Christy Martins' last post, which was featured a couple of days ago on T-Central, has resulted in 33 comments so far. As usual, the opinions vary, and that's good because it makes for lively discussion and entertaining reading. While we at T-Central generally feature blog posts, I don't believe we have ever featured a comment, until now. Lori, the founder of T-Central, filed a comment to this post. It's well thought out and worth sharing with our Community.
I'm sorry, but the recent videotaped beating of a trans woman in a Baltimore McDonald's brings this issue even more to light, especially since so many make it a bathroom issue.
To use a quote from Jenny Boylan that she said yesterday in her own response to the attack:
"So this woman beaten in Baltimore? Do you think the perpetrators paused to consider whether she was a "woman of transsexual history" or a drag queen, or a cross dresser, or a "pagan intersex princess" or whatever other identifier she came up with for herself? Seriously? Why do I stand with ALL trans people, regardless of history? This is why."
I can't help but agree with this wholeheartedly. Who says that a post-op transsexual woman should be the ONLY trans person to ever step inside a bathroom. I remember when I first started going out and presenting as my authentic self there were too many occurrences where others took notice I was a trans person and made rude comments towards me. The bathroom issue was one of the worst things I had to deal with...for God's sake, I just needed to pee!
As time went on and my presentation and voice was more in line with my female mind, I simply could no longer use the men's restroom. It got to the point where one day I was dressed (I like the term "cross-dressed" here) as a male on a trip to California to see family and I had to use a rest area restroom. I was nearly beat up when the men saw me as a female at first then realized I was a trans woman in their bathroom. My son and I were nearly victimized because of this very kind of panicked hatred.
Yes, I have to agree with Boylan - when does one finally get a "pass" to use a restroom of their gender presentation and why should only "true" or "classic" transsexuals get an unfettered hall pass to the ladies' room?
I have many post-op transsexual friends in my life. Many of them were unable to remove some markedly male features from the ravaging effects testosterone had on their body. Yet even though they get called names and are put down on an almost daily basis by mean spirited people, they live their lives to the best of their ability. I stand with them, and I stand with those women who are just trying to find a place to pee.
No, WE need to come together and stop all this bitching so that those who don't understand us will see that we stand, or sit...together.
We are an angry bunch, that's true. But the world is a terrible, violent place for those outside the (passable) gender binary.
To use a quote from Jenny Boylan that she said yesterday in her own response to the attack:
"So this woman beaten in Baltimore? Do you think the perpetrators paused to consider whether she was a "woman of transsexual history" or a drag queen, or a cross dresser, or a "pagan intersex princess" or whatever other identifier she came up with for herself? Seriously? Why do I stand with ALL trans people, regardless of history? This is why."
I can't help but agree with this wholeheartedly. Who says that a post-op transsexual woman should be the ONLY trans person to ever step inside a bathroom. I remember when I first started going out and presenting as my authentic self there were too many occurrences where others took notice I was a trans person and made rude comments towards me. The bathroom issue was one of the worst things I had to deal with...for God's sake, I just needed to pee!
As time went on and my presentation and voice was more in line with my female mind, I simply could no longer use the men's restroom. It got to the point where one day I was dressed (I like the term "cross-dressed" here) as a male on a trip to California to see family and I had to use a rest area restroom. I was nearly beat up when the men saw me as a female at first then realized I was a trans woman in their bathroom. My son and I were nearly victimized because of this very kind of panicked hatred.
Yes, I have to agree with Boylan - when does one finally get a "pass" to use a restroom of their gender presentation and why should only "true" or "classic" transsexuals get an unfettered hall pass to the ladies' room?
I have many post-op transsexual friends in my life. Many of them were unable to remove some markedly male features from the ravaging effects testosterone had on their body. Yet even though they get called names and are put down on an almost daily basis by mean spirited people, they live their lives to the best of their ability. I stand with them, and I stand with those women who are just trying to find a place to pee.
No, WE need to come together and stop all this bitching so that those who don't understand us will see that we stand, or sit...together.
We are an angry bunch, that's true. But the world is a terrible, violent place for those outside the (passable) gender binary.
When I am in the restroom I really don't care who else comes in to pee. If it happens to be an obvious man in a dress and he behaves who cares? Now that situation might lead to some chatter with a friend after we exit such as ..."did you see that man? Sure but you can't exactly expect him to use the men's room dressed like that."
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that male politicians, writers and other male public figures ought to stay out of this whole debate. Let women decide.
Thanks for posting this Calie. I watched the video and it made sick to see how callously some people can treat there fellow human beings, when they get the notion that they are somehow more entitled to liberty than others. This video should be shown in all of the state assemblies around the country, as an example of why transgender people need the same legal protections, as cis people of the gender they are presenting in.
ReplyDeleteI hope that poor girl makes a complete recovery, and the thugs who attacked her are prosecuted for hate crimes. Additionally, all those McDonald employees who stood by and did nothing to intervene, should be fired.
Melissa XX
Well said.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what those two girls thought their victim was, if they felt threatened by her presence, then they should have gone to the manager or called the police. What they did was reprehensible. They're animals.
ReplyDeleteChrissy Lee Polis gave an interview to the Baltimore Sun. I was glad to see that she seems to be OK. The way she describes what happened makes it sound like it had something to do with one of the assailant's boyfriend and some girls looking for a fight, and nothing to do with Polis being in the bathroom as such.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how anyone clocked this young woman, and thus how her history became part of the story.
@Areil It's true from what is said by the victim it doesn't seem directly to be an issue of bathroom usage. That element of the story came from the postings of the employee who stood by and made the film. This makes it clear that they knew the womans history. That said, you get the feeling that they would have acted the same way whether she was trans or not. It doesn't make it OK though. Nobody deserves to picked on like this ever.
ReplyDeleteThis was such an appalling act.
ReplyDeleteI know that girls can be jealous when someone talks to their boyfriend but I used to think that this kind of thing only happened after they had been out clubbing and drinking.
Glad to hear that, apart from a couple of bruises, Chrissy is OK.
I'm a transman and don't feel confident enough to use the mens restroom yet, so I still use the Ladies, but the shock and horror on their faces, and the rude comments I hear (behind my back) make having a pee a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteNice balanced comment as always Lori. :)
I would like to know what your collective reaction would be if this woman were not "trans". Or what if it had been me in the video being beaten?
ReplyDeleteWould I have deserved it because you don't "like" me, or I am unpopular? Would you be out tere in the streets demonstrating for trans rights be cause you know I had a certain operation 40 years ago?
What I find MOST appalling about this entire incident is not just the outright violence, which is bad enough and sadly, seems to be the norm and occurring even more often now that class warfare is becoming openly PC is that this young woman's entire history is now public property.
ReplyDeleteThe media's, as well as the "community's" focus is all about this poor girls "TRANS" history. Praise Jesus that thi girl was not blacl and her attackers white or we would have Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the entire Rainbow Coalition in the street of Baltimore.
This whole thing has been overblown into a travesty and this young woman's pain and more tragically, her PRIVACY and her FUture is being offered up in sacrifice on the HOLY ALTER of P/A so that ANYBODY in a wig, skirt and heels can go ANYWHERE based on their "gender presentation" du jour. YOU activists and your "useful idiot" sychophants make me ill.
This is tantamount to publishing the name of a rape victim yet the names of the offenders are NOT disclosed. Pure BLOODY Racial Politics!
ReplyDeleteI stand by every word written in this comment above.
ReplyDelete