The ‘Drop The T’ Petition and how the LGBT is reacting to it
The 850 people who signed a petition on Change.org asking several major LGBT organizations and publications to cut ties with trans people and issues, now have their response from two of the country’s most prominent LGBT groups.
GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement:
“GLAAD stands firmly with the transgender community and unequivocally rejects the outrageous and destructive idea that the ‘T’ be removed from LGBT. For decades, transgender people have worked alongside lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to advance equality for everyone, often leading the way in the movement for full equality and acceptance. Many trans people are also lesbian, gay, and bisexual — they are an inextricable and invaluable part of the LGB community. At a time when anti-LGBT activists continue to attack the basic rights and protections essential to all of our lives, we must stand together, rather than succumb to the ruin of divisiveness.”
Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin was equally direct in his response:
“This is unequivocally wrong. The hate that killed Matthew Shepard killed Zella Ziona. The bullies at school aren’t just harassing the gay kids, they’re harassing the transgender kids. The parents who could provide loving homes for the 400,000 children in foster care aren’t only lesbian parents, or gay parents, they’re bisexual parents and transgender parents. This idea that we are somehow separate and apart is patently untrue. We are one movement, stronger in our unity. We are one community, period. And the Human Rights Campaign will not be done working until equality reaches every single one of us.”
The petition, authored by an anonymous avatar simply identified on Change.org as “Drop the T,” recycles several anti-trans arguments often advanced by so-called Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminists, or TERFs. The petition claims to come from “a group of gay/bisexual men and women who have come to the conclusion that the transgender community needs to be disassociated from the larger LGB community.”
After arguing that trans people do not belong in a movement of LGB people because “LGB is about sexual orientation, trans is about gender identity,” the petition highlights several recent controversies where TERFs squared off with trans people and supporters over inclusion and language.
Lamenting the “vilification and harassment of women and gay men/lesbian individuals who openly express disagreement with the trans ideology,” the petition points to recent remarks from prominent feminist Germaine Greer, who recently claimed that trans women — namely Caitlyn Jenner — “can’t be women.” When trans activists and allies called out the Feminine Mystique author for what they perceived as transphobic remarks, Greer doubled down, using vulgar language to denounce gender-affirming procedures as insufficient to “make you a fucking woman.”
The petition’s authors also complain that trans people have been “re-writing gay and lesbian history,” most recently by protesting Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall for placing a fictional white, masculine, cisgender gay man at the center of the story about the riot that sparked the LGBT movement. Despite widespread acknowledgement that those who led the charge at Stonewall were trans and gender-nonconforming women and people of color, the petition takes aim at The Advocate and its sibling publication, OUT, for participating in “the appropriation and re-writing of gay and lesbian history and culture.”
The authors elaborate:
“Particularly frustrating was the fact that media outlets such as The Advocate, Out and Huff Post Gay Voices, who should have been the first to point out the fallacy of this notion, actually went along with the lie.”
The petition even recycles the transphobic myth that successfully felled the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance this week, claiming that letting trans people use the bathroom that matches their gender identity would lead to men “pretending” to be transgender to gain access to women-only spaces and harass or assault women and children.
While listing justifications for why LGBT groups should “drop the T,” the petition cites:
“The infringement of the rights of individuals, particularly women, to perform normal everyday activities in traditional safe spaces based on sex; this is most pernicious in the case of men claiming to be transgender demanding access to bathrooms, locker rooms, women’s shelters and other such spaces reserved for women.”
But in reality, more than 200 cities nationwide have trans-inclusive ordinances, and there have been exactly zero confirmed reports of anyone “pretending” to be trans to harass women. Same goes for a recent study of schools, with trans-inclusive policies; among more than 600,000 students, there was not a single report of a trans student harassing peers in the bathroom or locker room. In the controversy over HERO, Media Matters asked experts from several Texas cities if trans-inclusive policies had led to an increase in assault or violence against women. The unanimous response: not one bit.
The issue which the petition’s authors deem “most troubling,” however, revolves around trans-affirming health care for young people. The petition alleges that trans people are “persuading parents and health professionals to diagnose children as young as four as transgender.” Parents and doctors affirming the proclaimed gender identity of children from a young age, the authors contend, actually “runs counter to traditional LGB and feminist philosophy — whereas feminists and gay men/women advocate for expanding and re-defining gender concepts, the trans movement is regressive, insisting upon re-asserting and codifying classic gender concepts of what is masculine and what is feminine.”
Finally, the petition’s authors explain that “we are not advocating intolerance or prejudice against the transgender community; we recognize and respect the right of adults to determine their own path in life.” But such self-determination, the authors contend, “cannot occur by infringing upon the rights of women, gay men, and children.”
The authors state that they are hoping to launch a discussion on the concerns they raise, “which for too long are being suppressed and censored.”
“In the end, we feel that the transgender ideology is not compatible with the rights of women, gay men and children and ask that the organizations and media outlets mentioned above disassociate themselves from the transgender movement and return to representing their base support of gay men and lesbians,” the authors conclude.
Following this petition’s origination, a counter-petition was authored, and now has twice as many signatures than the original ‘Drop the T’. Named ‘We stand with trans people – Reject Drop the T’, this counter-petition now has 4,261 signatures at the time of reporting whilst ‘Drop The T’ has 1,940.
The counter-petition was published on Change.org one day after the original – which urged people to support dropping ‘T’ from ‘LGBT’. It was authored by Jonathan Boniface, a freelance writer, who argues that the original petition “does not speak in our name.”
The petition states that “We find the petition by ‘Drop the T’ to be insulting, inaccurate and transphobic and we want to make it clear that this narrow group of people do not speak for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.”
About author
You might also like
That Article About Gay Men And What They’re Still Learning To Love About Their Bodies
Originally published on nightcharm.com After centuries of religious oppression and decades of sexual shaming and second-class citizenship, gay men are finally achieving legal and social equality with the ability to
Lil Nas X Comes Out In Post That Marks The End Of Pride Month
Lil Nas X celebrated the end of Pride Month by sharing something huge. In a Twitter post, the rapper asked fans to go listen to a track off of his
CLOTHES AND THE LESBIAN
“Shining in the light of your Halo—ooo, I got my angel now!” We are belting out the lyrics to Queen Bey’s Halo as the car moves through weekday traffic of
38 Comments
pete
November 15, 06:40Hmmmm
Chuck
November 15, 06:54Uninteresting. One feature of the powerless is the inability to recognize effective methods of change as opposed to counterproductive struggle
Khaleesi
November 15, 07:02***breaks out in sudden sweat with a pounding headache***
This is another rich arsenal of ammunition for the homophobes … My gut instinct also tends to agree that the Trans Community has a different struggle than the LGBT, and therefore ought to amicably part ways while still mutually supporting each other in their constant struggles …
Pink Panther
November 15, 07:04I know I shouldn’t be shocked to see this comment from you, Khaleesi, given how you’ve always reacted to trans issues on KD, but I am. And disappointed really.
They ‘ought to amicably part ways while still mutually supporting each other’… Really?
Mandy
November 15, 07:05He’s trying to maks his bias with political correctness and failing miserably at it.
pete
November 15, 07:41One of the benefits of being here is the education I’ve garnered & the ability to look at life/people from many prisms. @Mandy, most times here, we tend to dismiss people’s comments as trying to be politically correct (as if it’s a bad thing) without amicably trying to thrash out the issue. LGB tend mainly to be about sexual orientation while T is mainly about gender orientation though they are so many overlaps. Since I’m Cait debuted, I’ve been trying to get as much information on Trans issues as I can lay my hands on. It doesn’t mean I’m fully conversant with it but it’s a step.
Mandy
November 15, 07:06The way transphobic sentiments is suddenly starting to gain traction from the majority and minorities alike… it’s unnerving.
ken
November 15, 07:27You will be surprised at just how intolerant and hateful some gay people are towards trans. They argue that being trans is a choice as opposed to being gay, simple for d fact that trans show theirs outwardly.
The depth of ignorance can be seriously annoying
Mitch
November 15, 08:00The level of ignorance in that petition can only be rivaled by that of the Nigerian homophobe!
Sinnex
November 15, 08:16If someone can sue Israel for hanging Jesus on the cross, then anyone why write any petition.
sensei
November 15, 09:13I am disappointed and ashamed of the LGBT community and I have said it at every opportunity i’ve got.
Why is there so much discrimination within a community that exists to fight discrimination? Like seriously, are we blind or what? Even right here on KD I have noted that the following are discriminated against:
1. Transgender
2. Bisexuals
3. Lesbians
4. “Sides” (new term for gay men who don’t engage in penetrative sex).
I have concluded that the LGBT community has amply demonstrated that it has absolutely no moral ground to speak against discrimination on matters regarding sex and sexuality. Should they stop? I don’t think we should stop talking either. Rather, we need to look within and realize that we are asking people to take the speck from their eyes when we have a gigantic plank in ours.
sensei
November 15, 09:33Before KD, I assumed that being gay would make a person more tolerant of other sexual minorities.
How wrong I was? Sometimes I just want to scream: SHUT UP! Are you any different from the homophobes?
The LGBT is bursting at its seams with intolerant people.
That a person who is side-lined is likely to feel more empathy for another who is side-lined is expected. But a significant section of the LGBT community fail to exhibit expected attitudes.
If you who have suffered discrimination can be like this, how do you expect the straight people who have not suffered any discrimination to just see the light?
Tiercel de Claron.
November 15, 10:55Crabs in a bucket,man.Crabs in a bucket.
May not be the best analogy,but gives you an idea what we’re about.
Chizzie
November 15, 09:21In a way I see where the Petitioners are going, plus they raised some valid points one being how ” LGB is about sexual orientation while Trans is about gender identity”. We’ve seen how some Trans people identify as straight and have always been straight prior to and after transitioning eg the most famous transgender of them all Caitlyn Jenner.
Also when a trans man or woman transitions fully, he or she most likely becomes attracted to or maintains attraction to the opposite sex. Now seeing as we are now supposed to refer to them in their new genders, If a trans woman is attracted to a man, doesn’t that make her straight?
We’ve also seen repeatedly here how gay people do not necessarily agree or support trans issues, and if that petition can have over 800 votes then its not just gays that read this blog. The fact is trans issues aren’t that relatable to gay issues, if we take out society’s reaction and acceptance, then the two issues aren’t relatable at all.
Yes the average gay man might sympathize with them at best, but wouldn’t want to be them. Which says alot.
Tiercel de Claron.
November 15, 10:52Trans people always identify as straight,before and after transitioning?.Goes to show how much you know.
Long before KD,I’d come across stories of trans who are gay.
Why don’t you put that your limited data to better use by reading up on all sides/aspects of being trans before pulling chizzie on us.
Chizzie
November 15, 14:09I said ‘some’ and I went on to give a perfect example. I know you are going senile seeing as you are amongst the oldest here. So how about you check yourself into a nursing home if you find that you cannot pay close attention to detail
ronniephoenix
November 15, 16:42Umm, you didn’t use the word “some”.
And besides I am panromantic, not “straight”
ronniephoenix
November 15, 10:35It wouldn’t suprise me that such issues would be brought up, some time ago the LGB community wanted the asexual community out, now they want the trans community out as well.
Ever since I found kd I became open to exactly how the LGB community really operated, and quite frankly it disgusted me.
The queer community is a disgrace!
For as long as we continue to display hate towards ourself we will never achieve equality.
Teflondon
November 15, 11:50Welcome to the real word Ronnie. Where we all don’t sing Kumbaya and ‘sing along’ songs.
Wake up already.
ronniephoenix
November 15, 11:57Some people really need to listen to “christina perri – human”.
We don’t have to like each other, we just have to come together to support, help and encourage each other.
Chizzie
November 15, 14:19But you aren’t trans, you have a dick and no boobs, you aren’t on hormones. You are still a boy, who wants to be a girl or whatever. You aren’t trans so stop acting like you know what’s up or that you are transsexual.
You are just a 17yr old Nigerian boy living with his parents wishing he were a girl. That doesn’t make u transsexual .
ronniephoenix
November 15, 15:34Maybe your internalized homophobia is affecting you, but I can’t recollect ever saying I am transexual. I am transgender, the transgender umbrella is quite wide.
And I actually am a transgenderist (shemale), as in an intending “shemale”.
I will transition but not fully, but unlike people like cait. And laverne, I won’t have (srs) because I don’t need a vagina.
Now you’ve been educated!!!!!
Hurray!!!!
Xoxo
Chizzie
November 15, 16:09To be honest, I think you’re full of sh*t and live in an imaginary world.
ronniephoenix
November 15, 16:49Better to be full of shit (no need for sh*t, it doesn’t suit you) and live in an imaginary world, fighting for equality and achieving it.
Than to live in a world of hate, internalized homophobia, etc.
*muahh*
Mandy
November 15, 14:27There was a time the LGBT community wanted the asexuals out?
ronniephoenix
November 15, 15:23@mandy, it is true, but it was the LGB community not the LGBT.
ronniephoenix
November 15, 10:39……….And yes, trans issues are about gender identity, while the lgb issues are about sexual orientation.
But it doesn’t take away the fact that the world will never see us as being different from each other.
sensei
November 15, 11:01You are right. But can’t it be argued that GENDER is the basis of sexual attraction? And is a transgender female who identifies as straight not likely to be seen as the ignorant lot as a “man who is attracted to men?
As far as I’m concerned, T belongs with LGB.
ronniephoenix
November 15, 12:01I’ve always said that the LGB community is a disgrace, if it were up to me we would have never been together since the begining.
The LGB community has always been prejudiced against all other part of the community.
Even at that we are inseparable.
Tiercel de Claron.
November 15, 10:42Here in naija gay community,we’d dropped the B tey tey.Heck,we’ll even not have anything to do with mgm.
Not even sure we allowed the T sef.
All these oyinbo and their pc sef
Chuck
November 15, 14:06Could you please explain how being a married gay man is a similar phenomenon to being trans? I’m very curious about how you equate the two
Tiercel de Claron.
November 15, 17:23Had an oily soup,or is this just how your teeth are?.
Where did you see me equate trans to being a married gay man?.
Being your cranky old self or you are too blind to see I speak to how intolerant we can be,yet seek for tolerance from the larger society?.
Chuck
November 15, 19:16It’s interesting that you’re saying tolerance of trans people and tolerance of mgm are sides of the same coin. I don’t think being a liar/ cheater and expressions your gender/ sexual orientation are parts of the same conversation.
Delle
November 15, 11:16Isn’t it baffling that these same ‘unSTRAIGHT’ set of individuals fighting for equality are seeing themselves in the community as unequal? Isn’t it perturbing that we want to kill the vibes of the homophobes but we revel in being homophobic and a tad violent to the Transgender community? What would your average open-minded straight guy say when he comes across an entry like this? Does this show we have a cause? Does this depict a community with a stance? I can’t even begin to handle.
Frankly speaking, it’s true the trans community is mostly about gender identity and what have you and the LGB is about sexual orientation, but does that totally erase the fact that the trans do not have LGB within them? Personally, I do not think there’s anything as a ‘Straight trans person’ be it a man or a woman. If Caitlyn Jenner tomorrow marries a woman, is that heterosexuality? Beats me. There’s a thin rope connecting the Trans and the LGB community and no matter how conspicuous the rope may seem, let’s not forget that the cause is all the same. We are all fighting for one cause…EQUALITY. If a man feels he is better off being a woman, the least they expect is support from their so-called community. This is not a time to disassociate, this isn’t a time for fracas and chaos…if we want equality, we’ve got to do it together!
OAN
It’s obvious many people here are against the trans community. How shady of you to come here in support of your cause only to push the other quarter just ‘cos u feel different from them and fail to understand their plight. While you love being the hairy, muscled, burly guy and date another overly masculine guy, some other guys prefer feeling feminine to date masculine guys. There really is no difference…u are all guys in different bodies with same needs. Durrgh!
ronniephoenix
November 15, 15:24I concur
Rev: Hot
November 15, 12:18I would have considered supporting this, the period Caitlyn Jenner said that rubbish about gays.. but I’m a good person so…..
Max
November 15, 20:35I step out of KD for a day and ya’ll are pulling each other’s hair? Chai.
All I see is gay men trying to feel relevant.
Tobby
November 15, 20:50People get time sha. Creating rubbish petitions upandan