PrideSource.com – Gwendolyn Ann Smith
In the book “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell discusses that one moment where the unique becomes common, and when dramatic – even chaotic – change can occur. It is hardly a concept unique to Gladwell, and is likely familiar to anyone who has observed, for example, President Bush’s popularity over the last few years.
In the scope of transgender politics, we are hitting a tipping point of our own.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force recently conducted a survey. They asked 800+ average folks about the inclusion of transgender people in federal laws against workplace discrimination. In an added twist, pollsters even attempted to deliberately sway the matter by using transphobic language.
What they uncovered was that a majority – 59 percent – would support transgender-inclusive language. Support remained strong even when transphobic language was added to the mix.
Such a finding flies in the face of so-called conventional wisdom. The argument has been that adding transgender to a bill like the Employment Nondiscrimination Act would be tantamount to suicide for the bill. Therefore, the argument goes, it is better for a bill that supports sexual orientation to get passed now, with a future transgender-specific bill to come along later.
This argument that rights for some trumps rights for all – at least in GLBT circles – has been going strong since at least the 1970s. It is a tactic that has survived from the days of the National Gay Task Force – the precursor to the NGLTF – through the Empire State Pride Agenda. The latter being the group from which the NGLTF’s current executive director hails from. It also remains the supposed “trump card” in the fight over bills like ENDA and the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.