I think that people of all sexuality/genders should support each other. Separating from the community isn't a positive, but rather, a negative way of identifying with your identity. The "LGBT" community or "LGBTQIA community" should be inclusive of all peoples who don't fit in in dominant cultural circles, who feel ostracized or alone. Kicking our trans* peoples, or making them feel as less desirable, to have in the community, will harm many peoples view of themselves.

Many people in the community are there to make friends, and garner support. This is not a community based solely on sexuality, anyone who feels that they are in a gender minority can also find friends/support.

What would be the point of having an entirely separate trans* society, further ostracizing people based on their gender/sexuality? I think it is a bad idea, we are already a small community and don't need to further divide. less

I can see the merit of the argument that T is about gender versus sexuality for LGB.

But--I can also see the merit of the argument that dividing the community weakens it. The symbol of gay pride is the rainbow flag, chosen because it represents inclusiveness.

If anything, we need a bigger tent, not a smaller one. less

that's an incredibly ahistorical argument, though, and it also ignores the realities and lives of many trans people, and the position of both LGB and trans people in our homophobic, transphobic society.

it's very difficult, a lot of the time, to tell where homophobia ends and transphobia begins. the two oppressions certainly are not the same, but they're interconnected in very specific ways, and it's foolish to say "well, gender and sexual orientation aren't the same thing, so the two communities have nothing to do with each other!" because of course they do. half the time the people who attack us, ostracize us, discriminate against us, and otherwise express their hatred of us don't know which letter of the initialism we represent, and they don't care. and the trans community was a crucial part of the beginning of the gay rights movement, and the two are still very much connected.

like, i understand what you're saying, but your argument is completely divorced from the actual, practical realities of many LGB and trans people. less

The do have shared history, but they still shouldn't be lumped together.
When most straight cis people hear LGBT, they hear gay. Trans isn't gay.

Maybe for political reasons they should keep T in the acronym, to make getting equal rights easier, but logically they should be separate. less

yeah, but that "logic" is based entirely in, like, this theoretical idea of what it means to be trans vs what it means to be LGB, which rarely corresponds with how that pans out for lgb and trans people.

like, what would you accomplish by separating the LGB from the T? would you advocate for services - homeless youth shelters, for example - only being made available for one or the other? do you want to go a couple steps backwards and actively encourage organisations that now finally include trans people and their rights on their agendas to stop that so no one gets confused and thinks they're the same?

the reality is, the LGB and the T are inextricably linked in the lives of many people who fall under one (or two) letters in the acronym, and the challenges we face are very often similar and require similar solutions.

like, i'm just not seeing what you'd hope to actually accomplish, in practical terms, by separating the first three letters from the fourth. there's nothing saying that because the acronym exists as it is now, you have to use all four letters every time you talk about an issue pertaining to one or the other. less

I think that people of all sexuality/genders should support each other. Separating from the community isn't a positive, but rather, a negative way of identifying with your identity. The "LGBT" community or "LGBTQIA community" should be inclusive of all peoples who don't fit in in dominant cultural circles, who feel ostracized or alone. Kicking our trans* peoples, or making them feel as less desirable, to have in the community, will harm many peoples view of themselves.

Many people in the community are there to make friends, and garner support. This is not a community based solely on sexuality, anyone who feels that they are in a gender minority can also find friends/support.

What would be the point of having an entirely separate trans* society, further ostracizing people based on their gender/sexuality? I think it is a bad idea, we are already a small community and don't need to further divide. less