COME TO THE ‘Left OUT Party: A Genderful Gay-la!’
YOU’RE INVITED!! Queens, Studs, Femmes, Trannies, Twinks, Soft Butches, And all fighters for social justice and fabulousness! COME TO THE ‘Left OUT Party: A Genderful Gayla!’
At Union Square directly across from the Westin St. Francis (where HRC’s gala is happening simultaneously) San Francisco’s LGBT communities will celebrate inclusiveness and the multitude of gender expression and variation in our LGBT communities!
At the Left OUT Party, we will honor the legal team that won the CA Supreme Court marriage decision, hear from politicians and community leaders, and feature a spectrum of genderfabulous performers and Mistress of Ceremonies, Annie Danger.
TO CONTRIBUTE TO Marriage Equality:
https://secure.ga4.org/01/equalityforall
TO CONTRIBUTE TO Transgender equality and empowerment in CA:
http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/donate.html
July 21st, 2008 at 12:28 am
Support trans liberation by funding “marriage equality”? Ha!!!!! You all are as bad as the HRC.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
While I agree with picketing the HRC, I’m not going to any demonstration that uses the term “trannies”. That’s not a term of empowerment, rather a term of putdown specifically towards transwomen. You want a real party? Start by respecting the population that’s oppressed/discriminated/assaulted against the most. Let the people who were abused with a term decide to reclaim it… or NOT!
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:32 am
Gina, this party was organized by a large group of LGBT activists, including some of the “T” demographic.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
Brian:
If you haven’t already noticed, there are many LGB people who really don’t respect transpeople (especially transwomen) as equals. There are many FTM spectrum people who think using “trannie” is within their rights when, in fact, it’s never been used as a term of oppression against them. My remark stands. If you really want to respect transwomen, the group experiencing the strongest effects of discrimination, and violence of anyone in the LGBT community, stop using “trannie”. You are offending and alienating many of the people you think you’re trying to help.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Hey Gina,
Thanks for that helpful feedback. I think that many people will be there who identify as trannie and I think that is why that language was used.
Similarly,I have in the past gotten feedback that older gay men and lesbians also find it offensive when the word “queer” is used.
We all struggle as a community for everyone to feel included and certainly I can hear how that feels disrespectful AND also acknowledge that some feel differently.
I would hope that we can try and find a language that is respectful and honors all of us, AND I admit that we are not there yet.
That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try and continue to dialogue, struggle respectfully, learn, and work together.
Again, thanks for that information and I will pass it along. I would love for you to be there and if you do come, I hope you introduce yourself to me.
All my best,
Robert
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 am
Sorry, Robert, but if I’m going to be lumped together with self-identified ‘trannies’ I won’t be attending. Nor is this a purely generational issue. I know many young trans women who dislike the term as well and find it as demeaning as ’shemale’(which is how some ‘transgender’ people identify themselves as, should we use that one as well?). You do, no doubt, remember the name of the ‘Transmarch’ used to be the ‘Tranny March’ 4 years ago until many trans women threatened to boycott it. Do we have to go through this nonsense all over again?
The reality is, there are very, very few 24/7 women with trans histories identifying themselves by that term. It’s overwhelmingly adopted by genderqueers, drag-performers (aka: men), ftm-spectrum people and other LGB activists who use it. Moreover, the term is increasingly being used by the cisgendered population as a putdown of mtf-spectrum women (NOT toward ftms) as though it’s now a hip and accepted figure of speech. I am all for the political expediency of the LGBT collective but, no thank you, not at the expense of my womanhood.