Transsexualism & Intersex Group for Education & Resistance (T.I.G.E.R.) is a new working group comprised of human rights advocates, doctors, scientists, legal professionals and people born transsexual and/or intersex dedicated to the legal and medical protections, accurate representation and liberation from transgenderism ideology for people born transsexual and/or intersex
Many national & international advocates are starting a new working group to discuss & counter the ever growing attack on the true narrative of the transsexual medical condition, & the challenges people born transsexual and/or intersex face in the newer "transgender, 3rd gender, cross dressing/transvestite, gender deconstructionism, gender queer activist" agenda.
Your thoughts are wanted. Please leave a comment in the comment section in how we may be able to achieve these goals. Thank you.
Myself, I have never felt mixed in with the so-called "T" community and in fact many have been very disapproving of my views on issues. Mainly because I believe that the issues with gender identity are a medical issue and not necessarily a social issue and I feel sickened when society portrays those of us like me who are or may be intersexed or transsexual as the crossdressers and drag queens you see on the Jerry Springer Show. Unfortunately, this is how the media portrays us. The recent restroom issues that have taken place in Maryland, Nevada and Maine underscore the fact that for us, it is a medical need issue, not a social issue like some in the GLBT advocacy community paint it to be.
ReplyDeleteI have been called a nazi because I will not conform to the feeling that "gender identity" includes those who do not have a medical diagnosis for gender identity order or a physical intersex condition. The so-called crossdressers, drag queens, genderqueers, newhalfs, ladyboys, etc. who continue to identify with either their birth gender, a third gender or no gender are in a group that I call "gender expression", and while I feel that this group should have rights, I do not feel that these groups should speak for us and I feel that in places like Maryland where there are a lot of concerns about "trans" issues (men in the ladies room, etc.), that "gender identity" needs to be identified differently than "gender expression". I would even go one step further, and redefine "sex" to include transsexual and intersex conditions.
Prior to the HB-235 Senate Committee vote in Maryland, I sent proposed amendment language to address the issue of restroom access. I simply added to some existing language in the law around sex segregated public accommodations that sex be determined by the gender denoted on a state, federal or foreign identification device (driver license, ID, passport, passport card, etc.)
I specifically included the US Passport Card in the law because in many states, a TS person must be post-op to get a gender marker changed. US Passport Cards can be issued to those who are pre-op as long as they show medical evidence. The recent confrontation may have been able to be averted if the person who was confronted had an identification device that was congruent with her gender. Now in all fairness, we do not know if this person was truly TS/IS or was a crossdresser. But the article gave the impression that she was full time and she's from New York State, which from my understanding, does not change a license unless you are post op. (someone correct me on this, because I think I know a pre-op with an F) ((continued))
(continued) I was told many years ago, I could not reproduce because I had some kind of a chemical imbalance in me. They would not elaborate.. so I don't know if I am intersex or transsexual myself. But I do know how I identify and like many of you, I have followed the Standards of Care, I have been through the therapy and I have been on full time RLE for the past 5+ years. I see this situation much different that someone who likes to dress up to look pretty, to express their "femme selves", etc. These people have either have taken no action to transition and therefore they continue to have a male sex drive (of course, my convo is pointed in the MTF direction here) and they still want to keep it or someone has started to take hormones without a prescription thinking that will turn them into a woman overnight.
ReplyDeleteWe need a substantial educational effort. An effort that teaches:
- For TS/IS, this is a medical issue and not a social issue.
- We need to encourage states to follow the current WPATH recommendations and only require medical documentation and not SRS to change a gender on a driver's license.
- We need codified policy in the REALID Act to assure that state IDs will not be refused if the gender on the SSA records are different then that of the application for a state ID/DL.
- We need the Social Security Dept. to discontinue the practice of sending 'gender no-match' letters to employers.
- We need to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to expand on the definition of sex to be determined based on state or federal identification devices.
Some will say that I am advocating "transgender ID cards" (ID cards that state you are transsexual) and others are painting me as someone who wants to put a purple triangle on everyone who is TS/IS to show they can use the bathroom. This rhetoric is coming from those who have not endured the time and expense of therapy, the hormones, the first few months of hot flash hell, the body changes, the excessive crying for no reason, the paper chase to change names and identities. The gay, lesbian, bi and gender expression crowd does not go through this. A gay man does not have to change their name to interact with day to day society. This is why we must moving towards the professional community (the APA, AMA, WPATH) to speak for us as a medical condition and not a sexual fetish like some paint us to be.
Despite some of the delusions that some in the GLBT community have, society is not ready to accept any dilution of the gender binary. I feel the gender binary will be in society for the rest of our lives and for generations to come.
Education and tolerance will come.. but it must be backed by law.
This looks like a good idea, it's about time.
ReplyDeleteSome of us are tired of being outed by members of the Tee-Gees who don't like our need to live our lives in the mainstream without being forced to belong to some phony umbrella group.
Being forced under the Tee-Gee umbrella and forced to be a part of the GLB-Whatever has done nothing but stigmatize and marginalize us.
Yesterday, May 12th was the Bronx Transgender Conference. Ashley Love was the keynote speaker. I attended and sat in the audience. Ashley spoke of the need to define the transsexual medical condition as a seperate entity than other transgender persons and how our medical needs have been placed on a back burner by LBGT groups in favor of social agendas such as gay marriage. She had a mixed response from those attending. I decided to step forward during the question and answer phase of the conference and support Ashley's statements. I took a poll of the audience and asked those who were transsexual that didn't agree with Ashley to raise their hands, and for those who supported her to raise their hands. The result was 1 opposed and around 15 in support. I was then cut down by another guest speaker. Ashley immediately spoke up and I took the microphione again and reaffirmed my (our) stance. It is obvious that those who we had hoped would look after our needs, have essentially hijacked us to build votes for their causes. It is time that we take this extremely important and life saving mission back. Nobody cares more about us than we do.
ReplyDeleteI may be a bit long in the tooth, but I still do have some bite and will help as best a I can.
ReplyDeleteGo GET 'EM !!
Education of the public is necessary. I will be presenting "INTERSEX PEOPLE: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW and WHY YOU SHOULD CARE" with the participation of two intersex persons to LBT women at the Center on Halsted in Chicago on June 11th.
ReplyDelete