For the past several months, there have been people suggesting that the "T" be dropped from "LGBT" because people who are transgender do not have the same concerns as people who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Today on The Federalist website, Walt Heyer, described as "an accomplished author and public speaker with a passion for mentoring
individuals whose lives have been torn apart by unnecessary
gender-change surgery" posted an article entitled "Drop the T from LGBT". His basic argument is that people who are transgender are psychologically sick and that, for the good of the broader LGB movement, the concerns of "transgenders" (his word) need to be dropped.
A little background about Mr. Heyer. At one point ( I can't find an exact date), he had sexual reassignment surgery and became a woman and then, almost 10 years later, had surgery to change back to a man. From what I have been able to discover about him, he doesn't seem to have any special training and relies on his own experiences to claim that being transgender is a psychological disorder and that people who are transgender need therapy, not surgery.
I will also say that he is not the only person who is looking to "drop the T". I have seen articles from people within the LGBTQIA community saying similar things. As you may have guessed, I find this proposition to be a very disturbing one. While it is true that transgender issues are not the exactly the same as issues faced by lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, the goal of the LGBTQIA community is not only to advocate for same-sex marriage, adoption, etc. The goal is full equality for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identification, race, skin color, etc. As such, we need to embrace all people and welcome them to work with us as we work towards a more egalitarian society.
The more parochial and narrow minded view doesn't see this. For people within the LGBTQIA community who want to "drop the T", they are merely out for their self-interest and not for the good of all people. And anyone in the community who takes the thoughts of a transphobic person like Walt Heyer and makes them their own is delusional. To think that he has the good of the LGBTQIA community in mind is mind blowingly stupid. He is just trying to create divisions within the larger community to splinter us. We need to stand together to help create a society where *EVERYONE* is treated equally and is equal. Period.
