Fixing The System
Page 6 - Don't Out Luke!
I noticed that my videos tend to be really upbeat and my posts are depressing! Well, here’s the depressing post for the week! Erin Reed did some detailed reporting on how 81 Democrats (and probably all Republicans) in Congress voted for the National Defense Authorization Act which includes an amendment to remove gender affirming care for trans kids in military families. Please look through the list, if any of them are from your state please write to them condemning them for their action.
This is really the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come for the military. Trump’s pick for defense secretary thinks that queer people in the military are part of a Marxist agenda. While it’s currently just speculation, trans, gay, and nonbinary folks might be banned from joining and discharged from service if they are already enlisted. While that’s a relatively small part of the military, 17% of the active-duty troops are women who may soon be banned from combat positions.
On a more personal note, I attended a memorial for a non-binary adult who was about the age of my son. They died by suicide. The reception was held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After the reception I went to the women’s room. Just as I was washing my hands before leaving a woman asked me, “Are you a man?” I don’t know the intent of the question. I was wearing a winter coat over a black dress, black tights, and black Mary Janes. I haven’t been afraid of being in a women’s restroom for years, so this really took me off-guard. I don’t remember ever been asked that in a bathroom before. She then asked if I was one of those “transitioned people”. I told her I’m a trans woman. She said she didn’t know what the law said about me being there. I told her my passport says female. She responded, “oh, then you should be fine.” It was unclear what her intent was. Being in MIT, I suspect she has encountered sexism and racism. Finding the Women’s room took awhile. The Men’s room in the Infinite Corridor has a giant sign that sticks out making it very visible. The Women’s room is near the end of the corridor and just has a little sticker. We briefly talked about how women may not have been allowed there when MIT first opened. I looked into this later, women were never barred from admission but their numbers in the early decades were exceptionally low. She may have just misgendered me and thought I was in in there by accident. I felt unsafe. Even after verifying it was okay for me to be there she then asked if I was a student or faculty, which to my implied I was trespassing. I said I was a former member of the juggling club, which is true. I was literally holding the memorial order of service in my hands, I don’t know why I didn’t show it to her. Ultimately, this has made me worry about how bathroom use might become more dangerous as the country continues to descend into Trumpism.