LGBT, LGB, or maybe only LG
There has been much discussion concerning the place of transgender folks in the larger political efforts to gain full equality for gays and lesbians in this country. This is not a new battle. Tin Man has an interesting post on this subject and I encourage you to go read it along with the subsequent comments. I think we can learn a lot from history on this issue.
This was my comment:
This debate is eerily similar to one that occurred within the women’s suffrage movement. The movement eventually split in the mid 19th century over disagreement whether to combine the efforts of the reconstruction and women’s suffrage. As we all know, both African American men and, eventually, women gained the right to vote, but my personal belief is that the feminist movement (and as a result civil rights in general) has spend a good part of the last century trying to heal the rift that occurred because of this split. I think we would be wise to learn from history on this one. To the dominant heterosexist society, we are all queers whether lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. I for one do not want to conform to this societies oppressive standards of gender in order to gain access to their equally restrictive institutions (i.e. Marriage). We need to stick to our main values.
It seems to be common within political movements fighting for the rights of minorities to divide at times when gains are just beginning. There is a body of literature within sociology that speaks to this process of “boundary negotiation.” If you have an interest in exploring this issue I recommend reading “Messages of Exclusion: Gender, Movements, and Symbolic Boundaries,” by Joshua Gamson.
From my point of view, there is not one collective GLBT political movement (or community for that matter!). We try so desperately to speak of the many splintered actives of disparate GLBT groups as a collective effort, but this is not the reality. There are deep divisions over class, race and gender. This recent squirmish over transsexuals is evidence to this. Those that seek to form a collective movement that excludes transgendered individuals are positioning themselves in line with the current prejudices of the heteronormative powers they pretend to despise (at least they despise the oppression they feel as a result of these powers). I want nothing to do with such a movement and I certainly do not believe they should pride themselves over any “progress” that is gained by excluding a vulnerable and marginalized population.
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