Solidarity for me…

In the days immediately following the (Stonewall) riots, gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals organized the Gay Liberation Front to work alongside the Black Panthers, the Puerto Rican Young Lords, Women’s Liberation Movement, and student anti-war movements. The ethos was joint consciousness and radical political tactics. People who identified as drag queens, butches, or transsexuals (the term primarily used before transgender was introduced in the early 1990s) were all welcome thanks to the focus on solidarity.

…but not for thee.

“One of the problems I have found over the years of discussing this is an unwillingness on the part of many, including leaders in the transgender community, to acknowledge a fact: namely that there is more resistance to protection for people who are transgender than for people who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual,” (openly gay Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank) flatly stated at the time (defending his removal of protections for transgender people from the Employment Non-discrimination Act). His view was echoed by others across the political spectrum including the Washington Post editorial board, which opined that transgender people ought to educate people on transgender discrimination if they wanted to be included in workplace protections.