A prayer for the trans community
But let's add action to it, shall we?
Some states are pushing to end the legal recognition of people who are transgender. Those states include (I always check to see if my beloved and benighted home state of Missouri is on lists like this and THIS TIME IT’S NOT AND SA-LUTE!) Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia, Iowa, Georgia, and Mississippi, among others.
This is a new tact haters are taking. Collectively, these big steaming piles of bad ideas are called “Women’s Bill of Rights,” and a bigger misnomer would be hard to find.
The impact of this kind of action on people within the trans community is hard to measure, but consider withdrawal of all discrimination laws that protect the community to be the first thing to go. In general, according to the linked ABC story, the bills…
…would legally define women and men based on whether they have, had, will have or would have "a reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes" eggs or sperm for fertilization, respectively.
Frankly, no one was expecting much in the way of equal rights from these states (check out their scorecards here, from Human Rights Campaign) but this goes down a very dark and ugly road.
Speaking as a woman, I don’t see anything about these blighted pieces of crap that protects me. Shame on these states. Shame on all of them. I was thinking about writing something longer on this, but I am having a hard time coming up with more than WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SO MEAN AND STUPID?
I may have to work on messaging.
Pray if you are so inclined, and by all means, do something, already.
(If you’re relatively ignorant about the transgender community, this is a good explainer and if you struggle with the proper language, so do I, and to double-check myself, I go here, my alma mater.)
A "Compassionate Women's Bill of Rights" organization should be formed that counteracts every bad thing the other group dreams up! I hate it when a group uses global labels to make it sound like their ideas have broad support or are the right thing to do. Turn the tables on them!
Transgenders— tough for people to grasp. As the editor of C-HIT.org, we devoted many stories to transgender health— as a way to raise awareness— and to showcase the plights of transgenders. CT has a strong network of health care providers at local hospitals, including Middlesex Hospital, a leader in the care of transgender people. They are also doctors in private practices that provide health and mental health care. Have to say— I learned a lot from the stories that we published. We interviewed some amazingly brave individuals— young and old. These states that ban transgender care— it is terrible. Can’t imagine living in a state where you are not recognized for who you are. What are they afraid of. The best we can do is educate people and support transgender people in our communities.