I've spent way too many hours in the last few days arguing ENDA issues on here. I love that people have come forward to speak on this issue, I truly hate the anti-inclusion rhetoric out there, and it's painful, strange and oddly exhilarating to be arguing for the most basic of human dignities -- the right to work. At the same time, the debate has become repetitive, radicalized, and hard to access for anyone without rhino skin and six queer rights mailing lists.
It seems every time someone comes across a piece of news, or first encounter the debate, it's a new, heartfelt diary; if I were trying to figure out what's going on from the dkos scroll, I'd be hopelessly confused. This diary is intended to help, a little, and also to capture some of the issues, in a few quick links.
This is a remarkable moment in history, however it plays out. While there are larger issues -- like a war that's killed perhaps a million people, a government engaged in torture and gross violations of privacy, two million souls in prison -- this is a pivotal moment in a civil rights fight that is at least as basic to me, and people like me, as privacy and government violence; the right to work.
First, a little personal history. A number of years ago I transitioned in New York. A very smart, rather opinionated, and utterly driven woman who had transitioned years before took more than a little time with me, at least from my young and impressionable perspective. We're no longer in contact, but her kindness in taking the time stayed with me. She introduced me to Focault and panopticons, and troubled my earnest programmer's mind a good deal. At the time I thought trans people should simply fight for trans people's rights: there weren't that many of us, after all, and gay and lesbian people didn't seem to want us around anynohow. She said something I didn't understand then and it shocked and disturbed me -- as well as memory serves -- "I have no interest in a movement about trannie rights" she said. I didn't get it then, walking through the west thirties 12 years or so ago, but I got it today as I wrote, in yet another miserable pro/con ENDA exchange, that my interest was in respect for gender variance as an aspect of human freedom, of individual dignity. That as an outsider in much of society, advocating for just one kind of outsider -- my kind -- was pointless. She wrote one hell of an article for Advocate yesterday.
http://advocate.com/...
The Human Rights Campaign is a subject unto itself, in the transgender rights movement. It is not, to put it mildly, loved; but they've genuinely worked hard to be trans inclusive in the last few years. They've collected a lot of money, invited us to more than a few expensive per plate dinners since. I've never met Donna Rose, the first trans board member of the HRC. She resigned this week. Her resignation letter makes the case for inclusion, and a united movement, better than I ever can.
http://www.donnarose.com/...
And finally, the people who support an inclusive ENDA have a web site. It's a little simplistic at this point, but given the time - a matter of days -- it's amazing that it exists. If you're looking for information from a pro inclusion perspective, it's a good stop. If you're wondering what the current state of things is, I think it will be a useful resource in the coming days (certainly more so than the latest diary!)
http://www.unitedenda.org/
An update to an almost expired diary. I confess, this link took the discussion further afield than I was comfortable with, writing last night. I wanted solidity of focus and simplity, damnit! But it's twenty minutes with one of the very best historians of trans and genderqueer existence, Susan Stryker. She wrote this specifically for this debate, and even cites a dkos diary (to my everlasting shame, not mine). If you've been wondering about gay activism vs trans activism, and how it all ties together...this pdf is worth a read. I printed mine and gave it it's own folder:
.http://www.eqfl.org/...
And that's it. I am done with the endless arguments pro and con on here -- I'm very clear that there are some strongly pro-inclusion people, strongly anti-inclusion people, and at this point I don't think there's one damn new thing that I can say better than the writers above have done. If there's someone left on the fence, I'll do my best to answer questions over the life of the diary. If you wish to reiterate arguments from Americablog, I'll simply say "I disagree". Or nothing at all. I might say a thing or two more, but probably not -- I don't have anything new to say, and the fact we disagree is unlikely to shed light.
I wrote this primarily for friends and allies. There's a progressive mattering map, to use Rebecca Goldstein's beautiful model, and trans folks aren't high on it. People are being tortured, for god's sake! And it's true. Wearing trans on one's sleeve -- when there are so many important, terrible things in the world -- seems icky and trivial, somehow. But this has been the generational fight of my adult life, for the most basic of human dignity, the most fundamental human rights. It is at a cusp, a sea change, as a result of a political tragedy. I doubt I'll write on the topic again, but I hope you find these links useful and diverting, and thank you for reading.