Corporate entities donating to organizations that exist to stand against LGB people are obviously run by bigoted losers who need to get a life outside of worrying about who other people love and/or have sex with. Whether or not you believe that a business that spends money in this fashion still has the right to operate under the First Amendment, you probably agree with the above statement if you’re not against LGB people yourself.
But here’s the thing: corporate money donated to fight for gay marriage is actively used to oppress people, too. It goes to politicians who speak out and vote against trans rights. It goes to alleged “LGBT” organizations lobbying for trans rights to be removed from bills (HRC, Equality Maryland, to name a few). It goes to trading the legal rights of transgender men and women to not be kicked out of homes/fired from their workplace for the rights of cis gay people to get married (look at the situation in New York for example). It’s thoroughly fucked up that a company is donating to bigoted organizations, and I won’t knowingly support one. But the fact is, if Chik-Fil-A was donating to most gay marriage organizations, they would still be perpetuating bigotry. And many of the people protesting them now would instead, no doubt, be going out of their way to support them.
Yet, many liberal cis folks become enraged when this is pointed out, despite the fact that it’s backed by years of evidence. How would the cis gay community feel if trans men and women cared more about our right to marry than your right to not be fired from your job or made homeless? There are many LGB trans people, too, and what’s referred to as “gay marriage” also affects the marriage rights of thousands of transgender men and women. Clearly, the legal right to marriage is something that many trans men and women care a great deal about. You don’t see trans folks funneling money into organizations that fight against these rights.
But the monied machines that fight in support of gay marriage have blood on their hands as well; a fact that is consistently ignored in marriage discourse.
(Note: I am aware that Chik-Fil-A has also donated to other types of anti-gay organizations – this is in response to what almost every single comment I’ve seen protesting their donations has been about: their donations against gay marriage.)
Huffington Post Transgender Fails
HuffPo (short for Huffington Post) often reports on what they tend to refer to as “LGBT issues.” Unsurprisingly, their focus is usually on cis gay issues, which is a form of cis-normativity and trans erasure in and of itself, but they often go a step further and actively engage in cissexism and transphobia.
Some examples (I realize that I’m giving them traffic by linking to them here, so please click-through only at your own discretion if seeing the source is important to you) -
- In this article about anti-gay violence, there are almost too many problems to mention, but I’ll try. The article starts out by staying that “more murders motivated by anti-gay bias occurred last year than any year since the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs began collecting data.” What it doesn’t tell you is that the number of murders is only around 1/10th of the number of trans women that were murdered last year. This is not to say that anti-gay bigotry doesn’t matter, but to focus on a FAR less prevalent form of hatred and sensationalize it comparatively is cis and white privilege personified. The article then goes on to state: “In 2011, 30 fatally violent hate crimes were committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender victims.” Unbelievable… because it’s wildly inaccurate; flat-out using the word “transgender” as an utter and complete throwaway. Do you know how many transgender women, majority of color, were murder victims last year? 221. How dare Huffington Post claim there were only “30 fatally violent hate crimes” against a group that includes “transgender victims.” Sloppy reporting, poor proofing, and outright erasure at work. Later in the article, HuffPo reports that “People of color, immigrants, transgender people, youth, and young adults were all disproportionately hurt in 2011, but white gay non-transgender men still represented the largest group of victims.” No. Factually incorrect. White cis gay men may get listened to the most, but they are not the largest group of victims if 1/10th of them were killed in the same time period when hundreds of trans women of color were murdered.
- In this article about Janet Jackson producing a transgender-related documentary, HuffPo links to a photo gallery of “Straight Allies.” Acting like “straight” is somehow inherently different from or opposite of transgender? Ignorant and un-gendering. Sexual orientation is NOT the same thing as gender identity! Like cis people, transgender men and women can be straight, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, etc.
- Putting the transgender section under the category of “Gay Voices.” What the fuck? Calling us “gay” by default is playing into the cis trope that we’re all just cis gays who want to be straight. It is easily proven as incorrect (judging by the fact that there are thousands of transgender people who aren’t straight) and extremely offensive.
- As for their readers, this poll result says it all – the majority think that gay marriage is more important than: transgender rights, gay adoption, workplace protections, housing and public accommodations, sexual liberties, bullying, and LGBT homeless youth. Privilege at work.
These things are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Huffington Post cissexism, transphobia, and trans-misogyny. Please think twice before considering them to be positive regarding transgender issues, or even gay issues for that matter, unless we’re solely talking about marriage.
Shame on Hennepin County Spokeswoman Sarah Russell
CeCe McDonald, a trans woman of color who was viciously attacked by trans-misogynistic racists and fought back in self-defense, was officially sentenced today. In regards to her sentencing, Hennepin County Spokeswoman Sarah Russell spoke on CeCe’s jail housing situation and willfully mis-gendered her in the process. Let’s be clear: mis-gendering a transgender woman or man is bigoted, point-blank. For a cis woman like Sarah Russell to do so is completely unacceptable, especially while speaking as an employee of the State.
CeCe McDonald is a woman. End of story. How would you feel being housed in the male section, Sarah Russell? How would you feel being referred to with male pronouns? You are on the wrong side of history.
Russell also added that the state will make their own assessment regarding what CeCe’s gender is. According to her, that will involve “any and all collateral documentation and a physical and psychological evaluation.” When are cis people going to get it? Documentation and physical characters do not determine gender. And trans men and women don’t need to submit to your creepy psychological evaluations to know what our genders are. Shame on you for treating CeCe McDonald, victim of a vicious hate crime, with even more hate and disrespect.
Oakland City Council Wants to Ban Shields
Hope no one’s planning on dressing up as a knight this Halloween, because Oakland City Council is mulling over a proposal to ban shields. Are they concerned about the fact that a federal judge threatened sanctions against OPD (Oakland Police Department) after their militant response to protests? The group of people who are actually carrying loaded guns, clubs, bean bag bullets, tear-gas canisters, and pepper spray, and regularly using them? Of course not. This is the Oakland City Council we’re talking about, which includes Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente, who called Oakland protests “domestic terrorism.” Yes, spray-painting and property damage in which not a single person is hurt is terrorism, but using actual weapons against human beings, a la OPD? Of course not!
The article detailing the new proposal says the following:
Rather than having to catch Occupy agitators in the act of damaging property or using the makeshift weapons, police would be able to arrest protesters they saw carrying the prohibited items, potentially weeding out agitators before protests get violent.
Do people realize what a truly terrifying precedent this is? It’s tantamount to claiming that because someone was holding a lighter, they should be arrested for arson.
The article goes on to say:
Several council members had recently inquired whether the city could approve a law prohibiting any item that could be fashioned into a weapon.
Literally anything could be “fashioned into a weapon.” A pair of shoes could be used as a weapon. A belt could be used as a weapon. A fist can be and is regularly used by people as a weapon. Guess we should cut off everyone’s hands and make nudity mandatory.
Oakland City Council, folks, where intelligence and freedom go to die!
OPD Kill Another Young Black Man – RIP Alan Blueford
On May 6, 2012, the Oakland Police Department added to the list of black people that have been killed by police so far this year by taking high school senior Alan Blueford’s life.
Alan Blueford, victim of OPD
Alan was standing outside with some friends (around 90th & Birch in Oakland) when some members of the Oakland Police Department pulled up and racially profiled him. Alan ran, and was SHOT IN THE BACK three times while fleeing. Even if you think he deserved to be punished for running away from a police officer (which, really? Who can blame people of color for being fearful of police?), the punishment, even within our broken “justice” system, is supposed to be arrest. As Hammer, formerly known as MC Hammer, said at the vigil last night, “How can the penalty for fleeing be death?”
The same officer who killed Alan Blueford also shot himself in the foot – suspicious much? OPD tried to lie about this too, but later admitted it. “Uhoh, better make it look like I got shot, too!” certainly wouldn’t be surprising behavior from an OPD member, and if it was an accident, we need to have police officers who don’t lose control of their weapons!
There will be a march for justice for Alan in Oakland today, beginning at 9200 Birth Street and ending at Eastmont Mall Police Sub-Station (at 2652 73rd Ave.).
To stay up-to-date on activities, check out Justice 4 Alan Blueford.
RIP ALAN BLUEFORD! STOP RACIST POLICE KILLINGS!
Rally for Justice for Brandy Martell
This Sunday, May 13th, there will be a rally for justice for Brandy Martell, a transgender woman of color who was killed in a hate crime murder in downtown Oakland on April 29, 2012.
The rally will begin at 2pm at Oscar Grant Plaza (formerly known as Frank Ogawa Plaza) at 14th & Broadway in downtown Oakland.
If you can, please show up and help call attention to the brutal injustice of trans-misogyny!
Brandy Martell (Courtesy of Tiffany Woods)
Free CeCe McDonald!
CeCe McDonald
CeCe McDonald, a trans woman of color, is facing years in jail for self-defense from a trans-misogynistic, racist attack. Because of the bigoted criminal justice system, she was forced to plead guilty to second degree manslaughter to avoid facing an even longer sentence. Sign the petition and tell Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to pardon her now!
