What do you think about this? I am a transgender anti-war activist (see prior diaries) who has filed to run against Roy Blunt in the MO-7 Republican primary.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article about me and my candidacy on the front page of their Sunday edition:
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LINK TO ORIGINAL STORY
Midge Potts
By Eun Kyung Kim
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/26/2006
SPRINGFIELD, MO.
Hours before the start of the city's annual St. Patrick's Day parade, Midge Potts wore only a form-fitting corduroy jacket against blustery winds and temperatures hovering in the mid-40s. The coat was hot pink, like her jeans, her boots and the pair of ponytails in her hair. Her only green was the carnation in her lapel.
Potts is running for Congress.
Downtown, in Park Central Square, she felt a bit self-conscious as she approached people with copies of her campaign literature. She said she was never sure when strangers would react to her with hostility. But she was pleased at how receptive the crowd here was. So far, she's heard only a few derogatory comments.
"I know other people get offended when that happens, but I'm not offended," she said. "I'm like, 'Oh, whew. Thanks for not kicking my butt.'"
What Potts is referring to are the people who react coarsely to the fact that, until a little more than two years ago, she was known by her legal name, Mitchell. Whereas Potts was born a male, she now lives her life as a woman.
Potts, the state's first openly transgender candidate, is one of the Republican challengers to incumbent Roy Blunt in Missouri's 7th Congressional District race.
"Part of my reason for running is, not so much to make transgender or gay issues the centerpiece of my campaign, but to show that we are all Americans and that anybody can run for any office," Potts said. "America was built out of diversity, and people need to stop being afraid and feel like we have to limit ourselves based on our gender or color or gender preference."
Although Potts considers herself an independent, she says she is running as a Republican because she believes in the party's traditional platform of financial conservatism, states' rights and a strong national defense. She is pushing for term limits, debt reduction and building up the National Guard.
She also wants an end to U.S. involvement in Iraq. Potts was arrested twice last year at war protests, one on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and the other in front of the White House with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.
But Potts knows that to be seen as a serious candidate, many voters must first move beyond her being a transgender woman, something about which she is very upfront.
"I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't a male before because I was, and I appreciate my experiences that I had as a male, but I feel that I had enough of them," she said.
"Transgender" is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of experiences but generally is applied to people whose gender identity differs from the one they were born with. Transgender people may or may not choose to alter their bodies through hormones or surgery.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, based in Washington, said, "When somebody like me first comes out, two of the first questions we're asked are, 'Are you going to have the surgery?' and 'Are you gay?'"
But only an estimated 5 percent of transgender people actually have surgery, she said.
Potts said she was not contemplating the surgery because of its expense. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars and is not covered by insurance.
Comfort in new life
Potts, 37, started dabbling in cross-dressing about four years ago. She began trimming her eyebrows and observing how women applied their makeup. Around the same time, she started hanging out at an eclectic Springfield coffee shop where she played guitar. One night, Potts came dressed as a woman. It was the beginning of her transition.
"There were a couple of times where I tried to go back to being a male for a few weeks," she said. "I got my hair all cut off and stuff, but it didn't feel right."
Potts said she felt confusion about her gender since she was a child, when she preferred to play with dolls and her Easy-Bake oven rather than trucks and sports. She was teased incessantly about her sensitivity by classmates, who once passed around a notebook in which they marked down all the times she cried at school.
Born in Gainesville, Mo., Potts grew up in Southern California. At 14, her parents divorced, and she and her two younger brothers moved with their mother back to Gainesville. A few years later, they moved to Springfield.
Potts remembers her dad having a serious talk with her and her brothers shortly after the divorce.
"He said, 'I will always be there for you when you grow up. I'll always stand by you. No matter what, I'll always try to stand by you in life - unless you're gay. If you're with another man, I'll disown you.'" Potts said. "That really stigmatized me for a long time, and I didn't have any relationship, male or female, for a while."
Sexual orientation often has little to do with a person's decision to transition into another gender.
"There are straight trans people, there are gay trans people and bi trans people and asexual trans people," Keisling said. "We're an incredibly, incredibly diverse community. There are lot of Republicans and a lot of Democrats. We agree on some issues and don't on others."
Potts feels a comfort level about her life that she wishes she had as a male. She said she used to battle depression and had suicidal thoughts, but hadn't had either since she started living as a woman.
"I found a way of killing myself and being born again that didn't involve me leaving this Earth," she said. "Although this may be hard for my loved ones and friends, it's definitely not as hard as dealing with a funeral and a burial."
Potts joined the Navy in 1990. She headed to the Persian Gulf a year later. Back in the States, exposure to a mercury spill led to severe medical problems and her exit from the armed forces. She was discharged and eventually qualified for Social Security disability benefits, on which she lives today.
Potts has a child from a former marriage, which ended for reasons other than her gender identity. She sees her daughter, Chyna, 6, who lives with her mother outside of Daytona, Fla., every summer and says she gets along better with her ex-wife now than when they were married.
Also adjusting to the idea is Potts' mother, Cora Potts, who once blurted, "Can't you just be gay?" shortly after Midge Potts transitioned to a woman.
Today, Cora Potts is extremely proud of her eldest child, whom she still calls "Mitchell."
"He's still the same person, he still wants to help everybody," she said. "Mitchell, if he had his way, he wants to save the world."
That attitude has impressed Jack Hembree, a friend who met Potts years ago while working on the congressional campaign for another Blunt opponent, Democrat Jim Newberry.
"A lot of people are going to write Midge off as being some weirdo. Big mistake," said Hembree, 77, a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. "I found Midge to be a really hard worker and smart. Really on top of issues and was willing to do just about anything that needed to be done.
"We need to get more people who are smart, who are up on the issues, that are serious - and Midge is serious about this. This is not some kind of stunt," Hembree said.
That's what Robert Perry wanted to know as he eyed Potts skeptically last Saturday from the cab of his idling truck, which waited to haul the 4-H Club float in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
Perry caught sight of Potts and her lean, 5-foot-10 frame as she wove in and out of a line of vehicles and floats trying to find the parade's organizer to learn about her place in the procession.
"We thought it was a gimmick," said Perry's wife, Jamie Perry.
After learning that Potts was a transgender woman, Robert Perry shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a free country. More power to him - her. I have no problem with it," he said. "It might do some good if they can get some new blood" in Congress.
Once the parade began, Potts resumed handing out fliers. She was helped by several campaign volunteers, who carried corrugated cardboard signs declaring, "Vote 4 Change, Vote4Potts.com" and "Recycle Government."
"Hi there, vote for change," Potts said as she handed out the fliers, a parody of her opponent's "Blunt Facts" newsletter on one side, and information about her own campaign on the other.
"This is really fun," she said with a huge grin, sounding slightly surprised by the experience. At one point, she started skipping along the parade route, trying to catch up with the procession.
Days later, a more subdued Potts discussed her chances of defeating her opponent this August in the Republican primary.
"I just don't know if anyone can beat Roy Blunt because he'll spend three or four million dollars on a campaign," she said. "If it were a level playing field, I think I might have a chance.
"If this were like a Hollywood-scripted movie, I would win, but I think just by running I'm going to win."