Trans people need more than beloved celebrity spokespeople. We need equality
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Version 0 of 1. While transgender people are having a moment in the media – which gives us opportunities to educate the public about our lives, as Laverne Cox and others have done – the reality is that trans people still face extreme rates of employment discrimination, social and economic marginalization, and violence. It will take more than Laverne Cox’s image on the cover of TIME and critical acclaim for Transparent to change that. President Obama’s executive order last summer protecting transgender federal employees from anti-LGBT discrimination was a good start, especially as it resulted in Thursday’s ruling in favor of Tamara Lusardi, a transgender civilian US Army software specialist. The US office of special counsel decided that she was targeted with gender-identity discrimination by the Army when her co-workers required her to use a single-use, gender neutral restroom, referred to her as “sir”, “it” and by her birth name and refused to give her work. But we still have a long way to go to win employment protections for all trans people. While federal employees are protected in general, a huge loophole exists in that trans people are not allowed to serve openly in the military – so Lusardi can work for the Army, but she couldn’t serve in it unless she stayed in the closet ( a position in which many trans people find themselves). And while some trans people (like myself) who are critical of a military that sends young, poor people from the US oversees to kill and die are speaking out against the push for inclusive military service – we think that our energies should be focused on protections for poor trans civilians – advocates for open service argue that acceptance could have a broader social impact, just like the racial desegregation of the US military did. Still, even advocates for open service are aware that the relationship between the military and trans people is more disturbing than just whether we’re allowed to serve. The death in the Philippines of Jennifer Laude, a trans woman in whose killing a Marine, Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton, has been charged, is a heartbreaking reminder of the high rate of violence faced by trans women of color. That the US turned Pemberton over to the Philippines authorities – and that Secretary of State John Kerry has stated that the US will seek no special privileges for Pemberton – sends a strong signal that the US military and government will not condone targeted anti-trans violence, but is still small comfort. Ideally, policy changes for federal employees – and perhaps even for military personnel – would have a ripple effect, helping obtain employment protections on the federal level for trans people who are not employed by the federal government. Until then, though, 32 states have no protections for employment-based gender-identity discrimination, and there is no federal law protecting non-federal employees. The current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (which has no chance of passing in this political climate) is a weakened piece of legislation with limited scope that also includes a massive religious exemption. And, after the US supreme court ruling in Hobby Lobby, it’s clear that any nebulous religious exemption can be used by a variety of employers as a license to discriminate. We need real protections for trans people in all states – and not just for those who are already employed, either. Trans people are often discriminated against in the hiring process and thereby face high rates of unemployment. We also still lack protections against discrimination in housing, public accommodations, education and many federal programs. One-off executive orders, which naturally have limited scope, cannot be an excuse to ignore the urgency with which so many trans people need the protections from discrimination many other men and women take for granted. Lusardi’s case is an important first step in combatting anti-trans workplace discrimination at the federal level, but right now it is only that. We have to use the momentum and media attention from this win and the media’s current interest in trans celebrities to push for the basic rights all trans people need before the spotlight fades. |