Transgender Pride

My transgender sisters and heroes, Cecilia Chung, and Theresa Sparks

Transgender Pride
Being out is a relatively new phenomenon in the Transgender community. For so long, our doctors told us to take hormones, get surgery, do our best to "pass" and assimilate. Being out is not the goal-still true for most. As a transgender person, it is so much easier to be invisible...to not come out...to pass. You really do set yourself up as a target in so many ways.

I was talking to a reporter about the significance of Pride for the trans community but I could only speak for myself. Each persons experience of being trans is so different. And Cecilia Chung, as an immigrant women of color, clearly has much more difficult challenges in the world because of racism and sexism...

But for me, I came out in 1995 as a transgender man. Coming out as trans was one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever made in my life. I had come out as a lesbian in 1982 which ironically was a much easier decision for me. There were definite struggles attached to coming out as a lesbian but I wanted to date women and this was the social construct through which I could do it. Kind of.

But as it turned out, it was a gay transgender man named Shadow who made me realize I was trans. At first it made my head hurt (and more) when I realized he was transgender. Shadow was a former lesbian who transitioned to becoming a man and who now sleeps with men and identifies as gay. There is no accounting for the homo-erotic impulse really but ultimately it isn't about who you sleep with... it is about who you are.

Before I knew that Shadow was transgender, I thought, "What is up with this guy? He is always advocating for transgender people. What a sweet gay man to care about the interests of transgender people." Yeah. I was that dumb. Slowly I got it. And slowly I got it even more. It scared the hell out of me to realize I was transgender and to come out as trans.

Do I feel an affinity of interests and closeness to lesbians? You bet. How could I not? I have spent years living the life of a lesbian, too many hours in too many meetings, too many nights in too many bars and even too many nights in, well, never mind. But I knew and have always known that I was different. And that I needed to come out. So I did.

But we were all out at the Trans March this week. Proud, stylish, scrappy and full of love. And someday, all transgender folks will all be out.

We will all stand together some day and cheer when we are all out, everyone of us, standing proud and spreading love. Watch out world. Here we come.


Trans March arriving at Civic Center Plaza