“So Stonewall is a great, great foundation,” transgender activist and Stonewall veteran icon Sylvia Rivera wrote in her 2001 essay Bitch on Wheels. “It began the modern day liberation movement, like we spoke before about the Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society. Yes, there were lots of other little groups but you had to be what they called themselves the ‘normal homosexuals.’ They wore suits and ties. One of the first demonstrations that they had, lesbians who’d never even worn dresses were wearing dresses and high heels to show the world that they were normal. Normal? Fine.”
This isn’t our San Diego Pride issue, and yet San Diego Pride has become an issue in this LGBT Weekly issue celebrating the trans community. When trying to organize a photo of a bunch of trans subcommunity members of the LGBT community who weren’t the “usual suspects” of go-to names and faces for the cover for this current issue, I ran into a current pitting of community members against each other.
The issue that’s dividing the two groups is a direct action planned for the San Diego Pride Parade trans contingent – a group slewing generally younger, with many people of color are planning a “die-in” at spots throughout the parade route to highlight the nine trans women of color who’ve been murdered this year to date.
From one perspective, the subjective reason for the divide could be described as a subgroup of the trans community not listening to another of the community that just wants to celebrate Pride – this year the trans community as a whole is the collective Grand Marshal – and not be pulled into a direct action that will take away from that spirit of celebration.
From another perspective, the subjective reason could be described in terms of one group of community members who value conformity and compliance with rules trying to silence the subgroup of marginalized trans community members who feel unheard – members who want to rekindle the spirit of fiery change that was the initial spirit of the Stonewall riots that not only have the privileged trans community members forgotten, but that their cisgender lesbian, gay and bisexual broader community members have forgotten as well.
After all, the reason the LGBT community celebrates Pride throughout the nation during the summer months is because the Stonewall Riots happened in June – in early summer – of 1969.
“I mean, before gay liberation,” Rivera, who passed in 2002, also wrote in that same essay, “it was the same thing: ‘drag queens over there; we’re over here.’ The world came tumbling down in 1969 and on the fourth anniversary of the Stonewall movement, of the Stonewall riot, the transgender community was silenced because of a radical lesbian named Jean O’Leary, who felt that the transgender community was offensive to women because we liked to wear makeup and we liked to wear miniskirts.
“Anyway, Jean O’Leary started the big commotion at this rally [Christopher Street Liberation Day, 1973],” Rivera continued. “… I had to fight my way up on that stage and literally, people that I called my comrades in the movement, literally beat the sh** out of me. That’s where it all began, to really silence us. They beat me, I kicked their asses. I did get to speak, I got my points across.”
O’Leary was said to have orchestrated the violence against Rivera; O’Leary took the occasion of her later speech on that same day at the Christopher Street Liberation Day (a precursor to Pride celebrations) to call … to label in vitriolic tone …Sylvia Rivera as “a man.” The silencing was of someone who was never mainstream; someone who was never “normal.”
With all the gains we in the trans community have made in the past year, with all there is to celebrate in social and political movement that has occurred the past decades, there is a marginalized population of trans people – a subgroup of the trans community I belong to – who are repeated victims of violence and homicide.
So whose perspective is the right perspective in this San Diego Pride Parade contingent controversy? The one of the trans community members who believe it should be one of pure celebration of the trans community’s progress? Or, is it the one that also recognizes that with celebration comes a need to highlight that there are marginalized portions of the trans community who the LGBT community, and broader society, need to be exposed to in a stark manner?
“Mainstreaming, normality, being normal,” Rivera added. “I understand how much everybody likes to fit into that mainstream gay and lesbian community. You know, it used to be a wonderful thing to be avant-garde, to be different from the world. I see us reverting into a so-called liberated closet because we, not we, yous of this mainstream community, wish to be married, wish for this status. That’s all fine. But you are forgetting your grassroots, you are forgetting your own individual identity. I mean, you can never be like them.”
Even though in 1969 many of our trans forerunners thought of themselves as being part of the gay community and Gay Liberation, we weren’t considered mainstream enough or normal enough, in just a few short years that followed, to have many of our gay and lesbian community peers consider us their community siblings. There are reasons why the T has its own letter in LGBT.
So, now in 2015 the argument can reasonably be made here in America’s Finest City that each of the two subgroups of the trans subcommunity of the LGBT community pitted against each other aren’t listening to the other; that each subgroup are on some level participating in the potential silencing of the voices of the other subgroup.
In becoming mainstream and celebrated in American culture, is the trans community lulling itself into believing it really ever can be a like them in the LG portion of the LGBT community, or ever be a like them in broader society? Or is Sylvia Rivera right about all of us in the LGB and especially the T community – “[we]” can never be like them.”
What I know is when I wanted to take a photo of a bunch of trans subcommunity members of the LGBT community who weren’t the “usual suspects” of go-to names and faces, I ran into a current pitting of community members against each other over what the trans community should be messaging to its siblings in the LGBT community, as well as to broader society, at this transgender moment.
This feels like an unfinished column. Your last paragraph is vague and does not make total sense. What does “I ran into a current pitting of community members against each other what the trans community should be messaging to its siblings in the LGBT community, as well as to broader society” mean? Is this some kind of insider talk? Your writing is usually clear and to the point, Autumn. Perhaps you need to finish your thoughts with a part 2 to this confusing post.
Autumn, In my opinion the picture you paint is not accurate. No one group is trying to silence another group. Personally, I am in favor of the die-in. Such action will always play an important role in our movement. The controversy has more to do with the tactics used by the people leading the die-in. Instead of reaching out to the entire trans community, the die-in organizers opted to exclude much of the trans community in their planning. As with most of America, there is a generation gap in our community too. Many older trans people in our community feel marginalized by younger trans people. As a trans elder I have felt it and I know many other older trans people in our community have also felt the sting of marginalization. But I also understand the passion of younger trans people and the reservations they have when it comes to working with older trans people. Back in the 1960s, “don’t trust anyone over 30” was our mantra.
And as for the statement by Sylvia Rivera “can we ever be like them:” Some activists will say fuck trying to be transnormative. Some will even go so far as to say that society needs to be torn apart and restructured. But I believe most trans people just want the same opportunities as cisgender LGB and hetrosexual people desire, including a good education, employment, health care, support and love.
This is definitely not a 1005 accurate portrayal of what is going on in the community. You discovered all of this because you wanted to take a photo?
GURL PLEASE!
I agree with Joe, this story was poorly written and not complete.
I’m curious as to why people think myself or anyone else who is participating needed permission from the entire trans community? This wasn’t an elaborate plan, we participated in the die-in at long beach pride and after seeing one transphobic incident after another and watching out trans siblings across the nation rise up we decided we wanted to do this too, not only in solidarity with them but for our own lives here in San diego. The push back has only been really Coming from a small group of people including a couple people from the “trans elders group” meaning a very small group of leaders within this group like Meredith. Why do I need your permission for my voice to be heard? Why do you get to decide if it’s valid? I hear from this particular group of people that trans elders are “marginalized” and “oppressed” because “younger” folks don’t agree or “shut up and listen” to the elders. im actually not sure if Meredith or ther folks even understand how privilege and power dynamics work?? The folks that have been personally attacking me and my character or this event have way more power in the trans community acting particularly as gate keepers and policing our voices not the other way around. (This group is also predominantly white and middle class)We aren’t telling trans elders what to do and were not silencing them when they speak about how they need resources or support. There are actually trans elders, people of color, trans youth, who are part of this die-in. I’m wondering why anyone else didn’t ask for permission from the entire trans community to be part of the contingent like the trans elders?? I have NO problem working with elder folks, I respect and work with elder folks. In here to work, im here to serve the people, im here to defend myself and my siblings under attack. I’m tired of the on going dramtics I keep hearing from people who actually don’t know what’s going on, and when we explain, aren’t listening.
There are a number of us who have been asking the same questions going on 20 years now. We finally give up trying to help people in the community, we move on and live normal lives where we don’t have to deal with the infighting, and Jerry Springer like behavior. Life is too short to be politicking in a closed community when there is a whole world where we can be wives and husbands, raise children and not be “other’ed” by our past.
Liz,
A former trans leader and a much happier person.