Gunner Scott (Photo – Boston.com)
THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — While many of us are already sharply tuned into the current state of being transgender in this country, Gunner Scott, the director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, does a pretty nice job summing it up in a piece for The Boston Phoenix. I thought I’d touch on a few of the topics he covers in his article.
1) Transgender men and women who are visibly different from cis men and women are at higher risk for harm.
Not everyone “passes.” Some are at the beginning of their transition, posing additional difficulties. In the psychological sense, passing doesn’t matter – you are what you are and I agree with this. However, when it comes to the risk of being harmed, those that don’t pass face a higher degree of risk. This is something we just don’t talk about enough. I’d hate to suggest that we better start passing, or else! But the rate that we are being harmed, beaten and killed is staggering. What is the solution here?
2) Research indicate staggeringly dismal employment conditions.
These stats taken from a 2009 National Transgender Discrimination survey show unemployment rate for trans people at double the average and are four times likely to be surviving on less than $10,000 year than non-trans people. These conditions likely are the result of discrimination. This is also likely the cause for many trans people becoming sex workers. The recent EEOC ruling should help reverse these conditions and its something many of us are going to monitor closely.
3) The evaporation of rights one had before transition.
Scott: “It is frustrating to think that, before I transitioned from female to male, I had these rights and protections, but once I came to terms with who I was and began to let the rest of the world in on my reality, these rights and protections I’d grown accustomed to — like being treated fairly when trying to rent an apartment — evaporated.”
This is something I believe that we need to turn around and use it as an argument FOR equality. Rights should never be taken away from people. It’s amazing to me that we’re stripped of rights in the first place and we’re letting them get away with it!
Gunner Scott (Photo – Bay Windows)
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Filed under: Discrimination, Equality, Civil Rights, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, dangerous to be transgender, Gunner Scott, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, passing
I don’t ask for rights, I take them, and anyone who attempts to prevent me from doing so WILL regret their decision.
Anyone who has their rights taken away needs to immediately reduce the amount of taxes they are paying based on what right has been taken away. It is time to hit them in the pocketbook and a few other places, hit them where it hurts.
Sadly though, doing that will result in jail time. Sometimes it’s all nice to play the martyr for a cause but at the same time, it gets our opponents more fuel to attack with. Kind of a “Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don’t”.
I don’t think that anyone has the right to force someone else to treat them a certain way. If someone owns a house and decides to allow someone else to live in it in exchange for money, they have a right to be as choosy as they want, since it’s their house. This isn’t infringing on my rights in any way, even if they reject me for not looking enough like a man or woman.
“Choosy as they want” resulted in black people being, well, blacklisted from living in most “upper class” areas of major cities and towns only a few short generations ago. Ask black people about being rejected for not looking white enough.
Society has evolved since then and have adapted many equal housing laws for good reason.
Thanks for commenting.
I completely agree with Lexie.