Houston Mayor Bill White proclaims 'Transgender Center Day'

July 28, 7:36 AMTransgender & Transsexual Issues ExaminerMatt Kailey

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                 Houston Mayor Bill White

In an important celebration for the Houston trans community, Houston Mayor Bill White proclaimed July 25, 2009 to be “The Transgender Center Day” in the city.

The proclamation (which actually says "The Transgender Center Day," rather than "Transgender Day," which has been reported in some news stories) was issued in honor of the one-year anniversary celebration of the Transgender Foundation of America Transgender (TG) Center of Houston. The center offers a variety of services for transgender and transsexual people and their loved ones.

In addition, the Transgender Center received proclamations from other government officials, including one from the State of Texas House of Representatives.

These types of proclamations are of particular importance to our community. They reflect a changing world. They reflect a move toward acceptance of the trans community. And they reflect progress in our movement for equality.

We continue to see laws changing in our favor in the United States, particularly at the state and local levels, and we continue to see certain politicians acknowledging us not only as a population deserving of recognition and equal rights, but as a potential voting bloc.

It’s true that not all trans people vote in the same way. It might surprise some non-trans people to know that there is a wide spectrum of political beliefs in our community, just like in any other.

Many people who have gone through gender transition and have assimilated into mainstream male and female culture do not identify as trans at all. They identify as men and women (no trans in front of that), and they have their own political beliefs, ranging from extremely conservative to extremely liberal — just like everyone else.

Transgender and transsexual people who are visible and are activists for trans rights tend to be socially liberal, but some are fiscally conservative or subscribe to other conservative ideas, while others hold very liberal views in all areas.

Even so, with more trans people becoming visible and vocal, a power shift is happening, and it is not unreasonable to desire and court the trans vote. After all, we do vote. And we do pay taxes. And we have expectations of equality in exchange for our full participation as citizens.

For politicians to recognize this — and to recognize us — is definitely a step in the right direction.