"Sins Of Our 'Fathers'"

"SINS OF OUR 'FATHERS'"


by Cynthia Rodriguez


It has been recently brought to my attention, quite a disturbing revelation that I never, truly realized the magnitude of it. The rest of the world pretty much hates us. In "us" I mean the U.S.A. Not that I really take it personally, being that a lot of what is said doesn't reflect on me on a personal level. Although I can understand where much of that comes from, nonetheless, it kind of bothers me a little bit.


Why is that? Well, in spite of some people joking around, calling me a Communist and such, (which, for the record, I am not. Not that there is anything wrong with that), I really DO love this country, at least the IDEA of it. The ideals of which is was built on, anyway. I don't like a lot of what we've become. Much of what we say and do as a whole, I think is wrong on many levels. Of course, I have my own opinions on all the issues we are currently dealing with. That is not the purpose of this rant, though.





The purpose of this is just to simply say to the REST of the world, which, surprise, surprise does not only consist of the United States, is: Please don't hate me. Contrary to popular belief, we are not ALL complete assholes. For example, we may have gotten all this whole outpouring of sympathy and support from all over when our 9-1-1 happened, but I also know there were plenty of people from all over who felt we got "what was coming to us". Even people from our own country, (not that they would ever admit any of this in public). I just think the whole thing is sad, all the way around.





I was finally made aware of all this from currently corresponding with a new friend from another country, just a little north from here. I don't think I've ever noticed how so consuming our own culture is to the rest of the world, our culture and habits (good and bad). I can also see we have developed quite of few, nasty, little stereotypes. I mean like, wow, some of them are pretty bad. How did all this happen? Why such a bad rep? How did our lovely "land of the free, home of the brave", and blah, blah, blah become known as the land of such shit heads to everyone else? I feel we are ALL to blame.


I know I cannot speak for everyone else but I really feel like we have become very self-centered, "Queen-Bee", and bully-like in thinking it's ALWAYS all about US. It is not. There ARE other places out there, and all other kinds of people and just because they are not just like us, doesn't make them any less human, or make US any better.


On the flip side of that I can't help but think, gimmee a break, there is NO country, government or people without flaws. Nobody's perfect. Everyone gets their own kind of "brainwashing" to a certain extent, and everyone is a product of their own environment, not just us United Staters, United Stateans, USA'ers, or whatever less pleasant terms of endearment people have for us. We shouldn't be so quick to judge others, when we can't even do that for ourselves. I think in some cases we may be more similiar to them, and vice versa than they'd like to be.




Another thing I've gotten out of all this is realizing how much I really SUCK at Geography. It's so bad, it's pretty shameful. I swear at my next book club I am so getting several maps, an atlas, and a new globe.


This is part of why I am an activist. I may not be the most worldy person, being that have not been to many places in my lifetime, but I feel like I deal with some pretty universal topics such as human rights, and homelessness & poverty. Trying to do my part to make my country a better place for all. I believe that is what being a true patriot is all about. I feel if we all do that, we may get a little better reputation with all our neighbors around the world.






Hmmm, on second thought, next time I try to date a woman from another country maybe I'll fake some accent and tell her I'm from some obscure, little country she's never heard of...

Pay and Prejudice: Gender Change Means Loss of Pay for Some

A recent blog post at the NY Times site discussed the impact of gender change on one’s economic status. The post was based upon a B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy article prepared by Kristen Schlit and Matthew Wiswall found here http://www.bepress.com/bejeap/vol8/iss1/art39/ . What Schlit and Wiswall found was that much of the stigma behind gender change tended to be very different for transwomen versus transmen. Transwomen faced greater stigma and prejudice than transmen and this was often reflected in the economic impact of the shift. For instance, transwomen tended to have a greater number of pay cuts, and tended to loose their jobs more often than transmen did. Schlit and Wiswall theorized that the issues might be more about male/female prejudices than those based upon transgender perceptions.

The article got me to thinking about the variety and level of prejudices that may exist towards the LGBTI community. After all, most of the time, prejudice is based upon a number of complex rules that often stratify society based upon varying degrees. If you watch the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles, you hear an echo of those prejudice when the townsfolk try to refuse having any Irish join them in Rock Ridge.

As a lesbian transwoman, I have had to wonder how the stratification of prejudice against the LGBTI Community works, and how much the perceptions of me prior to my transitioning affected the attitudes after I went full time. Prior to going full time, the majority perception that others had of me was that I was a gay man. After all, I was feminine. My clothing and mannerisms were more female than male, and I was not dating any woman anyone knew about. What I never said to anyone was that I did not date because of my dislike and even disgust with heterosexual sex and an inability to engage in sexual expressions which felt more normal and natural to me. But, pegged as a gay male, I found my transition time far easier than the horror stories that I had heard. Except for hitting some entrenched prejudices with certain professors, I found that most people accepted me without batting an eyelash. I chose not to tell them I was lesbian, and let their assumptions go unanswered. Except for a few friends in the very small LGBTI community where I lived, no one knew about my sexuality, and I decided it was for the best. At least my friends never had an issue with this.

I have wondered after that if I had inadvertently stumbled into the way that society perceives gays, lesbians and transpeople. Is it, shall we say, more alright for women to love women than for men to love men? Is it more acceptable for a ‘gay’ man to become a woman than for a ‘straight’ man to become a woman? Is a transman more acceptable to society than a transwoman? This is a complex issue. I have certainly seen the patterns that this issue make. It can be little things like how DeGeneres and DeRossi’s wedding got a full, multipage write up in People Magazine, but the wedding of Takai and Altman got two pages and around two-thirds of a column. Could there be other issues regarding why they chose to do that? Certainly, after all, DeGeneres is a big star right now, and Takai’s stardom is far more muted. They may have also chosen to do more on DeGeneres rather than Takai because People’s core audience is women. However, you still have to wonder. . .

I will, as time goes along, write more about this, but I am also curious to hear from others. This is something that, truthfully, I have not seen a lot discussed about. Are there subtle differences in the prejudices that the LGBTI community faces?

Before That Sex Change, Think About Your Next Paycheck