Following is the approximate text of my comments at the 2012 Trans Pride Toronto rally that took place 29 June. Before my formal remarks, I drew attention to the news from earlier that day that Pride Toronto’s Dispute Resolution Panel had concluded there was no basis for the claims from Israel lobby groups that Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) should be excluded from the parade, or any other part of Pride week. Members of QuAIA and Dykes and Trans People for Palestine were proud to participate afterwards in the trans march.
Sisters and brothers, friends and lovers; I think we are experiencing an important moment in the evolution of the placement of our community in relation to wider society. In the last few years in particular I think trans people have begun to take on larger and more visible roles that society had previously denied us. Simultaneous with that however has come a backlash, which has taken many different forms, both explicitly and implicitly violent.
In my home country of the United States we saw a wave of violence against trans women of color in the last few months. While this phenomenon is unfortunately nothing new, it is a stark reminder that violence is very real, and if often acts as the final act of silencing.
Furthermore, it calls attention to the often-overlooked fact that not all of us in the trans community are equally vulnerable.
Indeed, it is a sad state of affairs that the fact that trans women, and particularly trans women of color, sex workers, and those living in poverty, are most vulnerable often passes without comment, even by those who stand up, generically speaking, for “trans rights.”
That has to stop, and we all should commit ourselves to trying to build a trans community with more representative leadership of the community as a whole.
Further, there is the critical issue of prison justice here in North America that is often overlooked. Perhaps these issues are best exemplified by the case of CeCe McDonald, a black American trans woman who was attacked along with a few friends by a group of anti-trans white supremacists one year ago in Minneapolis.
When this gang of thugs hurled racist and trans-misogynistic epithets at her, CeCe stood her ground. And when one person in that group started a fight by slamming a glass across face, lacerating her salivary gland, CeCe stood up for herself and her friends and fought back. And in the end she killed an aggressive man with a swastika tattoo on his chest in self-defense.
And that’s when the system stepped in to reinforce racism and trans-misogyny by charging CeCe despite the fact that the County Attorney’s office had previously declined to press charges against other people under similar circumstances. While the charges were at least dropped to manslaughter at a later point, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that CeCe has been punished for surviving her attackers.
Further, there is the fact that CeCe is now forced to inhabit a men’s prison, where she is potentially vulnerable to coercion and abuse, and further largely forced to live cruel conditions under solitary confinement. Of course, this is not unique to CeCe as this is the situation for countless trans women, particularly trans women of color, across North America. We must begin to have a serious conversation around these issues.
And finally, I want to make a small statement that the reason for fighting, for standing up for ourselves and for others who are even more oppressed than ourselves, is not because victory is assured. If you are here because you believe victory is assured all I can say is I think you don’t understand the meaning of honor. Victory is never assured, and if it were it would not be worth fighting for.
The reason we fight is because it is the process of standing up for ourselves that we obtain our dignity, we stand up and we take our honor. And I want to emphasize that our dignity does not come from Pride Toronto. Our dignity is not given to us by the federal government, the provincial government, the city or any other such entity. Our honor does not come from the government or society’s acquiescence; rather, it comes from our demand.
Our dignity is not give to us by anyone other than ourselves. We bestow upon ourselves our own honor in the act of standing up as individuals and as a community for ourselves.
Free CeCe! Free Palestine!
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Update: Here is a short video my friend Cathy made of the Dykes and Trans People for Palestine/QuAIA contingent at the Trans March:
23 comments
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July 2, 2012 at 4:37 pm
amber
No offense, I heard you speak in person. It was really quite a dull subject and not really interesting. Many of those who came wanted to hear something positive and a lot of what you said meant nothing. Trans pride is supposed to be just that, about pride, not a lot of whining over tedious poltical details.
Its also supposed to be purely about trans people which is the reason we separated from gay pride in the first place. Poor show and I wont be returning as I have no need to march ever again.
July 2, 2012 at 4:51 pm
inchoaterica
…but at the same time, if oppression bores you, what are we fighting against if not oppression? If you find the topic boring, why are you at a political action such as Pride anyways? The point of separating trans folks from the generalized commercialized Pride block party is that we still have any number of social, political, and financial oppressions that we need to work to tear down.
If that’s “whining over tedious political details” then refusing to be complicit in our own extermination and the extermination of the oppressed is apparently “whining” in your eyes, amber. I don’t even know what to say to that…
July 2, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Autumn Sandeen
Pride marches are born of two thoughts that can be perceived as both complimentary and contradictory: Political action and community celebration.
Pride Month is in June because the Stonewall Riots, and follow-up Stonewall Uprising Gay Liberation Movement, began on June 28th, 1969. The LGBTQ community was born in a political act — riots often being the language of the unheard.
As we made political gains, Pride Parades and Festivals became not only the political act of demanding more freedom from further oppression and inequality, but also celebration of the gains we as a broad community have already made, and just a celebration of the simple joy found in the freedom to be our full, three-dimentional selves.
But as LeftyTGirl has pointed out, Pride Parades and Festivals have become more and more commercialized over the years, we’ve become significantly separated from the roots from which Pride Parades, Festivals, and celebrations grew.
The trans civil rights movement is in many ways a good 25 or 30 years behind the LGB & Q portions of civil rights movement — that being civil rights gains based on sexual orientation, but not fully inclusive of gender identity based civil rights — which is one reason why trans marches and rallies are still more political and less commercialized than LGBT and LGBTQ pride events.
And, of course, because it’s still a difficult thing to commercialize trans community — for example, when has one seen a televison commerical by a corporate entity that embraces a fully positive portrayal of a trans person?
We’ve a long way to go. Fighting oppression is a function of minority population activism, and you going to see that for many years to come at Trans Pride related events. It’s found too in the difference of calling something a Trans March instead of a Trans Parade — there’s a bit more militancy expressed in the term march.
July 2, 2012 at 7:59 pm
leftytgirl
The primary focus of my comments was the situation of a young trans woman of color who was imprisoned for defending herself against a group of violent attackers. If speaking out when trans women are punished by the system for defending themselves, then I think you are either confused about what oppression is, or else you are easily bored. In the latter case, maybe you should find a new hobby for yourself. I mean, my goddess, my speech lasted an entire 5, maybe 10 minutes.
In any case, judging by the reaction of the crowd, your opinion doesn’t represent any accurate referendum on how my remarks were received.
July 2, 2012 at 5:51 pm
amber
Lots of assumptions here miss lefty. Their are many ways to fight oppresion other than making speeches and marching in the hot weather. You could choose, personally, to do many things to improve things for other trans women. You chose to write speeches. They have a place but they never change anything, they are just the writer saying their thoughts or reporting on actions. Like a very editorialized editorial. The real work is the things people do every day, very hard work, very slow, very tedious but over time enough people doing them brings about change. You seem smart and I am sure you could think of many things you could do, do differently or do more of. I can give you a huge list to consider but that would be condescending.
Trans people have enough politicians bothering us. We dont need even more from within our own ranks. Which is why trans pride is so poorly attended – perhaps 5% of the toronto TRANS population even bothers to go.
For myself I was their because my dear gay friend invited me to stay at his house for the weekend and he wanted to go. So I went, but he was even more bored than I was.
July 2, 2012 at 6:21 pm
annarenees
Remaining silent on issues has gotten us nowhere. Political action can and does get results. Toby’s bill and C-279 have been pushed forward to give right to the whole community thanks to what you dismiss as “politicians”.
Condescending is telling people who are working at justice that their way does not matter. Condescending is feeling that what you do is more important that others do when you dont even know the extent of what they do. Condescending is telling us a march is boring when for some of us (and I was there) it was empowering and enthralling and made us feel part of something.
If you find the trans march boring feel free not to attend. Don’t attack other in your community for whom it is important.
July 2, 2012 at 8:17 pm
leftytgirl
I find it a bit ironic that here you celebrate, “The real work… people do every day, very hard work, very slow, very tedious…” when in the comment immediately preceding this you claim to get bored out of your mind at a five minute speech!
If you think that this speech somehow represents the end-all and be-all of my work on these issues then I think you actually don’t know very much about activism and organizational work. The fact is that I work very hard on these issues almost every day. Activism to me is close to a second occupation (and I already work very hard, extra hours at my formal, paid job).
And yes, making an occasional speech and sharing ideas is an important component of that work. The ideas that I related in my comments above did not come to me over night… it took me a long time working to understand many issues from many different angles to even know how to fully internalize those concepts, much less express them to others.
So when you say that real work is very tedious, it sounds to me like you’re parroting someone else rather than speaking about your own familiar experiences with such work. My guess is that you’re actually talking more about the work of someone else’s hands rather than your own.
July 2, 2012 at 6:45 pm
amber
Well, I made a fair contribution to the passage of our human rights. In fact, I can say with certainty that I was resposible for one of the yes votes. Just one though. I am never silent, but I dont give speeches or interviews not that I am all that interesting.
You do know that there are many, many thousands of trans people in toronto who never post on the internet or write blogs. A fairly high percentage give some portion of their time to others.
I dont know what you mean when you say “community”. I am very active in mine and well known but perhaps you mean something else. I have never met the owner of this blog so Im not sure if you mean her community. I do have a very wide circle of women a fair number of whom transitioned and they mostly live in toronto.
In any case, no need to get annoyed, its just my point of view and since we dont know each other its not personal.
However if you are struggling and frustrated, if you need someone to talk to, you can call me.
July 2, 2012 at 8:27 pm
leftytgirl
Also you may not be aware of this, but a very real part of why Pride Toronto changed it’s attitude towards the trans community in the last two years is as a direct result of the work that QuAIA did in challenging Pride to be more accountable to the queer community. The work we did played a major role in the fact that a corrupt Executive Director who loved to shrug her shoulders at the trans community ended up resigning, and further compelled the Community Advisory Panel (CAP) that was instituted after the debacles around the 2010 Pride Week to center trans issues and trans community involvement in their process and in their recommendations.
The increased visibility around Pride was in turn helpful in the lobbying efforts around recent Provincial legislation. It also provided more leadership roles for trans people inside of Pride.
July 2, 2012 at 7:17 pm
amber
Oh yes, i dont know why anyone thinks oppresion bores me. I find it unpleasant but it is everywhere and certainly not unique to people like me. I dont really think about it all the time but I do a lot to help people. After all, I am female so every single one of us experiences oppresion and prejudice. I have never thought of oppresion as systemic, I dont believe in that, but it most certainly exists with many individuals. Its really a personal behaviour, not a commie plot.
July 2, 2012 at 7:27 pm
amber
Im curious also to know why no one here has pictures? I may have met some of you, but the names are not familiar and lots of them seem to be aliases. In any case just a question, I would be happy to post one of me but I dont seem to know how to do it.
July 2, 2012 at 8:28 pm
leftytgirl
Yeah, we’re not going to send you pictures. This isn’t a dating site.
July 2, 2012 at 8:50 pm
inchoaterica
…because i don’t really want my picture sprayed all over the internet to be colonized by HBSewers, Cathy Brennan, and anyone else who will make fun of my face for being imperfect. this is a blog, not Miss Shallow Universe.
July 2, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Autumn Sandeen
For a birthday present, a couple of my artist friends drew me as “Coffeegirl” in recognition of my activism work — and their knowledge that I’m a comic book geek.
But go ahead & google my name and images — you’ll see me handcuffed to the White House Fence a couple of times in a direct action to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I’ve done lobbying, writing, and service work, but I’m known most for direct action.
July 2, 2012 at 8:58 pm
amber
Oh how strange but any one you cal still call me whenever you want. I dont date those in transition so I dont understand what you are talking about. I was just curious if I had met any of you. Feel free to call me 705-696-2600 or email me amber_anne _powell@hotmail.com if you like/ I have never heard of HBSewers but I now who Cathy Brennan is. I met her, she is just an average person, not special or impressive but she has some odd ideas. I doubt anyone of importance listens to her. But still if its allowed i would like to post my picture this seems impersonal
July 2, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Kelli Anne Busey
Leftygirl i loved your speech. We must focus our advocacy on the most oppressed of our community, those of us suffering at the junction of racial, political bigotry. We must be advocates without borders. And Autumn, I loved your comments. Very, very eloquent and to the point. I will share your speech and Youtube on planetransgender with proper attribution if that’s ok by you.
July 2, 2012 at 11:39 pm
leftytgirl
Hi Kelli, thanks for dropping by and thanks for your supportive comments. Working together, I’m sure we can make progress on these issues, little by little. If you would like to share my comments and the video (the video was put together by my friend Cathy), please feel free to do so.
hugs,
Savannah
July 3, 2012 at 2:29 am
amber
If I could ask lefty girl what exactly is your advocacy? Do you meet with your local MP and MPP regularly? Are you active in lobbying the government? Exactly what issues are you working on? Do you belong to any of the committees pushing for improvmemts to our health care coverage. Are you involved with the health ministry working panel? Im curious because I know a lot of those people.
Im also curious as to what oppression you feel we suffer in canada. Not to say their isnt any but how do you perceive it and what do you feel needs to be done about it. I dont know anything about that Cece lady other than the name but she lives somewhere in the US. Im not sure how that is relevant to our situation.
July 10, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Sarah
Toronto is pretty near to the US.. I live in the UK and people here organize events around raising awareness of CeCe’s situation and helping when they can. I think caring about trans women world-wide is relevant.
July 3, 2012 at 2:41 am
amber
I have to say though that if you think trans pride has any effect on the opinions or voting of any of our political leaders then you are dreaming in techni color. I have met more than just a few and I can tell you they arent even aware it exists. In fact very few trans people are aware of it and as I said almost no one attends. You should know that toronto is not the centre of the universe and that many of the yes votes in our recent victory came from MPP;s outside the city. How many did you meet with personally? Myself , I met with three which given the distances involved is all I could manage.
July 3, 2012 at 3:24 am
leftytgirl
There is more to activism than legislation. Look over my blog to find some of the issues that I work on, in which I take a special interest.
July 3, 2012 at 4:41 am
amber
No need, Im sure you are busy and you dont need to prove anything to me. I was really just commenting on your speech and the trans march in general. It can continue as is, but if those of you who are involved are ever interested in having it mean something then it needs to change radically. Their should be 5 or 10 thousand attending which could easily be achieved if it was made relevant to the lives of ordinary trans people instead of being aimed at intellectual elites and academics. It should not be a part of gay pride at all, it should be serparate and at an entirely different time, This type of attendance and differentiation would make it distinct and those numbers would give it profile which it badly needs. In any case, take care and I hope things go well for you.
July 11, 2012 at 10:11 am
Christine Noble
“And finally, I want to make a small statement that the reason for fighting, for standing up for ourselves and for others who are even more oppressed than ourselves, is not because victory is assured. ”
Exactly. We may never be accepted as equal, but that does not mean we are in the wrong and they (our oppressors) are in the right. We fight because it is the right thing to do, we fight because we must.