Trans Canada
Richard Burnett
Montreal joins cities nationwide on Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transsexuals and transgendered people are regularly beaten and murdered around the world, from Brazil to Turkey - and often by the authorities themselves. And it's not all that much better in North America where trans people are subject to more violence in the streets than even gays and lesbians."Those of us who are transgender are often paying with our very lives just to exist," Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the American trans activist who founded the inaugural Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1998, recently opined in the Philadelphia Gay News. "We don't often have the comfort to 'play safe.' As a result, more than one of us is murdered each month. Being a transgender woman means that there is very little about my life that I truly get to play safe with. I have had to face the prospect of losing my family, being terminated from jobs and ridiculed on the street simply for who I am. I can face death simply by being attracted to another human being."
Statistics about violence against trans people in Montreal are not readily available, which is why the NDG-based Head and Heads youth support organization is getting involved organizing the bilingual "Trans-Action Day" activities, Nov. 18, with the McGill Trans/Gender Alliance and Concordia's Dragon Root Centre for Gender Advocacy. (Transgender Day of Remembrance, meanwhile, is held Nov. 20 annually worldwide.)
"The past few years, H&H has made an effort to gain training and offer services to trans youth," says H&H executive director Marlo Ritchie. "It's
well documented that trans youth are at a risk for violence and psycho-social distress that is directly linked to discrimination and lack of trans-friendly social services. Trans youth can access our clinics and be provided with care that they wouldn't have elsewhere."Despite the growing number of organizations supporting transsexuals and transgendered people, there seems to be little co-ordination.
"In Montreal and throughout Quebec people are mainly working in isolation," says Juliette St-Pierre, co-ordinator of ASTTeQ (Association des transexuelles et travesties du Québec). "We're always working with a sense of urgency. We're always putting out fires. We have trouble just sitting down together to discuss what really needs to be done, francophones and anglophones. We need to create a common front. We need to sit down and talk."
This week's Trans-Action activities at Concordia and McGill universities may help jumpstart the process.
"I'm so glad to see the event growing this year," says Ritchie over at H&H. "There are a diversity of voices being heard, though there has been feedback that the day is not taking into account the lives of young trans sex workers. So I think there is more that can be done in the future to include other people."
But it's a start. Like Gwendolyn Ann Smith says, "People's lives are at stake. We need allies, but we need allies who are willing to go to bat for us. One needs to be willing to show a commitment and go all the way. That is the strategy that is needed now, not some attempt to 'un-queer' a call for justice and equality in this world."
Trans-Action events include the screening of two films: the 1996 American doc You Don't Know Dick which follows the lives of six transsexual men, and the 2003 doc La Journée internationale de la transexualité (French with English subtitles), which traces the history of transwomen activists and sex workers in Montreal (Nov. 18, 7 p.m. at the McGill Cultural Studies screening room, 3475 Peel. Admission: $6-$12.)
There will be a speaker panel at the Concordia Visual Arts Building, Nov. 19, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and Nov. 20 workshops beginning at noon and focusing on trans experiences. Admission to both events is free. Info: 848-2424, ext. 7431.
Head & Hands can be reached at 481-0277 and the Association des transexuelles et travesties du Québec can be reached at (514) 847-0067 (ask for Juliette).
| Transgender Day of Remembrance |
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It's a nice idea. Really, it is.
Realistically though, my interests dwell elsewhere. Some people will always consider transgendered people freaks. I'm sorry but that's just the world we live in. I have no particular opinion on the matter because frankly I don't care. Unless it involves abusing children or something equally untoward I don't care what you do as long as it makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone.
But a Day of Remembrance?
I guess it's called for but if you're gonna go down that road of logic there's gonna be a whole lot of people who deserve it too.
Violence and abuse affects all of us. Focusing attention on one group focuses attention on that specific group and not the root problem which is hate and ignorance.
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Pedro Eggers
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{2 votes}
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I had 2 friends from high school that had sex changes. They both said they always wanted to be a woman. They just didn't like being a man. So they both had the operation and you would never even know they were men before. They both say they like womanhood ALOT better than manhood. So, if a man has the b**** to go through with the operation to become a woman, then they should do it. More power to them!
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Tim Robertson
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{5 votes}
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I'll admit, I am very ignorant on this issue. It's not something we see much of, expect maybe on those X rated pop ups, or an Jerry Springer. So I commend Hour for bringing some attention to this.
Because, when you get down to it, people are people. I don't think it's a choice. Transgenders are born the way they are. I understand why people are uncomfortable with it. It isn't a norm. But by bringing it out in the open, and showing people that these are human beings, not that much different from you or me, we take a step in tolerance.
It won't happen overnight. It can't. These are slow steps. But it will happen. And the transgender people need to come out, and not hide. It's a risk, and they will pay a price. But it's a price that gays, blacks, etc.. payed for future generations. It is worth paying.
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Eric Wilson
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{33 votes}
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| Combining visible minorities and sexual minorities |
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These men and women confront everybody's identity. And so many people are insecure about themselves that they will take it out on them. They confront our identity not because they want to but because we need very definite little boxes to fit in. We want to know what it is to be a man (without any grey area). We want to know what someone who is attracted to a man looks like (without any grey area). So when someone comes along that doesn't fit one of these black and white categories, some freak out, wrongly so.
I am happy that the trans community is getting its own recognition. They have been under the umbrella of gay and lesbian organizations but have presented needs that seem different at this point. All need tolerance and respect but the trans community needs to be recognized as unique individuals.
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Marc Charette
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{28 votes}
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First of all I was under the impression that transsexuals and transgender were also sort of under the Gay population. I know they are a different group , but i thought somehow protected under the same rights as gay people.
I was alos under the impression that unlike the homosexuals and lesbians that the transsexuals and transgenders wanted to remain hidden from identification. (THey were not ready to come out of the closet)So I would not understand why they would have such an event made public.
On the other hand I realize that they have a need to identify themselves with otheres just like them . They want to feel they are not alone and that they have supporters as well.
Therefore if they are seeking Transgender Day of Remebrance then they should for the sake of finding others who seek the same life style and support. Nobody likes to be alone!
I wish the article here was more clear or informative at the differences between the transsexual and the transgenders and how it is they do suffer acts of violence.
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Maria Cecillia Silva
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{21 votes}
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Misunderstandings about transgendered people are mistakes, because it seems that they could all be cleared up by listening to transgendered people. Unlike homosexuality, transgendered people aren't coming into a visible culture, backed by parades, shelves of literary studies, and sitcom characters. Transgendered people need to feel safe, and they have to know that their allies and their protection is easily recognizable. An event like the Transgender Day of Rememberance has to make up for the other places where our society fails to offer a familiar face, and a gentle voice, to transgendered people. This day has do a great deal of work.
It won't be enough. Still, it should inspire more. I'm proof. In theory, I always agreed with the protection of transgendered people - because most people have a belief in the protection of everyone. But I thought transgendered people were making a choice I couldn't comprehend. After meeting some transgendered people, it was surprising how naturally they explained their circumstances. Each person's story was slightly different; in some cases, I didn't agree with other parts of their outlooks (and am sure they didn't agree with mine). But there was nothing dubious about their identity as transgendered.
It was then I realized that, as someone who doesn't have to worry about my personal safety being threatened because I'm transgendered - it wasn't for me to decide who deserves to be understood, and who doesn't. It's for me to understand.
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Maggie Panko
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{16 votes}
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