The mentality represented in that radio ad, aired over the summer in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Family Institute, is certainly not unique to Massachusetts or to the Massachusetts Family Institute. Whenever a state or locality considers updating anti-discrimination laws to treat transgender people as, you know, human beings, this is the kind of transphobic venom that comes oozing out of hate groups. It seeps into the broader society, and pretty soon some people actually start thinking that protecting transgender people - some of the most vulnerable people in the workplace, among other areas - from discrimination will result in sexual predators camping out in women's restrooms. Without fail, whenever even a modest advance in the deplorable social position of trans people is proposed, this is the filth that is trotted out. It has come to be expected.
But something peculiar is happening on my college campus. More on that (and other things) below the doodle-thingy.
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This peculiar occurrence on my campus is not something one is likely to hear about on the street, because it's simply not an issue. The only way I know about it is because I try to keep up-to-date by reading the campus newspaper every day. Within student government, a bill that takes the name of several statewide bills - GENDA - is about to come up for a vote. The bill would do something I would have thought this campus would have done years ago - it protects transgender students, faculty, and staff from discrimination.
That's not the peculiar part. What's peculiar is that this bill is being considered completely without controversy. The campus newspaper has covered the issue twice, and only in passing while reporting the many other bills up for consideration. For a student body that is pretty tuned in to what student government is doing (based on the controversy around other items), nobody is raising an eyebrow over this. Our restrooms have not turned into battlegrounds. Nobody is worried about men deciding to peep at women. The moral fabric of the campus is not being called into question. The bill is expected to pass easily, at which point student government will move on to other business. No protests, no outrage, no radio ads about the sanctity of public restrooms.
Now, some of this is undoubtedly due to apathy. Some - perhaps even most - students just don't give a shit one way or the other. And that's sad, because nobody should be apathetic about matters of human and civil rights. That being said, I'll take apathy over this:
Yes, apathy plays a role. And I'm sure not all students are knowledgeable about the goings-on of student government.
But the lack of uproar about GENDA is indicative of something else: My generation is, on the whole, just more progressive than previous generations on LGBT issues. Say what you will about my generation, but we're not overrun with closed-minded bigots. That's not just me flapping my virtual gums - there is polling data that shows this. In January, a poll by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute showed that a whopping 71 percent of college freshmen support marriage equality, up ten points since two years ago.
My higher education experience is consistent with the implications of this data. I was out for most of my college career, and I only had one run-in with a bigot (a run-in, by the way, that resulted in several people rushing to my aid and the bigot's removal from the premises). And I went to a Catholic school. Even the conservatives of my generation (and there were many at my school) are becoming much less conservative on this issue. If you break the polling data down along partisan lines, you'll find that 42 percent of young conservatives are supporters of equality.
Considering what many of them are learning from their parents, that number is just astonishing.
LGBT equality isn't all this generation is progressive on. Other issues, including marijuana legalization, abortion, and public education for undocumented immigrants come to mind.
In spite of our victories, there remains much to be discouraged about. Gays and lesbians can't marry in most states, and the 9th Circuit ruling likely only marks another rest stop on the very long road to federal marriage equality. LGBT people continue to be discriminated against in most of the United States in employment, housing, and public accommodations. The war on women is raging and not showing any signs of dying down.
But, looking at this data and considering what I'm witnessing on the ground, I can't help but be somewhat optimistic for the future. The bigots are slowly but surely going the way of the dinosaurs.
TOP COMMENTS
February 10, 2012
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From mumtaznepal:
Discussing the Obama administration's planned announcement concerning contraception (that if the religious group objects to offering free contraception, the insurance company must contact the woman directly and offer it to her free) in brooklynbadboy's post on the subject, psilocynic made an apt note (and we know who is the Knight, and who are the Bishops!).
From blue aardvark:
A one-liner from Inland in Meteor Blades's post on Catholic bishops and jobless benefits regarding Republicans and their support of their fellow Americans.
From Puddytat:
I want to bring everyones attention to an amazing comment by Ephitall in my post today. It's awesome and says it all.
And finally, from your humble poster:
I got an urge to applaud after reading this comment by itsbenj in I love OCD's fantastic open letter to Chris Matthews about his siding with Catholic bishops on the Obama administration's recent birth control rules. Indeed, it shouldn't be a debate, and the very presence of the "debate" is deeply offensive.
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TOP PHOTOS
February 9, 2012
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