Three Quarters of Gays and Lesbians Dumped by ENDA

[Columbus, OH, August 7, 1999] The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D, Mass.) make little secret of their opposition to inclusion of protections for transgendered people under the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). If passed, ENDA would outlaw employment discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals (GLBs) on the basis of sexual orientation but not gender expression. Many proponents of transgender civil rights have argued that some GLB people need the same coverages as transgendered people -- protection from discrimination based on their failure to behave, dress, and present themselves in a manner conforming with societal norms for men and women. The assumption in Washington seems to be that not many GLB people would be affected by this hole in ENDA's coverage, but transgender activists have long suspected otherwise.

The heaviest challenge to this view may exist in a paper just submitted to the International Journal of Transgenderism by transsexual activist and neurobiologist Dr. Sarah Fox. The paper summarizes the findings of a survey conducted recently by the transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay (TBLG) education and advocacy organization It's Time, Ohio! (ITOH!). According to the study, transgendered and GLB people may have more similarities than they once thought.

The ITOH! study was motivated by an earlier survey by the NGLTF, the NCLR and GenderPAC, which was conducted at the Creating Change conference in Pittsburgh. That survey found that of the 58% of GLB respondents who had suffered employment discrimination, 37% reported one basis of that discrimination to be gender expression, irrespective of sexual orientation. Said Fox, "We were quite impressed with the Pittsburgh results, and we had to wonder whether the same was true here in Columbus. We conducted our own survey, and we were stunned at what we found!"

ITOH! activists had good reason to be stunned. According to Fox's statistical analyses, 76% of all GLB respondents who reported a history of employment discrimination indicated that the discrimination was based in part upon gender expression. "What this means," explained Fox, "is that employers would continue to discriminate against at least 76% of the GLB population even under ENDA. Even if 'Bob' can't be fired for being gay, he can easily be fired for having effeminate mannerisms, and so he would remain unprotected."

ITOH! was quick to act on Dr. Fox's survey results. At its last meeting, the membership of ITOH! unanimously passed a resolution not to endorse the Federal ENDA unless it is amended to include protections based on gender expression. "The current version of ENDA has been a complete non- starter for us from the beginning," said ITOH! chairperson Susan Davis. "Not only does it leave transgendered and other gender-variant people unprotected, but it also abandons the vast majority of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals." Ms. Davis added, "We look forward to working with other LGBT groups to bring about an employment discrimination bill that protects everyone."

The resolution by ITOH! came only weeks after the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) withdrew its support from ENDA. The NGLTF based their decision on the failure of the bill to include protections based on gender identity, citing that transgendered people are excluded from the bill entirely. BiNet USA, the world's largest national bisexual organization, has now added its voice of nonsupport towards ENDA, until transgendered people are written back into the bill. The NGLTF's and BiNet's show of solidarity is not without precedent. African American activists in many states have shown solidarity with the GLBT community by refusing to move forward on civil rights legislation that includes protections based on race and not on sexual orientation. These stances reflect the current emphasis on coalition building, which has long been effective in the passage of civil rights legislation.

Dr. Fox has already heard from activist groups throughout the country who have requested her collaboration on similar surveys of their own. These surveys will likely be modified from the original. Says Fox, "No survey is perfect, and we might have asked our questions a bit differently in hind-sight. This survey only tells us how many GLB people are affected by discrimination based on gender expression, but future surveys will tell us how frequently they encounter this type of discrimination. They will also explore the basis of discrimination towards the transgender community."

Transgender activists are excited that there is now objective evidence for what they have always known. "This changes everything," said Cathy Platine, Director of the Midwest Transsexual Alliance. "HRC can continue fighting against transgender interests behind closed doors, because they don't claim to represent us. They can even justify sacrificing the interests of a small minority of GLB people when promoting something of presumed benefit to the lion's share of their GL constituents. However, they cannot in good conscience justify selling out the interests of over three quarters of their own people in the pursuit of civil rights for their most privileged Mattachine quartile. That won't feed the cat! If I were GL, I'd be demanding some changes, and if those changes didn't happen fast, I'd be demanding heads on a platter!"