By Rajindra Narinesingh
Transgender revolution! Well more like transgender empowerment! That is how I would describe the 2nd Annual TransCon: Justice Summit this past weekend at F.I.U. Biscayne Campus. As a transgender woman who has endured great discrimination, I have often felt alone in my plight. Getting together with other transgender people affirmed to me that I am not alone and that many of my trans sisters and brothers have had similar experiences.
Besides members of the transgender community, there were a host of trans and non-transgender advocates in attendance. Medical professionals, activist, friends and family made up the group of about 70. The two-day conference was presented by the Aqua Foundation for women and featured a group of dynamic speakers and presenters, including Jessica Lam – Transgender Activist (who developed the idea for TransCon), Rodrigo Lehtinen, son of Congress-women Illiana Ros Lehtinen (Transgen-der Activist from Gender Justice L.A.), Holiday Simmons (Community Educator for Lambda Legal Southern Division), Dr. Carol Clark (facilitator of the transgender support group at the Pride Center, Wilton Manors), C.J. Otoma (Executive Director of Save Dade), Carrington “Rusty” Mead Esq. (dealing with LGBT legal issues), Daniel Redman (N.C.L.R. head of LGBT Elder advocacy), Dr. Christopher Estes (board certified Gynecologist and member of the University of Miami Center for Aesthetic and Corrective Genital Surgery), Jody Marksamer (who overseas N.C.L.R.’s policy and advocacy work), Dr. Marilyn Volker (well known transgender counseler and has been a pioneer in the field of transgender studies), and 11-year-old Jazz – transgender male-to-female who was featured on the Barbara Walters special with transgender children and played the principle role of my niece in the all-trans cast movie “Bella Maddo”.
Quite a number of topics concerning our community were covered. The presenters from NCLR referenced the “Injustice at Every Turn” report in which over five thousand transgender people were surveyed regarding their experiences with discrimination. The results produced some sad and disturbing statistics in the areas of health care, housing and employment discrimination. Overall, the entire conference was extremely informative. I was very enlightened to learn about some of the new laws regarding our community.
In speaking to other trans people at the conference, they too seem to really appreciate the legal information. I had no idea that in 2010, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that medical treatment (i.e. hormones, surgery, etc.) for gender identity is tax deductible. And here in the State of Florida, a trans person can now get the gender marker changed on their driver’s license by taking a medical affidavit signed by their physician, social security card, your old state ID and two pieces of mail with your current address to the driver’s license office.
The workshop “Building Leaders in Our Community” presented by Gender Justice and Save Dade provided a wealth of information on putting the activism into action. And gave effective ways on how our community can rally together to win the changes we want.
For a 40-something trans woman like me, who often times feels like 80-something, this conference was a breath of fresh air. A transgender life can be a very challenging one. And after many years of advocacy work for the LGBT community, lately I had begun to feel like a lot of it had been in vain. I left this conference with a renewed spirit, truly feeling empowered.
Eleven-year-old Jazz really confirmed for me the importance of my advocacy work, and that all of us LGBT adults have a responsibility to pave the way for future LGBT generations. Just as we stand on the shoulders of the ones that came before us, we all play an important role in our liberty. None of our efforts are in vain!
For more information on the TransCon conference, visit the Aqua Foundation online at www.aquafoundation.org