As a member of the national committee for LGBT members of my trades union I have been asked on a few occasions whether those of us who are transsexual should be included in the LGBT umbrella.
Without hesitation I responded to the equality officer of my group (section), when she asked me this question in 2011, that we stand to gain more from inclusion and standing with our LGB friends than we would if we went our own sweet way. I believe strongly that the more voices you have arguing for rights the more likely you are to be given them eventually. The arithmetic is thus - it is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 post-transsexuals in the UK. On the other hand there are millions of LGB people in the UK. Politicians don't listen to a few thousand - there are not enough votes in it to be in their interests to give us rights if we whisper by ourselves. And that is just what it would be - a whisper compared with the noises made by the bigots who attack us. Firstly we have the churches (and let's not forget we still have the bishops of the Church of England in the House of Lords) who have opposed us, indeed the official position of the Catholic Church is that we are sexless abominations. Then there is the right-wing press who only think of the pounds shillings and pence (oops - pounds and pence now!) in their bank accounts from titillating stories about us which are designed to portray us as freaks. Add into the equation the fascist scum who hate any minority and suddenly we have a massive coalition against us with significant money behind it with the influence and power which comes along with that money.
Surely the only way we could get our voices heard in this situation is to start shouting with other disenfranchised groups? Going our own sweet way will achieve nothing whatsoever, apart from isolating us further than we already were beforehand.
I have seen the argument put forward by some that we should ally ourselves with what could be termed "the norm". This argument doesn't withstand close scrutiny. It is the equivalent of Jews allying themselves with the SS. Why would any sane person with a transsexual history want to link up with the very organisations and groups which opposed us being able to amend our birth certificates, being given basic employment protections, being able to marry if we so choose or to even have our surgery?
I recognise that there is a wide-ranging spectrum within the trans umbrella and we all have differing needs. However, it makes sense to work together to improve our lives. We are currently in an economic mess not of our making and our NHS (National Health Service) is facing unprecedented attacks. Let's not forget our surgery is not exactly cheap. The Conservative Party know the price of everything and the value of nothing. To them all that matters is the balance sheet. When you combine that with the propaganda of cancer patients being denied life-saving drugs while we are able to have our surgery on the NHS it doesn't bode well for those who come after us.
I contend that it is our duty to help those who come after us, and not pull the ladder up after we have recovered from our treatments. Helping the next generation doesn't mean cosying up to the very people who would have denied us our surgery too if they had the chance.
So, we need to work with others who are facing attacks from the far right, the sleazy tabloid press (especially the Murdoch press) and the religious groups who are trapped in a timewarp. That means working with our LGB brothers and sisters and other trans groups.
The motto of my union is Unity is Strength. That is the case for us too. If we work with other trans groups and our LGB brothers and sisters we are far stronger. If we go our own way then we are weak and a far easier target.
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