One giant leap for Chaz Bono, one small step for trans rights?

Anna Pulley on 06.13.09 at 3:43 PM | 1 comment

Anna Pulley

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Chastity Bono, now Chaz, offspring of celebrity couple Sonny and Cher, issued a statement recently about his decision to transition from female to male. His publicist told reporters:

Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity ... He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago.

An outspoken proponent for LGBT rights for more than two decades, Chaz's coming out as trans marks the first time a celebrity has done so. Grace Chu from AfterEllen thinks Chaz's decision could be a big step for increasing awareness about trans rights:

"Call me overly optimistic, but Chaz Bono's announcement may turn out to be a pivotal moment in the transgender rights movement, much like Ellen's coming out, which, despite some initial rocky moments -- such as the cancellation of her sitcom, was eventually seen as a turning point for the mainstreaming of gays and lesbians."

Judging by the slew of hateful comments on TMZ, Perez Hilton and Towleroad, however, many of them by lesbians and gays, I'm inclined to think that we still have a very long and bumpy road ahead of us. Perez Hilton goes so far as to write that Chaz changed his gender in order to bypass a Prop 8 loophole, because being trans is clearly only useful for a gift registry at Crate and Barrel.

Not that Perez Hilton is by any means a paragon for gay rights, despite being gay himself, but his views are part of the general trend of complacence for mainstream gay and lesbian rights (marriage, military acceptance) that fails to address the hundreds of other issues that affect queer people, one of which is transphobia.

A few examples include:
Here in Illinois, two transsexual women are suing the state for refusing to change their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities.

In the same week that New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage, the New Hampshire Senate unanimously rejected a bill that would have extended anti-discrimination laws to transgendered people.

Violence against trans people continues to run rampant both here and abroad. In Memphis alone, 5 trans people have been shot since 2006.

Not to mention that being trans is still classified as a "mental disorder" by the DSM.

Or that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act does not include gender identity.

So while, yes, it's great that Chaz has made his decision to transition public and that media attention has been mostly positive, I am curious to see if this will indeed be a stepping stone for broader trans visibility and acceptance.