this Institute that the first gender reassignment surgeries (GRS) took place, and the first medical cataloguing of transsexuality began. And with the rise of Hitler, it was not only homosexuals who were assigned that pink triangle. Nazi rule did not discern between gay and trans any more than previous cultures did. If I recall correctly, the black triangle was in fact designated for “anti-socials,” which GLBTQ people were sometimes designated to be, along with teachers and other liberals; otherwise, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or other non-heteronormative people all wore the pink.
It isn’t until the age of The Mattachine Society that the gay community began to define itself, and distinguish sexual orientation from gender identity (vilifying the latter). The trans community went through some of its own defining at this time, with the formation of the Tri-Ess Society in 1960 by Charles (Virginia) Prince, who sought to unite MTF crossdressers who were gynephiles (attracted to women), and alienating androphiles (those attracted to men) and transsexuals - also illustrating that having deep historical roots doesn’t always make the underlying philosophy “right.” Pocket organizations appeared and disappeared as easily as gay and lesbian groups, and trans uprisings predated Stonewall, such as the riot at Dewey’s Lunch Counter, in the San Francisco of 1966.
As Mr. Lock stated, at the time of Stonewall, the participants were rabble, disenfranchised prostitutes and drag queens boiling over with frustration, anger and the heat of the June summer. They weren’t activists per se. Many, however, stepped into that role following the riot. Sylvia Rivera, often credited as having thrown the first bottle (or stone, or whatever it might have been - reports vary), went on to help found the Gay Liberation Front, which later folded - with one of the criticisms levelled against it being the “embarrassment” of association with Rivera and the trans issues she championed. She and Marsha P. Johnson founded STAR, a transgender safehouse and support organization which was often little more than a trailer, and for which they often had to work the street in order to pay for its electricity. She helped found Gay Activists Alliance, which continually dropped the provisions she fought for within its ranks and which eventually unceremoniously dumped her in 1973. Later that same year, she was forced off the stage at a Stonewall commemorative rally (followed by Jean O’Leary’s denouncement of transgender people as “men who impersonate women for entertainment and profit”) by a separatist movement that was endemic of a drive all across North America to exclude and dissociate from transgender people. We were an embarrassment and a political liability in the eyes of gay activists at that time. Trans activists were willing... but it was made clear that they were not wanted.
What I don’t want to do is rehash all of the bitterness that stemmed from that and whip it up into a new rivalry. As a transwoman who is bisexual and in a lesbian relationship, it hurts me to see rifts between the GLB and T. And I’ve been encouraged by considerable strides in the past decade, both among local pride organizations and on larger scales - such as UnitedENDA, an overwhelming coalition of over 350 GLBTQ organizations in the U.S. that emerged to protest transgender people being dropped from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. But even today there are times when, in GLB spaces, I’m still made to feel like an unwelcome spectacle, just for being trans.
Consequently, the absence of transgender participation from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s had as much to do with being pushed out as bitter abstinence on the part of the trans community. The gay community developed transphobia and the trans community developed homophobia... and those of us torn between two communities have been trying to re-establish that mutual respect ever since.
I concur the many landmarks in Canadian GLBTQ history that Mr. Lock points out, including Trudeau’s decriminalization of homosexuality in 1968 and the bathhouse raids of 1979 and 1980. The win for Delwin Vriend would also figure among those landmarks. And trans activists weren’t there. Our activism took a similar detour toward its own purposes by mutual exclusion, both in terms of awareness and legislation, from Enza Anderson to Micheline Montrueil. The occasional overlap occurred: although EGALE Canada chose not to take up the fight to have transgender issues on the table when working to have “sexual orientation” added to hate crimes and non-discrimination legislation, they did get involved with the Kimberly Nixon case in B.C.
But while the GLBTQ community is now galvanizing south of the border and waving a banner of rights for all, Canadian GLB folk are succumbing to the laissez-faire attitude that all the victories are won and further activism is unnecessary. It’s caused Canadian GLB Centres to dwindle, caused Pride Week Societies across Canada to slip into factional rifts and fall short of volunteers, caused EGALE itself to face greatly reduced participation and funding, and even brought about an implosion of sorts among GLBTQ nightclubs.
Perhaps the GLB community owes the trans community nothing - although that assertion is a sad departure from the solidarity the communities experienced prior to the 1950s. Personally, I have always thought that the measure of a movement resided in how it treats its disenfranchised, and there’s no doubt that that’s what we’re talking about with much of the transgender community. Unless someone has worked their way up to a point of affluence, security and comfort prior to transition, transfolk are very rarely financially stable. Hate crimes affect the most visible of us, and unless a couple is seen holding hands, that usually means that targets will be effeminate males, “butchy” females and those of us whose gender expression or gender identity defies what people expect to see (another way in which the GLBQ has more in common with the transgender community than it sometimes realizes or acknowledges). Employment issues are huge in the transgender community, where sometimes the best financial option (especially considering how expensive transition can be) - although not preferable in many other ways - is the sex trade.
In America, organizations are holding fast about fighting transgender exclusion from ENDA, primarily because history shows that the “we’ll come back for you” approach quite often doesn’t happen. In Canada, the “coming back” has been very slow and garnered little to no interest - NDP MP Bill Siksay recently tabled two private members bills to mandate protection for transfolk under employment and non-discrimination law, but they garnered little support and died at the end of Parliamentary sitting. Instead, the prevailing spirit has become one of “our job here is done - we can go home, now.” I have to wonder if the “we owe them nothing” attitude is little more than attempted justification for abandoning transgender people to the rights we still see no sign of obtaining, and how reflective this really is of Canadian GLBTQ people.
I try not to be negative. Really, I do. And I admit to having glossed over some things that the GLB community has lobbied for on transfolks’ behalf, and apologize for that. I believe in a synchronous and co-supportive community, and that’s what I encourage building. But once in awhile, though, I do feel the need to challenge people to step up to the plate. And that’s what this is, GLB Canadians everywhere: not a rant or an accusation, but a challenge to prove me wrong from this point forward, much the same as the reciprocal challenges I’ve issued to transfolk both here and elsewhere.
”Mercedes Allen is a writer who blogs at http://dentedbluemercedes.wordpress.com/, has been featured on bilerico.com, PageOneQ and others, and has also developed the website at AlbertaTrans.org as a resource for transgender information and support.”
