Hierarchy of Rights

As you, I and everyone else in the world already know, the Supreme Court is in the midst of two cases that could help or hinder the case for marriage equality in The States.  I don't want to repeat what you have no doubt already read about in Huffington Post or the NY Times.  Hell, even The Onion does a better job explaining the Prop 8 and DOMA cases than I could.  I'm not even going to rant about the Facebook trend of HRC profile pictures and the bitter relationship between the trans community and the Human Rights Campaign, because Monica Roberts (my personal blogging hero) over at Transgriot has a very thorough explanation already.  I won't even talk about the "marriage is not a transgender issue" rumor.


So what the hell am I going to talk about?  Frankly, I want to have a chat about the future of LGBTQ rights and where we need to go from here.  I know, I'm probably jumping the gun, but the majority of Americans already support marriage equality and that number gets higher every year.  So whether marriage equality happens from the Supreme Court decisions or something else, it's going to happen.  And likely, very soon.  My future children will live in a world where everyone is allowed to marry who they chose and will think nothing of it, just I thought nothing of going to a non-segregated school or having equal access to sports and education regardless of gender when I was growing up.  And that future is a fantastic goal to strive for.

But as awesome as marriage equality is, (and I'm speaking as someone who's ability to marry in my great state of Texas is a big, "Who the Fuck Knows?") it's not the most important fight for LGBTQ freedom.  What about protection from discrimination in education, in employment, in housing?  Don't get me wrong, marriage is great, but the ability to hold down a job or find a place to live is more important.  And yet, ENDA and other fights like it have been on the back burner now for at least a decade because the queer powers that be have been so focused on getting married.  Aren't we putting the horse before the cart on this one?

Hell, there are still states where it's not even legal for people like me to use the women's bathroom and we're focusing on this instead?  I'm not saying that marriage equality isn't worth fighting for, but we need to reassess our priorities a little bit.  If the LGB community expects the support of the T, than they need to make basic access for trans people a priority.  I personally have a lot of privilege that other trans folk don't.  I had a very easy transition and am perceived as a cis woman everywhere I go.  I don't have to worry about whether someone will call the police when I use the restroom, or whether my school will try to limit which locker room I can use.  I was even given a gender-neutral name at birth, so I haven't jumped through the mountain of paperwork that many trans folk have.  I sail through life without even thinking about the fact that I'm trans most of the time.  But not all trans people have as easy a time as me.  And I don't delude myself for a second that I'm invincible to the discrimination that trans people face.  If anything, the fact that I'm perceived as cis can be seen as an even bigger threat by cis people who discover my trans status.  Because I am in direct conflict with what they think makes a man and a woman.  Every time someone tells me in shock, "You don't look trans", what they're really displaying is their cissexual privilege and their assumption that all "normal" looking people are cis.

So, Human Rights Campaign and the rest of the LGB organizations out there that have the power and resources to lobby for our rights, why don't we focus on our most basic rights next?  I hate to be that radical trouble-making tranny who just won't shut up (who the hell am I kidding, no I don't) but I'd much rather that my brothers and sisters are able to exist peacefully before I worry about marriage.  I don't want to piss on anyone's parade and I'm very hopeful and excited about the prospect that marriage equality may be achieved very soon, but our fight is not over.  Not even close.  Not by a long shot.  And anyone who thinks it is is either deluded or purposely ignoring the problems of their queer compatriots.  If we truly want to symbolize the "equality" that everyone has plastered on their Facebook profiles, then we need to work together instead of dividing our interests.  Never forget, if it wasn't for Sylvia Rivera and the other pissed off trans women and drag queens at Stonewall, we might not even be having this discussion.