By Gwendolyn Ann Smith
At the recent Democratic National Convention, a new group emerged, speaking with their own voice about the need for their rights. For only the second time in recent years, the transgender community had delegates at the convention and our needs, while not part of the official platform this year, have been heard by some of the top people within the Democratic Party. Also notable: as far as I'm aware, this convention marks the first time the word "transgender" has been uttered in speeches at such an event.
It is yet another major step for the transgender community, yet none of this came easy.
If it hadn't been for Jane Fee serving as a delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention, and if a handful of the best the transgender community has to offer hadn't taken on the job of serving as delegates this year, the notion of the DNC addressing transgender issues, in even the arguably small scope it has, would be unthinkable.
Indeed, if it hadn't been for a growing political movement amongst transgender people over the last decade, the concept of having delegates who are out and proud of their transgender nature actually working to affect the stance of a major political party would be a laughable notion.
This is only one example within a larger series of changes, each of which are showing a growing strength of the transgender community. This thing called the transgender community has begun to mature into a much stronger group than many might have assumed would be possible. Without people willing to sacrifice and speak out, none of this would have been likely to happen.
It is often desirable to try and take the easy way out, and hope that others will do the work for us. It's far easier to hope that someone else will do the work, rather than having to do it for oneself.
When we discover that others aren't willing to help us out, for whatever reason, it is also far easier to sit back and complain. It's easy to vilify others when one could have just as easily made their own stand.
I know, as there have been plenty of times in my own life where I've sat back and hoped someone else would do the work, then complained when things didn't happen. I'm not going to lay any blame without shouldering my own fair share.
Yet while there are plenty of people out there who are still in need of change, and while we have made some amazing strides in recent years, this is not a time for complacency.
Through the use of Defense of Marriage Act laws, the rights of transgender people are being slowly eroded away, with marriage rights dissolved, and genders restricted. Members of the religious right — some aware of the transgender community for the first time — are going on the defensive, planning preemptive strikes designed to prevent us from further victories, and stripping away our hard won rights.
Maybe you don't feel quite ready to be at political conventions, or perhaps you have personal needs that outweigh your ability to really out yourself in the line of fire. That's perfectly understandable. Perhaps you could consider donating to organizations or individuals who can do the work.
Maybe you could do something on a smaller scale: just helping one other person to understand our needs can make a difference.
In short, if you have not already lent a hand to try and better things for all transgender people, then there is no better time than the present to make yourself heard. This is not a time for letting someone else do the work, or for idle complaining when setbacks occur. If you see something that needs to be done, then be the one to make it happen.
I would like to see, four years down the line, a great many more transgender delegates, inhabiting both the Democratic and Republican Conventions, making our needs known. More than this, I'd love to see many of our needs already met by the Summer of 2008, thanks to the all our hard work.
It is something worth shooting for.
