Put a transwoman, transman, gay man, lesbian woman, and bisexual bisexual in a line-up and who is your average civilian most likely to pick as belonging to the LGBT crowd? The transwoman and transman, of course.
More so than the folks in the LGB crowd, a lot of folks in the trans crowd will get clocked by civilians who are scrutinizing people to determine whether or not we are discrimination-worthy. Size is often our giveaway (big transwomen and small transmen) and there is not much we can do about that.
And stop calling it a "religious freedom" law. It's a freedom to discriminate law, that is, you are free to discriminate according to your prejudices and then use religion as an excuse. How twisted is that?
Tell me, Mr. Christian, if a transwoman needed some carpentry work done, what would Jesus do?
Wearing Kate Spade.
Actor John Lithgow in the 1992 film Raising Cain.
Thanks Stana!!!! I live within an hour of Indiana and have made no secret of my disdain for this law. Needless to say, my partner and I do not go to Indiana at all anymore until this tremendous mess is cleared up!
ReplyDeleteStana, well said! I think we need to show a strong front to combat this insidious form of closet discrimination. I hope your message is spread far and wide reminding all of us who are transgender to stand up for our right to be who we are.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sally
As a Christian, stupidity like what's happening in Indiana annoys me. It annoys me because then I have to fight the same battle all over again trying to show that my faith is not defined by the ridiculous and non-Christian fundamentalism spouted by bigots and bringers of hate. It also makes it harder and harder for transfolk, LGB and anyone else outside the 'norm' to come to Christian places and feel safe, accepted, even loved. And that saddens me. We should *all* feel loved. Because love is given freely and is unconnected to who and what we are or how we live.
ReplyDeleteAs it should be.
As a parent, stuff like what's happening in Indiana upsets me because I have to fight all the harder to show my children that we should be good to one another because we are all humans and we are all worthy of respect unless proven otherwise. We are all in need one another and we shouldn't divide like this.
As someone who thinks science is pretty groovy, knowing that 3 in every thousand people are potentially transfolk and many more homosexual, what's going on in Indiana is blindingly annoying and stupid. Once again, we have to battle all the harder to show that science is a study of the world, it reveals truth and is apolitical. Gah!
In short, yes, I agree.
Joanna
I'm a Hoosier, but foremost, I'm a libertarian. My foundational principal is the non-aggression principal. No human being has an inherent right to the labor or goods of another human being.
ReplyDeleteThe law doesn't allow discrimination against people just for being gay. It protects people from being forced to do things they don't want to do. See Indianapolis lawyer and gay marriage supporter Paul Ogden's writings on the topic at http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/
Any government which has the power to force one person to act against her will, no matter how much *I* think they should act, has the power to force me to act against my will-- the sword cuts both ways. The wind that blows pro-LGBT can shift and blow the other way.