"I AM: Trans People Speak" Campaign Highlights Trans Lives

Professor, firefighter, journalist, parent, social worker, interfaith leader, professional musician, and accountant. These are just some of the professions seen in a new multimedia campaign, "I AM: Trans People Speak," from the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC). The campaign, launched in connection with Transgender Awareness Week 2010, November 13 to 21, aims to raise awareness "about the diverse communities of trans individuals, families, and allies."

The video after the jump below is only one of several from MTPC's Transpeoplespeak.org site, profiling transgender people in our communities. (Visit the site to learn how to contribute your own video, audio, or text stories.) Even if you are transgender yourself or already consider yourself a trans ally, the stories will inspire you.

It's 2010, and most people know that gay men are more than just hairdressers and florists; that lesbians are more than just gym teachers and womyn's bookstore owners. Transgender people still have much less visibility, however. I imagine when the uninformed think about what transgender people do for a living, they think of drag performers -- a gross misunderstanding of what being transgender really is. (Drag is by definition a performance; being transgender is an identity.) The MTPC campaign hopes to remedy the misconceptions and highlight the realities of transgender people's experiences.

One unfortunate reality is that transgender people are widely discriminated against. Up to 56 percent of transgender people report having been fired and up to 47 percent report having been denied employment, says MTPC. Up to 21 percent report having been verbally or physically harassed in the workplace.

Many transgender people are also the victims of hate crimes. Fifteen percent of the nearly 1,700 anti-LGBT hate crimes in 2006 were against people who self-identified as transgender -- but MTPC says the number is underreported. And this Saturday, November 20, marks the twelfth annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to remember those killed because of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

Last year, a federal hate crimes bill  that was inclusive of both sexual orientation and gender identity became law. Fully inclusive employment protections have been harder to enact, however. In 2007, a federal Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) that was inclusive of gender identity failed in committee in the U.S. House. A version without gender identity was introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), but widely rejected by many LGBT individuals and organizations because of its lack of protections for transgender people. A new version was then introduced in 2009 by Rep. Frank that did include these protections, but its fate in this session of Congress looks iffy at best. It seems most likely it will expire without a vote, along with over 20 other LGBT-related bills, and need to be reintroduced next session. Still, it is worth continuing to let our elected officials know we support such a measure and will not forget.

Photo credit: Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition