May 2000: Understanding Transgender
In mid-April, I went on vacation with my partner to the island of Moloka'i
in Hawai'i. Among the many things we enjoyed during our trip was our
connection to the people of the island. I was struck by the innate
kindness and generosity of everyone we met and the warm regard we were
given as guests in their community. I have visited Hawai'i before,
but my experience then focused on seeing the sites and the beauty of
the environment. On this trip, we enjoyed connecting with the people
and their culture, and we returned home having been deeply touched
by those we met.
During our visit, we were also were keenly aware of the presence of gay,
lesbian and transgender individuals. While I have come to expect to see
openly gay women and men, I have not seen transgender people as visible
and as obviously accepted within a community. We talked with some of
the local people about our observations and they commented that transsexuals
were viewed as special because they had the spirit of both genders. Hence,
when we overheard a restaurant patron call the female server "Uncle Ed",
it was clearly meant as a sign of endearment and connection.
This experience made me think about our own campus community and I wondered
what the experience of transgender individuals have been like here. A
few years ago, the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Resource Center added "Transgender" to
its name in order to foster support and education about transgender individuals.
The Speakers Bureau also provides education about transgender, and one
of our panelists speaks regularly as a heterosexual cross dresser. Interacting
with transgender people has enhanced my knowledge and understanding about
the discrimination they face. One of the things I learned is that transgender
is not included in our UC system-wide nondiscrimination policy.
Many of you may wonder as I did, what is "transgender"? Transgender is
an umbrella term that includes those individuals whose gender expression
is different than their biological gender assignment. Probably we're
most familiar with the term transsexual -an individual who feels that
their gender identity does not match the gender of the body they were
born into. "Transgender" includes pre- and post-operative transsexuals,
as well as transgenderists (persons living full time in a gender opposite
their birth sex with no desire to pursue surgery), cross dressers, and
those individuals whose gender expression differs from their birth sex.
What do you think would be the reaction in your unit to a transgender
employee? How welcomed, respected and included would this person be?
What might you do to foster acceptance of this colleague in your office?
I have found that seeing a person first as a human being with all of
the same needs for love and kindness we all have is a good place to start.
June is gay pride month, and I invite all of us to take this opportunity
to learn more about our transgender brothers and sisters. As the Principles
of Community state, it is the responsibility of each of us to create
a campus environment that accepts and respects everyone. My recent experience
of feeling the acceptance in Hawai'i gives me a model we can strive to
achieve.