One to One

With Cindy Martin
Transgender Forum Publisher

© 1997 Transgender Forum
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July 28, 1997

I
could have predicted what was going to happen in the Andrew-Cunanan-wears-a-dress hysteria that was whipped up the police, especially the Miami Beach cops, and the FBI: a completely innocent TG has been harassed and humiliated.

It happened Tuesday, June 22, in Virginia when an unidentified transsexual was beset by a squad of cops who came to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Virginia Beach when "an employee thought the cross-dressed customer was slaying suspect Andrew Cunanan, " according to a report in the local paper. Apparently the only link to Cunanan was that the person was a TS, misread as a cross-dresser. Nothing else, not her height, size or anything else. Just because she is TG.

Imagine yourself in this situation: you are waiting in line at a public place when out of nowhere a bunch of police offers from FOUR squad cars surround you and treat you like you're a gay murder suspect in an international case. Have a nice frickin' day.

But what was even worse about all this, what was most galling, is that there is no evidence that Cunanan has EVER cross-dressed. Ever. Thank God he killed himself before this all went on much longer. Sooner or later something truly nasty was going to happen.

So how did this story start? I've traced it back and apparently it began from a comment by an unidentified cop in Miami Beach who told the media that there was hair removal "equipment" and hair dye found in Cunanan's Miami hotel room. Somehow, this cop turned this into a theory that Cunanan was dressing as a woman to avoid detection. It was slow weekend, and there was nothing else to report on the big case, so this speculation got into the lead paragraph of a lot of newspapers. Then it ended up on Sunday morning's "Face the Nation" when Bob Schieffer said there were "reports", unattributed, of course, of Cunanan wearing women's clothing. Cunanan was not only a master of disguise, he was a drag queen too. The fiend. Except for one tiny little, detail: there was no history of drag in Cunanan's past.

One gay friend of mine was wondering why the cops were putting out this story. Easy: it was an excuse. They couldn't find the guy, so he must be a master of disguise. He's gay, hell, he's prolly a drag queen too!

Cunanan had reached a point in his criminal career when he was not quite human to the cops any more. They were pissed off. Not because he killed a bunch of people, but because he was getting away with it. Obviously I was happy that Cunanan did us all a favor by offing himself. But I was also extremely interested in what they didn't find on the houseboat where he shot himself. There was no women's clothing there.

I'm not going to pretend that there are not people who cross-dress and commit crimes. Of course there are, just like there are gays, straights, blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians and even police officers, who commit crimes.

But I also know how the media works. Trust me, if we were a powerful minority group the press would not have dared print or broadcast an unattributed comment like that in a major international story, at least not without talking to us. You know who the media contacted? Michael Salem. You know who Salem is? A non-TG merchant who runs that overpriced clothing store in New York.

The non-reaction of gay organizations to this part of the Cunanan story was interesting too. There was nothing from any of the gay anti-defamation groups about the phony cross-dressing story. Not surprising really. As well meaning and supportive as many of these organizations are, the truth is that they do not think in the same way we do about these issues. My gay friends said they thought the press handled the entire sordid story with great restraint. Yeah, I said, except for the drag part.

As if we needed further proof, this story again proved why we need an effective, well-funded TRANSGENDER anti-defamation group that can respond swiftly to this kind of crappy journalism. We don't have this now. I am hoping that the new umbrella organization I wrote about last month will incorporate this activity as a major part of its' operations.

We need a voice. A loud one. And we need it right away.

l
ast week TGForum carried a report about a creep named Cliff Stearns (Email: cstearns@hr.house.gov ), who somehow got himself elected to the U.S. Congress from Florida and is using the weight of that office to try and get a transgender state government worker disciplined or fired.

Stearns, who has no jurisdiction in such matters, has been pressuring Florida state legislators to put heat on the state agency that employs a TG named Sabrina Robb, who began wearing clothes appropriate to her gender identity a few months ago. Someone didn't like it, Stearns heard about and the harassment began.

Not surprisingly, once the story got out here at TGF Stearns' office has been bombed with emails. A woman who wouldn't identify herself, admitted that they had received "quite a lot" of mail on the subject in the last week. Stearns did not return phone calls.

Once again, our people have come through, as we did in the Holiday Inn TS ad fiasco. This story isn't done however and I'll keep you posted on what happens as I find out.

Hate to beat the same drum over and over, but can there be a clearer example of why this community needs a focussed, clear-on-the-issues, organization that fights for us? Jobs, family and anti-defamation. Those are the issues that matter most to us.

Are any of our leaders paying attention?

D
on't you love those Friday night calls from telemarketers? For a laugh and some silly ideas for getting revenge go to: Telemarketing Tormenting Techniques.

Racquel Welch-Myra Breckenridge
Racquel Welch as
Myra Breckenridge (1970)
R
Raquel Welch, who last month replaced Julie Andrews in the musical "Victor/Victoria" is getting less than rave reviews, but at least she knows where to get her wigs.

According to Andie Blank, a long-time TGF member, "Raquel was NOT at all happy with the wigs that were supplied to her by Blake Edwards. She happened to go to my wigmakers (who also do RuPaul) at Barry Hendrickson's Bits and Pieces. Gwen and Edward. Their work is unbelievably great. I was lucky enough to catch her on her way out with one of the pieces. Raquel certainly was happy with what she bought. I was amazed to see her picture in the NY Daily News wearing the one I saw."

The wigs at this shop are definitely NOT for the budget minded, but Andie says that cost is more than worth it. The shop is at 226 Columbus Avenue (between 70th and 71st Streets, phone 212-787-3941).

Back to Racquel. The New York Times found her totally unconvincing as a man, but as a 56-year-old woman "she is a wonder of the physical world."

Racquel, has done TG turns before of course. In 1970 she played Myra Breckenridge after the sexchange operation. Looked pretty convincing too.



June 25, 1997

T
he failure of GenderPac to become the focussed organization we'd all hoped it would be is not the last chapter in this community's efforts to put together a united political front.

There are rumblings that another coalition is being considered, one that would again include all the big players: the International Foundation for Gender Education, Renaissance, Aegis, et al. which would take a more moderate approach to lobbying than the radicalized GenderPAC.

Naturally, there are personality issues that could wreck this before it even gets off the ground. None seems insurmountable, particularly if the louder antagonists button up for once. Troublesome as personalities can be, the real question is whether this community can actually create a lobby group that is:

  • Credible to the vast majority of the people, TVs, TSs and the rest of us.
  • Focussed on transgender issues and not sidetracked by the problems of other sexual minorities
  • Funded to a point were quality staffers can do the day to day work.

    Alliances with gay organizations are fine, though frankly, most of the work has been done already. Only the Human Rights Campaign is anti-TG of the major U.S. gay groups, everyone else is supportive. We've done our bridge building, now we need to start bridge crossing. We must also stay on point. Any new transgender organization needs to steer clear of incorporating other groups' agendas into ours. There is absolutely no cogent reason I can think of that requires us to integrate our efforts with those in the S&M community or other non-TG groups. Be friendly towards them sure. Be allies, fine. Merge with them, NO. We've got more than enough on our plates right now.

    This community also has to stop expecting something for nothing. Plenty of us are not struggling financially, yet raising cash for worthwhile causes is notoriously difficult. We need to put our mirrors down and open our purses if we are going to have serious political organization. Relying totally on volunteers isn't going to work.

    I understand that part of the reluctance many of us have had about donating money is that we haven't known who to trust or where to direct it. For now, I'd suggest you start with your local support group. I'd also recommend IFGE, Aegis and the International Conference on Transgender Law & Education Policy. But keep reading this space. There will be a lot more said on this subject over the next few months.

    D
    irector Michael Cimino has made a statement denying he is a transexual after chatter about his alleged penchant for doing drag appeared in several gossip columns, including Liz Smith's.

    Cimino, director of the "Deer Hunter" and the appalling "Heaven's Gate", supposedly has been seen in Hollywood wearing "dyed blond hair, pointy boots, outlandish outfits and makeup," Smith reported on June 16.

    "Cimino is probably just having fun, like a lot of guys in these liberated times. But I must add, some of the most important and respectable people in Hollywood are repeating the stories," she wrote.

    At this point in his career, which is pretty nonexistent, just about anything that gets Cimino noticed is probably positive. And who knows, Hollywood is trying awfully hard to put more women in the director's chair...can we say comeback?

    R
    aise your hand if the lead paragraph on the story describing your local gay pride parade this month went something like this:

    "Led by colorful drag queens, biker Lesbians in black leather and gay police officers, this year's FillinTheBlank Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender Parade drew XXX,000 downtown to a multi-cultural celebration of diverse lifestyles..."

    R
    umors were rampant that RuPaul and a group of NYC drag divas were going to bid for Lady Dianna's gowns during a recent charity auction. I loved the idea of RuPaul, all 6-feet-plus of her, trying to wedge into the Lady Di's clothes. What a show. Ah well, there was more chance of Lady Di refereeing a tractor pull than Ru fitting into one of tiny Di's outfits.

    Lady Di Anyway, it turns out that one Zandra Foxx was the only transgender person who showed up at the chi-chi auction at Christie's and she was out-bid for lot 14, a scarlet dance dress in spangled silk chiffon, by Bruce Oldfield.

    The auction, to raise funds for AIDS and cancer research, raised $3.5 million and was topped by a record $200,000 bid for a dress Diana wore when she danced with film star John Travolta at the White House in 1985.

    The midnight-blue silk velvet gown by Victor Edelstein was bought by an anonymous American bidder, a private client, who said he was "a long-standing fan of Princess Diana". Hmmm.

    The record price broke the previous one for a garment, $160,000 at Christie's, London in June 1995, for the suit Travolta wore in the film Saturday Night Fever.

    Thanks to Elizabeth Parker for being all over this story and feeding it to me...

    A
    ritish scientist David Gems of London's University, using examples from the animal world and a study of eunuchs, believes that men would live longer than females "if it weren't for their energetic sexual activity."

    Women live longer than men, but that may be because men have more urgent sex needs and act on them, he theorizes. Gems arrived at this theory after studying the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Gems explains that while most worms are labeled hermaphroditic, they are "essentially females capable of making a small number of sperm for self-fertilization." In every worm population, however, there are a few true males.

    When Gems grouped male worms together he found that, as statistically projected, they died at about 10 days of age. But when the males were left alone, separated from other males, their life-spans doubled -- to 20 days, four days longer than the average female life-span.

    Obviously, worms aren't people, though some sure act like them. Oops. Back to the column train of thought...

    Gems said that studies of the quite randy male marsupial mouse, who spend 5 to 11 hours a day having sex, show a similar pattern. When they are castrated the live span of the mouse increases from a few weeks, to several years.

    There is also evidence that no-sex drive equals long lives for human males: Gems points to a 1969 study of 319 eunuchs, which revealed their average life-span to be 13.5 years longer than intact males.

    The implications for transexuals, if this theory is true, are very interesting. Will FTMs have shorter lives than they would have had as women and will MTFs get a longer life from switching sides? Thirty years from now we'll probably have some answers because that is when there may be a large enough number of elderly transexuals to reach some conclusions.

    Of course, you don't have to be a transexual or a woman to increase you lifespan. If Gems is right, just stop having sex.

    Naaaaa.

    May 26, 1997

    A
    nother of those "What the?" stories:

    According to a promotional release from the prestigious "Inside Edition" television "news" show a Virginia woman named Margaret Ann Hunter will go on national TV and claim that she "unknowingly" wed a woman posing as a man. The press release from the program goes on to say that she "tells 'Inside Edition' exclusively (that) she never noticed anything odd about her spouse because she was blinded by love."


    V
    olunteering to help others is one of the noblest things any of us can do, and everyone should give something back. But there is a certain type of person who seems to instinctively know how to turn a volunteer job into a self-aggrandizing power trip that can be extremely destructive.

    Watch out for the seemingly big hearted person who raises her hand for every job that needs doing. Naturally, she's given them or assigns them to herself. Eventually, she takes on all the key jobs, almost always those involving money or information or both.

    This isn't necessarily a problem, but the truly caring volunteer knows when it's time to step aside and let someone else take a turn. Beware the super-volunteer in a position of authority who refuses to move on after a few years. They need a life and your group is the substitute.

    A genuinely giving person likes acknowledgement and thanks, of course, but she gets her real fulfillment knowing that others have been helped. That's the fun. But a power tripper demands thanks and uses guilt ("Look at how much I've done for the community!") to maintain control. This type of person draws on the capital of her good deeds to silence or, more often, dismiss, those who disagree or have other ideas. These are the worst.

    Powertrippers know that most people are afraid to take on volunteer work, or rather, are afraid that if a volunteer leaves no one will step up and do the job. That, and the knowledge that most people wouldn't dare start a fight with a sainted volunteer, is the secret to her control. Loving persons are happy to turn over the reins, become a "wise elder" and cheer on successors. Selfish egotists never want to move on.

    Powertrippers, for all their good work (and they usually do a lot of that, part of the secret) will destroy an organization if left in authority too long.

    How do they destroy it? Well, if there are never any good job "openings" the most energetic people will vanish. Sometimes people want to throw the parties, not just set the table, and intuitively the best ones will see that they will never get a chance to do the good work if the super-volunteer is doing it all. I've seen this happen many times.

    The funny thing is that when these "irreplaceable" people finally leave, often in a bloody coup, some one else inevitably steps in and, surprise, the organization survives.

    No one is irreplaceable. And if they are, your group, or cause, is doomed.


    id the IFGE convention last month suck or not?

    Some people are really griping about the event now, though you won't count me among them. I should explain that I went to that convention for very specific reasons, none of which included going to any of the event seminars, which seem to be what people were most unhappy about.

    My goal was to meet TGF people, wave the flag a little, renew old friendships and party. From that perspective, the convention was fabu. I wasn't there to learn how to do my eyes better or get info on hormones. But some people were, and when you are paying top buck you should get a quality event. However, I would remind those who found the seminars disappointing that these events are staged by volunteers, not pros. That pretty much assures that an IFGE convention can be great one year and stinky another.

    I had a good time, so I'll be in Toronto next year. All I'll expect is that Toronto will be fun, because I know that city is fun. If the convention is good too, well that's a bonus.

    S
    peaking of low expectations, I certainly had them for this year's Gender Lobby Day.

    But now I think it went pretty well considering the very low turnout of only 60 people, 40% fewer than the 1996 event.

    I am very pleased that our lobbyists were able to convince a number of congress members to sign onto a letter deploring violence against us. This is a very important achievement because it may help us get some coverage in federal "hate crimes" laws. It was also one more sign that people are beginning to take us seriously at the national level.

    But it does bother me that relatively few people participated in this effort.

    There were, in effect, two lobbying days this year. The first was in February by Phyllis Frye and the International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy. Frye insisted that this wasn't officially a lobbying effort, but it was clearly an event designed to bring our issues to the attention of Congress. Whatever you call it, the February event guaranteed that there would be a smaller group doing the same thing in May. There are only so many people who are both activists and rich enough to go to Washington, D.C. twice in the same year.

    On the other hand, Phyllis is pushing hard for issues that I believe concern this community above all others: jobs and family. In my view, she's on the right track.

    Meanwhile, GenderPAC, led by Riki Wilchins, decided to make "trans-violence" the focus of this year's Lobby Days out of an abiding concern that physical attacks are becoming more common as we become more visible.

    Good issue, one that politicians were able to latch onto, but frankly not one that is very meaningful to most of us.

    I am very much aware of the series of murders of TGs in the last few years. I find all of them disturbing. But the plain truth is that most of us simply don't worry that much about getting killed or beat-up. I'll leave discussion of this to another time, but it is evident to me that as a group we fear losing our jobs and families much more than we fear we will become the victims of violence.

    So the violence issue, while important, was not one that was going to draw a big crowd.

    Nevertheless, from a strategic standpoint going with the violence angle was a decent call. It is something that people outside the community can understand. Plus, it is quite a bit easier to legislate a hate crime than it is to legislate employment protections for a group of people that most of the country still thinks of as a fringe group.

    It worked to get us through the door and get some important people on record as our friends. But now that we have gone through the door, it would be a good time to begin work on the much tougher issue of job discrimination.

    Let's see how it goes next year.

    T
    alk about brass!

    Did anyone else notice that Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which has staunchly opposed including us the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, was right there for us on hate crimes during Lobby Day? Even got in the GenderPAC press release for coming out against violence towards TGs.

    Gee, you think HRC will get really gutsy now and come out against the designated hitter rule?


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