Mutual Responsibility

(note: the following is my reply to a user to this article)

It's certainly understandable to be pissed about the states of trans rights not just here in Canada but pretty much anywhere in the world. As a lesbian transwoman, I'm not just one but two letters in the rainbow spectrum. It's not all that difficult for me, because I find it offers me two perspectives.

Have we been left to fend for ourselves? That's a hard question to answer. I'll use the case of trans-related legal cases as an example. Officially, it doesn't appear so, as virtually every other agency that caters to the rest of the rainbow community caters to us too; something that they mention in their mission statements and program information. At least in the U.S., several groups have launched trans-related lawsuits, for example, one case in New York City, where the city is being sued to change birth certificates without surgery.

But has it happened anyway? These organizations COULD do more to help the trans community. Trans people in Idaho, Ohio, and Tennessee still can't get their birth certificates changed after surgery. Legal cases could get the ball rolling here.

In terms of individual attitudes, I find the rainbow community as a whole to be very inclusive of us. In any group in the world, there will always be bad apples. You just have to avoid them if you want to make an apple pie.